Nairobi tops in crime rate as robberies most prevalent vice pollster

Robbery is the most common type of crime in many parts of the country according to data from IPSOS public affairs.

Nairobi tops the list of regions with a high rate of robberies at 61 percent followed by Central and Eastern at 53 and 51 percent respectively.

However in Coast, Western, North Eastern, Nyanza and Rift Valley robberies were less prevalent at below 50 percent.

Nyanza has the highest number of reported burglary cases at 25 percent followed by Western and Nairobi at 24 and 23 percent respectively while the same is lowest in North Eastern at a mere 1 percent.

In the survey conducted on January 26 where 2,057 people were interviewed, other highly rated criminal activities include break-ins or burglaries, illegal brewing and domestic violence.

Illegal brewing and sales is high in eastern and Rift Valley regions while North Eastern has the highest number of cases of domestic violence at 19 percent followed by Nyanza at 8 percent.

Other criminal activities quoted in the survey include mistreatment of children as well as gender and sexual abuse both of which are common in the North Eastern region.

Cattle rustling, murder, carjacking and poaching are among other forms of crime reported in various parts of the county but whose occurrence is below five percent countrywide.

In a 2015 crime watch report, the national police service cited terrorism, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, inequity in resources, drug and substance abuse, sophistication of technology and politically driven ethnic rivalry as among the factors that fuel criminal activities.

The poll further indicated that Kenyans are evenly divided on whether Kenya Defense Force soldiers should remain deployed in Somalia or be withdrawn.

In the survey, 49 percent of Kenyans support continued deployment of KDF troops in Somalia with a similar percentage opposed.

Nearly two-thirds of those polled consider Al Shabaab threats to be at the highest level at 62% with the perception highest in Western and lowest in North Eastern and Central.

This is despite no major al-Shabaab attack being reported recently after the bloody Westgate mall attack in September 2013 and Garissa University College of April 2015.

North Eastern and Central recorded the highest levels of support for continued KDF deployment in Somalia with Western and Nyanza having the least support for the continued stay.

Three-quarters of Kenyans however support repatriation of refugees from the country’s camps, with the highest number coming from Central, Eastern and Rift Valley and lows in Nyanza and North Eastern.