According to the interpretation of the author, the colonization of Black Africa has been a process of social destructuration which has undermined traditional institutions and has contributed to crime rates. Shifting from a collectively based rural society to an urban society stressing individualism has increased the likelihood of marginality. The confusing combination of traditional and modern law has permitted opportunists to avoid prosecution. The present study uses criminal statistics, interviews with judges, and surveys of public opinions on crime to document the problems. The study discusses differences between traditional African and modern law, especially in the Ivory Coast; offenses in traditional African societies; traditional court systems and sentencing; and surviving forms of traditional justice. The study also covers the relationship between the evolution of crime and such changes in the penal system as the multiplication of courts, juvenile and adult crimes as a product of the modern penal system, and the attitude of the African population toward crime and the modern penal system. It is concluded that the principal problem of African courts is a fundamental disparity between their correctional philosophy and that of the judical apparatus which attempts to reinforce norms not corresponding to those of the population. Tables and a bibliography of over 200 entries are supplied.