ABSTRACT
It is of course true that the separation between city and countryside is not clear-cut. Physically, African cities merge into the surrounding countryside, and most city dwellers maintain regular contact with the villages that they came from or where family members still remain. It is not true that the distinction between urban and rural is one of values and lifestyle. It is surprising how much village life continues in the townships of the cities and how evidences of Western lifestyle are to be found in villages. People are very oen composites of both the rural and urban, and the dierence between urban and rural is essentially situational. Far from being absolute, the dierences are a matter of degree. Yet, with these provisos, there is value in considering the city as distinct from the village in terms of policing. e very scale of the population of cities creates a dierent dynamic to crime and disorder and demands particular policing methods for challenging it.
