| dc.description.abstract | The relationship between Insecurity and Development in Kenya is still a highly under
explored area of research, indeed a scantily explored phenomenon as evidenced by
scarcity of literature in this area of study. In Kenya's policy documents, for instance,
National Development Plans (NDPs), insecurity and Development is accorded a scanty
coverage despite its severity on the ground (GoK, NDP, 2002-2008, pp 105).
This study set out to explore the economic and social costs of insecurity due to violent
crime, as well as costs of the resultant perceptions and the fear of insecurity. It mainly
focused on businesses within Nairobi's Central Business District. The main objective of
this study was to: examine the economic and social costs of Insecurity. The study's
specific objectives were to: Establish whether costs of crime differed by business location
and type of merchandise; and find out reasons for police inefficacy to contain crime in
the Nairobi Central Business District area. This study attempted to answer the following
principal questions: What are the economic and social costs of insecurity on businesses
within Nairobi's CBD; second, do the costs differ by business location, third, do the costs
of crime differ by type of merchandise, and finally, what explains the apparent inability
of state police to contain crime within the Central Business District of Nairobi.
A sample of eighty businesses was studied to approximate basic losses in money and property. The sample was obtained from specific business categories; banks, electronics,
motor vehicle spare part dealers, and textiles.
Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources utilized
included Key informant interviews and questionnaire interviews. On the other hand,
secondary sources involved a review of the relevant literature in the area of study and
case studies of crime records.
One of the research findings showed that the costs of crime on businesses within NCBD
were generally high especially due to expenses on risk improvement/preventive devices
and money, property and lives lost as a result of.victimization. A Majority of businesses in the CBD had incurred economic and social costs of violent crime. Business sectors that
reported the highest incidents of violent,crime were Banks, Motor vehicle spare part
dealers and Electronics. Textile shops were the least victimized by violent crime. Another
finding was that inefficacy of state police was partly due to institutional weaknesses,
which hampered optimal functioning of the state agencies.
The study recommends that security practice in the Nairobi Central Business District
should be customized and made flexible as well as reflexive of the various security needs
of the CBD as dictated by type of merchandise and the location attributes of businesses.
Further recommendation is that security policy and practice be widely publicized by
media reporting, taking on features of development communication as well as adopting
securology and securotechnology. | en |
