Although agriculture is the backbone of Kenya's economy, the industry is faced with rapid social, cultural, economic, and technological changes that have significantly increased crime levels in rural areas. In particular, communal, social, and individual controls are diminishing, and the result is an increase of criminal activities against agricultural operations. The aim of the study was to assess factors associated with levels of agricultural theft and vandalism in Kenya, based on the perceptions of farmers themselves. The research was carried out in the Soy division of Uasin Gishu County. A multistage sampling approach, which incorporates purposive, random, and systematic techniques, was used to select respondents within the case study locations. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of 200 farmers. Key informant interviews and informal discussions were conducted with local administration officers, namely, village elders, sub chiefs and chiefs, to supplement information derived from the survey. The study used routine activity theory to explain how perceived changes in communities where the farmers lived have created opportunities for the commission of crime. Based on the findings, the study recommends programs which create employment opportunities for both youth and disadvantaged persons in rural Kenya.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the changing practices of cattle rustling in Kenya from a relatively small isolated and opportunistic activity to a much more planned and systematic entrepreneurial business involving collusion and corruption. Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides a conceptual approach using key literature and documentary evidence to show how, in the northern part of Kenya, cattle rustling is common occurrence with criminals taking advantage of remote rural environments with minimal surveillance and consequently less opportunity of being stopped and searched by police. Findings – Results evidence significant differences in how rustling is perceived and valorized. Rustling in Kenya is now an entrepreneurial crime with the involvement of rural organized criminal gangs (ROCGs), who are operating in food supply chains throughout Kenya and the African continent. Practical/implications – This paper suggests that a more nuanced understanding of the entrepreneurial nature of some illegal practices in a rural Kenya is necessary and how it requires multi-agency investigation. Originality/value – The paper is unique in that it considers how cattle rustling is becoming a more entrepreneurial crime than previously. Little prior work on this subject exists in Kenya. The paper utilizes the framework of Smith and McElwee (2013) on illegal enterprise to frame cattle rustling as an entrepreneurial crime.

Farmers globally and Kenyan farmers in particular are facing a number of challenges stemming from continuous change in the social-cultural, economic, and ecological context of farming and a concomitant rise in crimes against farms. While research has been carried out on the theft of cattle and crops, much of it has concentrated on the nature, cause and extent of farm crime, crime prevention, and reporting behaviours, and comparatively little has focussed on applying criminological theory to the situation in Kenya or any other region of the world. Thus, this paper uses Routine Activity Theory to explain what makes certain farms, farmers, and farm property more likely to be victimised. In general, we find support for the basic tenets of the theory as a way to contextualise our understanding of farm crime in the various agricultural regions of Kenya, and suggest that it can be employed for framing farm crime within the diverse geographies and societies of the world today. Indeed, the rapidly changing social-economic environment of agriculture has generated an increase in opportunistic offenders, and the shattering of traditional natural and informal controls that prevented most farm crimes in the past. Both changes create increased visibility and accessibility to valuable and high demand farm properties.

Crime rates in rural Kenya continue to increase, with a majority of farms experiencing more and more crime. These experiences have prompted rural farmers to opt for tactics that have the potential to minimize their own risk to victimisation, but which do not address the economic and social structural causes of crime in Kenya. This article reports on the findings of a study conducted on the adoption of farm crime prevention measures and their relationship to past victimisation experiences. Data for this study came from a survey of 200 farmers who were randomly selected in Uasin Gishu County of Kenya. The study was guided by routine activities theory, dividing crime prevention actions possibly adopted by farmers into two types: guardianship and target-hardening. The general finding is that the guardianship actions were utilized more often to reduce risk of victimisation than targethardening measures.

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