Influence of Victim-Offender Relationship on Reporting of Property Crime to the Police by Victims in Gilgil Ward, Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

The security and economic expansion of countries are seriously threatened by property crime. It is occasionally linked to victims' hesitation to file a police report. In Gilgil Ward, property offenses are the most common kind of crime. Property crimes, however, make up a relatively tiny portion of reported offenses. Why victims don't report property crimes is a mystery. As a result, the study established the impact of the victim-offender relationship on property crime reporting to the police in Gilgil Ward. The research study's methodology was mixed-methods. The study's research instruments included questionnaires and interview schedules. The intended audience consisted of victims of property crimes who had reported their crimes to the police. For the research investigation, 96 people were the sample size. Respondents were chosen using stratified random selection, purposive sampling, and snowballing sampling. For quantitative data, descriptive analysis was used; for qualitative data, theme analysis was used. The study found that the type of property crime investigated was affected by the victim-offender relationship differently in terms of reporting property crimes. The majority of respondents reported being "to a small extent" impacted by the victim-offender relationship in robbery and theft offenses. Besides, the majority of the respondents claimed that the victim-offender relationship had no bearing on whether they reported a house-breaking or burglary. This study recommends educating Gilgil Ward inhabitants on the need of reporting property crimes to the police to foster successful policing.