The Dynamics of street Robbery in urban areas: a case study of Nairobi Central Business District, Nairobi City

Abstract

Street robbery is one of the most common crimes in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) and adjacent areas. It has continued to permeate the county despite concerted efforts made by the people, county and national government to combat it. This research project aimed at examining the dynamics of street robberies in urban areas with a case study of Nairobi CBD. The objectives of the study were: To describe the characteristics of street robberies in Nairobi City CBD, to identify timings and hotspots of street robberies in Nairobi City CBD, to analyse perceived causes of street robberies in Nairobi City CBD, and to examine existing strategies to address street robberies in Nairobi City CBD and their effectiveness. The study was guided by three theories namely strain theory, social disorganization theory and routine activity theory. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Quantitative data and qualitative data were collected using questionnaires and key informant interview guides respectively. Simple random sampling, stratified sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to select respondents for the study. The sample of the study comprised of 94 persons who had been victims of street robbery (25 males and 69 females) according to police records. Key informants were police officers, Nairobi city county officials and National Crime Research Centre officials. Qualitative data were manually analyzed while quantitative data were analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) and the information presented in frequency tables and percentages. The study found out that perpetrators of street robberies were mainly young and middle aged persons of both gender, though males dominated the field of street robberies as compared to females. Crude weapons mostly knives and firearms were used by the robbers in order to intimidate, subdue and overpower their victims before robbing them. It was perceived that unemployment and poverty especially among the youths, inadequate CCTV coverage and street lights, poor urban planning, inadequate police visibility, street families, corruption among security officers, and proliferation of illegal small arms and crude weapons were among the factors causing street robberies in Nairobi CBD. The study established that the government had put up measures and strategies to address street robberies but majority asserted that the strategies were not effective enough. In order to address the problem of street robbery, there was need to; strengthen Community Policing initiatives, rehabilitation programmes for the street children, decongest the CBD, create more employment opportunities especially among the youths, increase police visibility both day and night and curb the problem of corruption among security officers. The study concluded that it is the primary responsibility of the government to ensure safety of its people. Therefore, it should endeavor to promote involvement of the community and other stakeholders in fighting crime in order to achieve long term proactive solutions to street robberies and other crimes in the CBD through information sharing between law enforcement agencies and the public