Exploring the Socio-Economic and Demographic Factors that Influence Crime Rate in Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria continues to struggle with pervasive poverty despite having plenty of people and material resources and a number of efforts targeted at tackling the causes of poverty in the country. The exponential rise in annual unemployment rates may be related to the rising number of graduates from various educational schools. Furthermore, the standard of living is alarmingly dropping till it is nearly nonexistent, which has caused a rise in adolescent criminal activity. In light of the aforementioned assertion, the goal of this study is to investigate the socioeconomic and demographic variables that affect the crime rate in the north-central region of Nigeria. In order to gather the data for this study, both primary and secondary sources were used. The strain theory was applied, and data were acquired by using a questionnaire in a survey design. The sample size was determined by using purposive and random sampling approaches, which resulted in the selection of 1400 respondents. The study suggests that the government, through its security agencies, should delve deeper into the effects of increasing unemployment on the crime rate and how it impacts the level of business activities in the region.