Crime Rate in Kenya Increased by 13.2% in 2018

The crime rate in Kenya was reported to have grown by 13.2 percent in the year 2018, where the total number of crimes reported to the police increased from 77,992 in 2017 to 88,268 in 2018 according to the Economic Survey 2019.

Nairobi City police command station registered the highest share of all crimes reported in Kenya with a share of 8.1 percent (7,128 crimes reported) followed by Kiambu and Meru police command stations at 7.9 percent (6,932) and 6.4 percent (5,689), respectively, in the same period under review.

Wajir police command station recorded the highest percentage increase in crimes reported to police of 56.2 percent in 2018, with a total of 664 crimes compared to only 425 crimes reported in 2017.

Other command stations that recorded high increases in reported crimes were Kilifi, Bomet, and Isiolo, which registered 49.2, 40.6 and 39.4 percent, respectively.

Crimes reported to the police involving dangerous drugs increased by 44.1 percent which accounted for 9.1 percent of all crimes reported.

Firearms and Ammunition Recovered or Surrendered, and Drugs Seized

There was a 9.3 percent decline in the total number of firearms recovered, with the police only recovering a total of 166 firearms in 2018 as compared to 183 firearms recovered in 2017.

Police recovered 1,314 rounds of ammunition in 2018 down from 2,653 recovered in 2017 while 19 firearms were willingly surrendered to the police in 2018.

There was a 25.4 percent decrease in the total quantity of drugs seized to 3,365 kilograms in 2018.

Read Also: Crime Increased By 7 Percent in First Quarter of 2018 – National Police

Persons Reported to the Police to have Committed Crimes by sex

There was a 5.1 percent increase in the total number of persons reported to the police as having committed criminal offenses from 71,421 in 2017 to 75,037 in 2018.

Overall, male offenders had the largest share of criminal offenders with a 79.8 percent share while female offenders rose by 9.8 percent to 15,221 in 2018 from 13,857 in 2017.

Kiambu police command station had the highest number of persons reported to have committed crime accounting for 8.4 percent of total crimes reported followed by Nairobi and Meru, which accounted for 8.3 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively, in 2018.

The highest increase in the number of persons reported to have committed crime was recorded in Kakamega police command station with the number rising from 780 persons in 2017 to 3,727 persons in 2018.

Read Also: Stealing Cases Lead as Crime Rate Increases By 1.3 Percent

Crimes by Type of Offence

The Kenya National Bureau of Standards (KNBS) notes that there were notable increases in reported cases of traffic offenses, crimes involving tourists and those involving police officers.

The number of persons reported to the police as having committed crimes against morality increased by 22.1 percent from 5,142 in 2017 to 6,277 in 2018.

Defilement, which accounted for 75.9 percent of all crimes against morality increased by 36.7 percent from 3,487 in 2017 to 4,767 in 2018.

In the same period, those reported to have committed rape increased by 17.5 percent from 784 to 921. Persons reported having committed assault increased by 18.2 percent to 16,088 in 2018, with males accounting for 70.4 percent of the total cases of assault.

The total number of persons reported to have committed homicides declined by 21.1 percent in 2018, where murder accounted for the highest share of homicides at 74.3 percent.

The number of persons reported having committed murder decreased by 8.6 percent from 1,435 persons reported in 2017 to 1,312 persons in 2018.

Persons reported having caused death by dangerous driving decreased by 29.2 percent over the same period.

The total number of persons reported to have committed robbery, breakings and theft declined by 4.6 percent from 24,551 in 2017 to 23,412 in 2018. Under this category, persons reported having committed robberies and theft of stock increased by 6.6 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, while the rest recorded declines.