Nearly half of Kenyans were victims of crime in past year, report shows

At least one in two Kenyans was a victim of crime in the past year, according to the latest report by the National Crime Research Centre (NCRC).

The report shows housebreaking and general theft accounted for more than half of all the criminal incidents reported in the country in the past 12 months.

The research centre found that 50.7 per cent of Kenyans were victims of crime in 2023. Burglary was the most common type of crime at 28.5 percent, followed by general theft at 26.6 percent.

Cattle theft accounted for a fifth of all crimes at 20.7 percent, theft from people (16.6 person), theft from buildings (12.8 percent), robbery with violence (9.8 percent) and theft of agricultural produce (4.3 percent), among other cases.

Women continue to be the most vulnerable targets for criminals with 77.4 percent falling victim of crime compared to men at 57.3 percent. At least 36 percent of young people were attacked by criminals, elderly people (26.5 percent) and children (20 percent).

Thirty-two percent of the people who made reports said that there was no particular time of day when the crime occurred, 22.6 percent said that its happened between 7pm and 11.59pm.

Another 21 percent said the crimes occurred between 1am and 3:59am and others, 9.6 percent, said that 12am - 12.59am was very dangerous for their safety.

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For most victims of crime, weekends remain the most dangerous days with 16.2 percent of Kenyans reporting that they experienced more crime on Saturday. This is followed by Sunday at 9.5 percent and Friday with 8.4 per cent.

Many Kenyans reported that December is usually the most unsafe month, accounting for 48.1 percent of crimes.

Some 7.4 percent Kenyans said they felt safe during the festive seasons; 36.4 percent said they experienced crime during the rainy season and 24 percent during the dry season.

The study also found that economic status, at 78.5 percent, topped the list of factors that made Kenyans susceptible to crime, followed by gender (49.4), age (41.6), lifestyle (36.8), social background (17.3), literacy and marital status at 6.2 percent.

It was also found that unemployment (81 per cent) and the availability of alcohol, illegal drugs and substance abuse (69.9) were the main factors contributing to criminal activities.

Read: How Kisauni became a paradise for criminal gangs

Other factors are; idleness (63.5 per cent), poverty (52), weak law enforcement (32), peer pressure (32.5), corruption in the criminal justice system (22.3), illiteracy (20.2), environmental factors such as lack of street lighting and overgrown agricultural plantations (20.1), gender vulnerability factors (16.9), ignorance of the law (12.8) and local communities harbouring criminals (9.5 per cent).

Out of all the victims of crime last year, only 63.6 percent made a report to the authorities, while the rest did not.

The National Police Service, at 92.3 per cent, was found to be the most preferred institution for Kenyans to report crime, followed by the national government administrative offices (72.8), Nyumba Kumi and community elders (43.5), family (11.6), hospitals (5.6) and religious institutions (6 percent).

Most victims (41.5 percent), cited corruption in law enforcement as the main reason for not making a report, followed by challenges related to evidence and the threshold of proof.

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