Crime victimization among students at Njoro campus, Egerton University, Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Crime and violence are increasingly becoming recognized as a problem in Kenyan Universities and something needs to be done about it. Personal and Property crimes committed against University students at Njoro Campus are widespread, serious and hampering their ability to learn as well as individual wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to investigate crime victimization among University students at Egerton University, Njoro Campus, Nakuru County. The study objectives were determination of the prevalence of crime victimization, fear of crime victimization, perception of security services and levels of reporting crime incidents amongst students in Njoro Campus. The study incorporated Hindelang, Gottfredson, and Garafalo Lifestyle-Exposure Theory and Felson and Cohen‘s Routine Activity Theory. Descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The target population was 14,284 students studying in Njoro campus. Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample of 373 students. In addition, Purposive sampling was used to select 14 members of staff comprising of four Deans, two Directors, four administrators and four student counsellors who took part in the study. Data was collected using questionnaires for students and interview schedule for staff. Content validity of the instruments was verified by the supervisors and other experts in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Egerton University. The instruments were piloted in Njoro campus and yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.811 which was found suitable for the study since it was higher than the acceptable reliability of at least α ≥ 0.70. The data was analysed using frequency distributions. The study found that the most prevalent crimes among University students at Njoro campus were theft and burglary at (54.5%) and (44.5%) respectively. The least common crime was mugging (4.5%) due to the fact that most open spaces at the University are highly populated. It also found that students‘ routine activities influence their fear of crime on campus for example; female respondents felt generally safe on campus during the day but did not feel safe at night. On the other hand, male respondents felt safe on campus both during day and night. The survey results suggest that reporting of crime is worryingly low amongst Njoro campus students. The study therefore recommends the installation of closed-circuit television cameras to increase surveillance and fencing off students‘ hostels to facilitate access control. It also recommends raising awareness among students about the risks of crime victimization in campus and precautionary procedures to protect themselves and their property. Finally, the study recommends that the institution management and student union work together with the campus security and police to encourage students to report crimes committed against them.