Aspects of Penal Policy in Africa, with Special Reference to Tanzania

Although the broader purpose of this paper is to review some of the major aspects of current penal policy in Africa, I wish to emphasize the desirability of seeking new approaches to the perennial problem of how to deal with deviants generally, and criminal offenders in particular. The main thrust of penal policy in Africa today—and, indeed, in the world generally—ought, in my view, to be directed toward developing what I will call “alternatives to imprisonment”. I use “imprisonment” here as a short-hand expression to denote the entire process of criminal justice as it works in most countries, in the majority of cases, i.e., from an arrest to a court sentence to prison. Thus I am putting the question: towards what kind of penal system, in its widest sense, ought we to be working? I will suggest that the answer is: towards new and alternative means of dealing with deviance, i.e., any method of treating a person who engages in deviant behaviour other than by sending him through the complete criminal process into prison. Thus this paper will range over a wide area, including the kinds of deviant behaviour to be dealt with, the nature of the process by which the deviant is dealt with and the nature of the sanctions available to deal with deviancy.