Urban Crime in Kenya

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. Problem Statement
The goal of this study is to determine whether there is connection between the rising number of bars and insecurity in Nairobi. This study will gather experiences from a variety of adult residents from one medium-sized shopping center located at the peripheral area of Nairobi, called Shauri Moyo. It is located in the immediate east of the city.
The proposed study is part of the general area of research problems about the escalating insecurity in Nairobi which has focused on quantitative approaches to understanding patron use and little has been done of a qualitative nature. Existing research has looked at how poverty, police laxity, drug abuse, street families and other factors have correlated with crime rates.
This study will provide insight into why the last one decade or so, Nairobi County has experienced rapid changes and socioeconomic transformations impacting directly on the levels of crime.
The rising number of bars in Shauri Moyo was followed by the need for changes in policing due to the new challenges experienced. The motivation behind this project is based on the fact that during the last few years the rise of crime in the area has been dramatic. Bars and joints concentrated in the shopping center have proven that crime can bring enormous losses to the economy, society and environment of a certain area. However at the same time there is a realization that certain parts of the city have been left behind in development.
This study will benefit the field of security management and crime reduction by further developing qualitative research and by filling a gap left by researchers who have not taken the residents experience seriously as a research subject.
1.2 Research Objectives
The research project will therefore seek to explore and investigate the following: • To examine the extent to which bars contributes to the insecurity of Shauri Moyo • To identify and evaluate the demand for bars at Shauri Moyo. • To identify and evaluate if the number of bars in Shauri Moyo affects levels of crime in the area.
1.3 Research Questions

• What is the relationship between bars and crime?

• Why have general shops in Shauri Moyo markedly declined while the number of bars has increased?

• Is the increase of crime in Shauri Moyo as a result of rising number of bars?

1.4 Research Assumption

There is a correlation between many bars in Shauri Moyo and the rising criminal activities.

There is an effect of the rising number of bars in Shauri Moyo to security.

The security of towns without many bars to security is different from those with many bars.

It’s not easy to effectively fight crime with the rising number of bars in Shauri Moyo.

1.5 Rationale/Justification

The idea of this research had it’s genesis from researchers’ interest about security studies. Therefore researcher now will attempt to identify and analyze one specific sector of effects of bars to security.
The main purpose of this study is to obtain an insight into the current situation of security in Shauri Moyo in order to propose further recommendations for efficient crime reduction.
For the above reason, this research will take an exploratory approach, a study undertaken when not much is known about the situation at hand, or when no information is available on how similar problems or research issues have been solved in the past.
The aim will be to gain familiarity with the issues, and to gain a deeper understanding about the situation and it is intended that the findings of this research project will be used local authorities to assess and evaluate the current level of security and to gain knowledge on residents’ perceptions about their experience during their stay in Shauri Moyo. These findings could be used for correction of the current wave of crime and encourage economic development in the area.
1.6 Scope/Limitation
For the purpose of this research, and in order to achieve the objectives will be collected and will be used both primary and secondary data. The secondary data will contribute toward the formation of background information, needed by both the researcher in order to build constructively the project and the reader to comprehend more thoroughly the survey outcome.
Primary data will be collected in two ways. Firstly, a questionnaire survey will be conducted with residents of the area. Secondly, interviews will be also carried out with bar owners, providers of accommodation services and members of the local security so as to obtain detailed results as we determine our purpose.
1.7 Theoretical Framework Areas of research in security management include the incidence, forms, causes and consequences of crime, as well as social and governmental regulations and reaction to crime. For studying the distribution and causes of crime, we mainly rely upon quantitative methods. Over time, several schools of thought have developed. There were three main schools of thought in early criminological theory spanning the period from the mid-18th century to the mid-twentieth century: Classical, Positive, and Chicago. These schools of thought were superseded by several contemporary paradigms of criminology, such as:
|1.7.1 Classical School | |

The Classical School, which developed in the mid 18th century, was based on utilitarian philosophy. Cesare Beccaria, author of On Crimes and Punishments (1763–64), Jeremy Bentham, inventor of the panopticon, and other classical school philosophers argued that: • People have free will to choose how to act. • Deterrence is based upon the notion of the human being as a 'hedonist ' who seeks pleasure and avoids pain, and a 'rational calculator ' weighing up the costs and benefits of the consequences of each action. Thus, it ignores the possibility of irrationality and unconscious drives as motivational factors. • Punishment (of sufficient severity) can deter people from crime, as the costs (penalties) outweigh benefits, and that severity of punishment should be proportionate to the crime. • The more swift and certain the punishment, the more effective it is in deterring criminal behavior.
The Classical school of thought came about at a time when major reform in penology occurred, with prisons developed as a form of punishment. Also, this time period saw many legal reforms, the French Revolution, and the development of the legal system in the United States.
1.7.2 Positivist School
The Positivist school presumes that criminal behavior is caused by internal and external factors outside of the individual 's control. The scientific method was introduced and applied to study human behavior. Positivism can be broken up into three segments which include biological, psychological and social positivism.
1.7.3 Sociological Positivism
Sociological positivism suggests that societal factors such as poverty, membership of subcultures, or low levels of education can predispose people to crime. Adolphe Quetelet made use of data and statistical analysis to gain insight into the relationship between crime and sociological factors. He found that age, gender, poverty, education, and alcohol consumption were important factors related to crime. Rawson W. Rawson utilized crime statistics to suggest a link between population density and crime rates, with crowded cities creating an environment conducive for crime.
1.7.4 Differential Association (Subcultural)
Crime is learned through association. The criminal acts learned might be generally condoning criminal conduct or be justifying crime only under specific circumstances. Interacting with antisocial peers is a major cause of crime. Criminal behavior will be repeated and become chronic if reinforced. When criminal subcultures exist, many individuals can learn associatively to commit crime and crime rates may increase in those specific locations.
1.7.5 Social Disorganization (neighborhoods) It is based on the work of Henry McKay and Clifford R. Shaw of the Chicago School. Social disorganization theory postulates that neighborhoods plagued with poverty and economic deprivation tend to experience high rates of population turnover. These neighborhoods also tend to have high population heterogeneity. With high turnover, informal social structure often fails to develop, which in turn makes it difficult to maintain social order in a community.
1.7.6 Control Theories
Another approach is made by the social bond or social control theory. Instead of looking for factors that make people become criminal, these theories try to explain why people do not become criminal. Travis Hirschi identified four main characteristics: "attachment to others", "belief in moral validity of rules", "commitment to achievement" and "involvement in conventional activities". The more a person features those characteristics, the less the chances are that he or she becomes deviant (or criminal). On the other hand, if those factors are not present in a person, it is more likely that he or she might become criminal. Hirschi expanded on this theory, with the idea that a person with low self control is more likely to become criminal.

1.7.7 Labeling Theory
Labeling theory refers to an individual being labeled in a particular way and was studied in great detail by Howard Becker. It arrives originally from sociology but is regularly used in criminological studies. It is said that when someone is given the label of a criminal, they may reject it or accept it and go on to commit crime. Even those that initially reject the label can eventually accept it as the label becomes better known particularly amongst their peers. This can become even more profound when the labels are about deviancy and it is said they can lead to deviancy amplification. Klein (1986) conducted a test which showed that labeling theory affected some youth offenders but not others.
1.7.8 Rational Choice Theory
Rational choice theory is based on the utilitarian, classical school philosophies of Cesare Beccaria, which were popularized by Jeremy Bentham. They argued that punishment, if certain, swift, and proportionate to the crime, was a deterrent for crime, with risks outweighing possible benefits to the offender. In Dei delitti e delle pene (On Crimes and Punishments, 1763–1764), Beccaria advocated a rational penology. Beccaria conceived of punishment as the necessary application of the law for a crime: thus, the judge was simply to conform is sentence to the law. Beccaria also distinguished between crime and sin, and advocated against the death penalty, as well as torture and inhumane treatments, as he did not consider them as rational deterrents.

CHAPTER TWO
METHODOLOGY
2.0 Introduction The methodology that will be applied by the study has been chosen in order to acquire information and deduce conclusions about the relationship between the rising number of bars and level of crime in Shauri Moyo.
2.1 Data Collection
For the purpose of this research, and in order to achieve the objectives will be collected and will be used both primary and secondary data. The secondary data will contribute toward the formation of background information, needed by both the researcher in order to build constructively the project and the reader to comprehend more thoroughly the survey outcome.
Primary data will be collected in two ways. Firstly, a questionnaire survey will be conducted with tourists visiting the area. Secondly, interviews will be also carried out with providers of accommodation services and members of the local authority.
2.2 Sampling Design
Ideally one wants to study is the entire population. However, usually it is impossible or unfeasible to do this and therefore one must settle for a sample. According to Black and Champion (1976), sample is a portion of elements taken from a population, which is considered to be representative of the population.
In order to collect primary data the questionnaire survey technique will be used. For the purpose of this study random probability sampling is selected. As Rescoe (1975) cites in Sakaran (2000:296), “sample sizes larger than 30 and less than 500 are appropriate for most research”. Having in mind these limitations, the sample size that will be consisted of about 100 questionnaires, designed for the residents. Also interview survey technique will be used. The sample population for the interviews will include accommodation providers and local security agents.
2.2.1 The Questionnaire Survey
Cohen (1989) defines a questionnaire as a self-report instrument used for gathering information about variables of interest to an investigation.
For this study closed-ended questions were designed in order to call for responses, which narrow down the field of enquiry, since the respondents chooses among fixed responses. They also help the researcher to analyze easier the data since the responses can be directly compared and easily aggravated (Patton, 1990), they are versatile; surveys can be employed among people of all ages and they are replicated from one subject to another (Aaker & Day, 1990; Kotler, 1994) and many questions can be answered in a short time. It should also be noted that close-ended questions could lead to bias since respondents are offered limited alternative replies.
The questionnaire is consisted of three parts.
(Appendix 1.1)
The first part is designed to gather information about the resident’s behavior and attitudes as regards the current number of bars, the second part is designed to assess the crime level and its relationship with the bars, and the third part was asking for classified data.
2.2.2 The Interview Survey
The technique of personal interviewing is undertaken in order to reach the objectives since it is the most versatile and productive method of communication, enabled spontaneity, and also provided with:
“The skill of guiding the discussion back to the topic outlined when discussions are unfruitful while it has the disadvantages of being very costly time consuming and can introduce bias through desires of the respondent to please the interviewer” (Aaker & Day, 1990: 164). For the purpose of this project semi-structured face to face interviews will be contacted involving two interest groups: local security agents and bar proprietors. The choice will be based on researcher’s knowledge about different educational levels among interviewees, their different lifestyles and ages, which make imperative an adaption in questions so that they ensure the comprehension by the interviewee i.e., repeat, or rephrase the question.

CHAPTER THREE: REFERENCES
Bartol, C.R. Criminal Behavior (Prentice, 1990).
Dudley, William, ed. Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints (Greenhaven, 1989).
Liquor licensing Act Chapter 121 Laws of Kenya (revised 1986)
Forer, Lois. Criminals and Victims (Norton, 1984).
Alcoholic Drinks Control Act (NACADA ,2010 )

Wilson, Colin. A Criminal History of Mankind (Carroll & Graf, 1990).
Lombroso, C. (1968). Crime: Its Causes and Remedies. Montclair.
Fleisher, S. (1995) Beggars and Thieves: Lives of Urban Street Criminals.University of Wisconsin Press.
Renzetti, C. (2001). Women, Crime, and Criminal Justice,Los Angeles: Roxbury.

References: Bartol, C.R. Criminal Behavior (Prentice, 1990). Dudley, William, ed. Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints (Greenhaven, 1989). Liquor licensing Act Chapter 121 Laws of Kenya (revised 1986) Forer, Lois. Criminals and Victims (Norton, 1984). Alcoholic Drinks Control Act (NACADA ,2010 ) Wilson, Colin. A Criminal History of Mankind (Carroll & Graf, 1990). Lombroso, C. (1968).  Crime: Its Causes and Remedies. Montclair. Fleisher, S. (1995) Beggars and Thieves: Lives of Urban Street Criminals.University of Wisconsin Press. Renzetti, C. (2001). Women, Crime, and Criminal Justice,Los Angeles: Roxbury.