Background: Tanzania has consistently shown in recent decades to have a high overall crime rate. Although
its homicide rate is moderate, Dar es Salaam has an unusually high amount of community violence; more than
half of all homicides were due to lynching and vigilantism. Most of these homicides were a reaction to petty
theft of purses, cell phones, and domestic meat animals. Employment is hypothesized to decrease petty theft
and the resulting homicidal community violence. The objective of this research is to characterize appropriate
interventions.
Methods: In-depth interviews took place with proxy respondents of youth who had been killed through
community violence. Most respondents were relatives of youth killed by community violence or youth who
had directly experienced community violence. A focus group was held with at risk youth.
Results: “Lack of employment” was the largest node in terms of number of references and sources. It is
reported with “Business Ability” and “Normal Life”. Occupational categories for uneducated youth in Dar es
Salaam were: formal employment, agriculture, petty business, and day labour. Stealing, begging and
emigration occur when other options have failed. Suggestions for decreasing death by community violence
fell into three categories, all to do with employment: employment creation, working with youth in groups,
and creating a supportive environment for small enterprises.
Conclusions: Productive occupations are needed, including the revivification of traditional natural resource
based industries such as fisheries and forestry. The physical and legal environment must be made conducive
for “self-employed non-agricultural workers”. To optimize potential effectiveness, rigorous experimental
research should be conducted, to facilitate humane, equitable, and environmentally sound scale up of youth
employment opportunities.