THE TEXT OPENS WITH AN OVERVIEW OF THE NATURE OF CRIME--TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF CRIME, CRIMINOLOGY, CRIME STATISTICS, ETC. ALTHOUGH AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE IS OFFERED, THE FOCUS IS ON AFRICA IN GENERAL AND ON EAST AFRICA IN PARTICULAR. AN OVERVIEW OF THEORIES OF CRIME TOUCHES ON CAUSATION, THEOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL THEORIES, HEREDITY, GENETIC THEORY, SUBCULTURE OF VIOLENCE, CULTURE CONFLICT, SOCIOCULTURAL THEORIES, DIFFERENTIAL OPPORTUNITY, LOWER CLASS CULTURE, AND MENTAL DISORDERS. EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON THE RELEVANCE OF VARIOUS THEORIES TO AFRICAN SOCIETIES. SEPARATE CHAPTERS ARE DEVOTED TO EXAMINATIONS OF CRIMES OF VIOLENCE, SEX CRIMES, AND PROPERTY OFFENSES. THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF SPECIFIC CRIMES WITHIN THESE CATEGORIES IN EAST AFRICA ARE DISCUSSED AND COMPARED WITH SITUATIONS IN OTHER COUNTRIES. OTHER CHAPTERS DISCUSS ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ADDICTION; PUNISHMENT (CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, CORPORAL PUNISHMENT, FINES, IMPRISONMENT, CREATIVE RESTITUTION, POLICE DISCRETION AND DIVERSION, PROBATION, PAROLE); AND CRIME PREVENTION -- ALL WITH EMPHASIS ON THE SITUATION IN EAST AFRICA. GLOSSARIES OF COMMON LEGAL, SOCIOLOGICAL, AND PSYCHIATRIC CONCEPTS ARE APPENDED. (LKM)