The prevalence of crimes against property and their causes in the different trimester periods of the year 2002-2003 in Nairobi.

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of crimes against property and their causes in the trimester periods of the year 2002- 2003 in Nairobi. This is because property crimes have become a common problem in our society and are as such a destruction to the social fabric. To achieve the above objective, Nairobi city was chosen because crime was increasingly becoming a menace and hence a chronic social and more so economic problem. A sample size of two hundred was chosen in order to reduce logistical and analytical problems. This sample was derived from two police divisions, namely; Langata and Industrial Area. A sample frame was drawn and proportionate stratified random sampling was employed. Data collection was done in two successive stages, namely primary data and secondary data. Primary data was collected by the use of questionnaire and interview schedule whereas secondary data was collected from the Kenya police department by the researcher. The collected data was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The package enabled the researcher to tabulate, cross tabulate, and calculate the percentages, the medians, the standard deviation and modes.Respondents were asked questions on the prevalence and causes of property crimes. Information gathered from the victims reinforced the fact that they do not report all crimes committed against them citing the distance of the police stations from the crime scenes and the level of police response. Police statistics too do not reflect the true figures of crimes committed in their respective stations.The employed were found to be the main victims of crimes against property.The causes of these crimes were stated as unemployment, population growth, migration, poverty and poor policing.It was also found that it was mostly electronic equipments that were stolen from respondents' homes because the criminals had ready market for them.It was also established that these items were cheaper from the criminals.The relationship between police presence and crime commission was equally noted in this study. It was found that as one moved a distance away from a police station one experienced more crimes and vice versa. There is need therefore to curtail the crime problem by improving accessibility to police stations and by solving the problems that affect the economically active segment of the population such as providing job opportunities, reducing rural to urban migration by decentralizing industrial and urban growth, reduction of drug abuse and most importantly by ensuring proper policing in crime prone urban areas.