Criminality in Maputo, Mozambique : origin, spatial distribution and repercussions

Criminality and feeling of insecurity are growing up in the capital-city of Mozambique: Maputo. Statistical indicators on the subject, with which we have to be very cautious, are fostered by the discourses of part of the civil society as well as the public and private security actors. Urban violence is amplified by its emerging character in a sudden neo-liberal context and increasing social inequalities. However, criminality in town cannot be understood without the historical national background. On the field, crime distribution proceeds along a target/refuge area division. Nevertheless, this colonial urban split has to be reconsidered. Local particularities have spatially a higher and more complex incidence on the phenomenon. The public authority has not the capacity to curb this expanding criminality, especially as it suffers from a negative image. In response, the civil society adheres to varied alternative security devices, which are generally linked to the private sphere. What is interesting to note is that the private security follows the social and economical urban groups. In the end, a kind of "territorialization" of urban reactions against criminality emerges today in Maputo.