Determinants Of Juvenile Involvement In Criminal Behaviour In Taita-Taveta County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Crime is a major concern to every nation, more so, the involvement of minors in criminal activities. In Kenya there is a high rate of children involvement in criminal activities indicated by the high number of minors arrested or sentenced of criminal charges. Of specific concern is Taita-Taveta County where minors have joined terrorism activities and involved in robbery in inter-clan wars. Considering the effects of children involvement in criminal activities, there is need to identify the social and environmental factors that contribute to minors‘ involvement in criminal activities and seek ways to address them. This study therefore sought to determine the factors that promote juveniles involvement in criminal activities in Taita-Taveta County to fill in the gap of knowledge and assist in developing strategies to curb the scourge. Specifically the study sought to: determine the factors that promote juveniles involvement in criminal behavior in Taita-Taveta County, find out the level of juvenile involvement in criminal behaviors in Taita-Taveta County, and investigate the impact of juveniles‘ involvement in criminal behaviors in Taita-Taveta County. A crosssectional descriptive research design was used in this study to assess the determinants of juvenile involvement in criminal activities in Taita-Taveta County. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select the sample. The study targeted a sample size of 50 respondents including police officers, local administration members such as chiefs and members of local organizations supporting the rights of children. Twenty respondents were intervened including nine selected juvenile in the correction centers. Data collection instruments included questionnaires and interview guides. Both quantitative and qualitative data was analyzed and results were then presented in tables and graphs with emphasis on graph analysis. The results revealed that the main causes of juveniles involvement in criminal behaviors include; the quality of parenting; lack of adequate supervision; rejection by the mother/father, lack of parents involvement with the child, maltreatment of children including neglect and abuse and youth homelessness; rebellion against parental authority, income inequality and poverty. The findings of this study showed that there was increase in theft and robbery among the juveniles. Crime among the juveniles was reported as a social problem that affects the lives of people, lowers their dignity, and affects people psychologically, physically, emotionally, economically and socially, thus affecting community development. The proposed strategies to curb juveniles involvement in criminal behaviors included; constant presence of police in the neighborhoods and the establishment of more police stations in juveniles prone areas; preventing the free usage of small arms/weapons by members of the community and creation of training/job opportunities for idle youngsters to prevent them from engaging in crime and violence. Improve the image of the police and establishment of community policing forums. The parents must also take responsibility over their children up to the time when they would be in the position to stand on their own. Finally, Kenyan government deserves every support from local and international organizations as well as individuals to sustain the constitutional free basic education, and ensure its quality