Crime and development in the global South

This chapter revisits the literature on the relationship between crime and development in the global South. It begins by examining the Modernization Thesis which posits that crime is a consequence of economic development. The chapter then proceeds to examine critical arguments concerning the relationship between development and crime. It is argued that both perspectives are helpful for illuminating the criminogenic consequences of economic development but are also theoretically problematic due to their universalizing tendencies. Accordingly, the chapter concludes by highlighting the need for more localized studies of the relationship between crime and development and research that accounts for how criminological issues influence the work of the international development community in the global South today.