A Critical Assessment of The Rising Wave of Criminal Activity and Perceptions of Social Work Roles Among Nigerian Youth

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Aim: Crime is an ongoing phenomenon since the existence of human beings and can be seen in every society. When left unchecked, it becomes worrisome and creates fear in people's minds and causes untold suffering. Especially in developing countries, crime is present in every society, regardless of its level of development, which even hinders the socio-economic development of countries. This study aims to focus on the recently increasing crime rates in Nigeria, especially among the youth, to reveal the possible causes of this alarming trend, to point out the impact on Nigerian society and the pursuit of socio-economic development when left unchecked, and then to propose solutions to this anomaly.. Methodology: This study reads both social learning theory and cultural crime theory as a theoretical guide for the reader. A generative questionnaire design was used. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis were used to address the relationship between youth and crime in Nigeria. The Nigerian who manages to run this wins. The recruitment was from one thousand eight hundred (1800) youth selected from six (6) geopolitical regions in nigeria, selected through a multifaceted recruitment technique that included purposeful, stratified and quota exploitation methods. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis and direct citations, while quantitative components were analyzed using microorganisms and inferential statistics. Results: The gender of participants was found that 66.7% were male and 33.3% were female. Also 20% of the responders are unemployed or graduates. The questions were asked on reasons for the rising numbers of crimes committed by youths, indicate to the not enough policies of the federal to ameliorate this, youth unemployment and ways this menace can be tackled. Conclusion: These results showed It discovered that unemployment and lack of meaningful empowerment by government, among others, are responsible for high crime rates among youths. It recommends urgent efforts on the part of government to gainfully engage unemployed youths for decent means of livelihood while pointing mostly commensurate penalties and proper rehabilitation/mentorship to perpetrators of crimes to serve as deterrent to others.