Stealing Cases Lead as Crime Rate Increases By 1.3 Percent

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics has reported an increase in a number of crimes by 1.3percent from 76,986 in 2016 to 77,992 in 2017.

Crimes reported to the police include offenses against persons: assault, creating disturbance and affray collectively accounted for 28.9 percent of all the reported cases.

Stealing accounted for 14.9 percent of all reported cases in 2017 as other offences against persons increased by 1.0 percent accounting for 28.9 percent for all crimes reported to police.

Reported cases of stealing increased by 12.5 percent to 11,656, accounting for 14.9 percent of all reported cases of crimes.

Moral offences and those involving dangerous drugs decreased by 11.8 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively.

In 2017, cases related to dangerous drugs and offences against morality accounted for 7.1 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively.

Robbery, breakings, theft of stock, theft by a servant, theft of vehicles increased in a worrying trend which could largely be attributed to the high cost of living yet the rate of unemployment remains very high.

The increased economic cases are neither salvaging the economy as the rate of reported corruption cases as recorded by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) raising eyebrows given the many cases that are awash in the media. Has corruption reduced in Kenya, or have the corrupt changed their tactics?

Offences involving police officers have however increased which is rather unfortunate as the security force struggles to cleanse their image and get the public’s trust. A number of rogue officers keep tainting the sector’s image.

In 2017, 9.7 percent of all reported crimes were in Nairobi city-county command station.

During the review period, 30 command stations recorded a decline in all crimes reported to the Police. Kakamega county command station recorded the highest decline of crimes reported of

33.5 percent from 2,382 in 2016 to 1,584 in 2017.