“Overcriminalization,” which is the use and abuse of the criminal law instead of civil or administrative law to “solve” every societal problem and punish every mistake, is an unfortunate trend. The criminal law should be used to redress only blameworthy conduct, actions that truly deserve the greatest punishment and moral sanction.
In many African societies, police are neither respected nor appreciated. They are feared and avoided and looked upon with scorn. Why is this so? They are supposed to serve and protect the people. The absence of the rule of law helps to create a space for police brutalities to go unpunished.
Governments are fond of enacting criminal laws to score political points with an electorate that has been led to believe that outlawing more and more of these conduct somehow solves the crime problem.
Liberty in Africa, a new course from Students For Liberty, explores this perversion of the laws — as well as other issues of justice and government — through the expertise of great lecturers like Professor George Ayittey, Ghanaian Lawyer Kofi Bentil, and Temba Nolutshungu, a director at the Free Market Foundation.
This course will help you better understand the ideas of liberty through applications like the implications of over-criminalization in today’s societies.
