Juvenile Delinquency and Crime Nairobi Slum Areas, Kenya

John Ndikaru Wa Teresia

doi:10.37284/eajass.4.1.449

John Ndikaru Wa Teresia

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.37284/eajass.4.1.449

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Abstract

Juvenile delinquency has become an urgent concern for sociologists across the globe because it is a significant predictor of a possible increase in criminal activity among our growing population. A juvenile is a person who is under the age of ordinary criminal prosecution, which is normally 17 years. The increase in the incidence of juvenile delinquency implies that if measures are not taken in place, there are possibilities of the situation running out of hand. Juvenile delinquency can be considered as social maladjustment on the part of individuals to some difficult circumstances or conditions. The descriptive research design was adopted for this study since the researcher was interested in describing the salient traits of young offenders in the slum areas in Nairobi County and more specifically the predictors of their criminal behaviour and its effects. A sample of 200 respondents aged 18-45 years was generated using simple random sampling. A questionnaire was distributed amongst the respondents. Some questionnaires were distributed virtually using the Survey Monkey platform, which enabled the respondents to access and respond to the questions using their smartphones. The descriptive statistical analysis method was used to analyse the data, which was subsequently presented in table format.

Highlights

The rapid population growth in Kenya in the recent past has resulted in the increased marginalisation of the youth in social and economic development
The study findings concluded that juvenile delinquency and cases of youth unrest were quite rampant in the slums of Nairobi leading to a multiplicity of criminal activities, among them indulgence in illicit brews, assault, burglary, a spate of robberies sometimes laced with violence, pickpocketing cases, muggings, rapes, and even murders
A major conclusion of the study was the myriad contingent of problems facing slum residents and slum youth in particular amongst others, the vicious cycle of poverty levels, the conundrum of poor education facilities, health services, unsanitary living environment, and the general morass of hopelessness in the slums of Nairobi which does not give the slum youth any escape to a better life

Summary

Introduction

The rapid population growth in Kenya in the recent past has resulted in the increased marginalisation of the youth in social and economic development. About 80% of the population of Kenya comprises people who are aged below 35 years. This has resulted in a corresponding increase in the number of youths who are being convicted by the criminal justice system (Omboto et al, 2013). Despite being the majority, the youth are largely relegated to the periphery of the public sphere when it comes to addressing the various social and economic issues that affect them (Mwanjala, 2015). A combination of these factors makes the juveniles and youth increasingly vulnerable to crime and criminal activities (Thuku, 2017)

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