Digital Mapping of Crime Statistics in Minna

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DIGITAL MAPPING OF CRIME STATISTICS IN MINNA, NIGER STATE

A.M. JINADUWole MORENIKEJI

Y. A. SANUSIJ.J. DUKIYA

G.S. OWOYELEFederal University of Technology, Minna

1.0 Background to the Study

1.1 Introduction

The problem of crime and violence in cities are serious challenges in all part of the world. Crime

and violence are fundamental threats to human security and safety from crime is increasingly

acknowledged internationally as a public good, as well as basic human right (UN- Habitat,

2007). Over the years, urban centers have witnessed a high and increasing rate of crime and

violence in both small and large settlements. Global statistics derived from surveys carried out

by the United Nations indicate that crime increased steadily in the 1980-2000 period, rising from

2,300 to over 3000 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants (about 30% increase).

There is no country and\or settlement in the world that is free of crime. Many urban residents in

the developed countries of North America and Europe as well as their counterparts in the

developing countries of Asia, Latin America and Africa have experienced one form of crime or

the other. The 2007 global report on human settlements confirms that over 60% of urban

residents worldwide have been victims of crime, with 70% living in Latin America and Africa.

Although crime is not a respecter of country or space, higher incidence of crime has been

associated with the developing countries of the world. According to Reza et al. (2001), the

highest rates of crime are fund in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin

America and the Caribbean. These areas are acknowledged to have many crime risk factors such

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as high rate of urbanization, poverty, young and unemployed population, which promote the

incidence of violent crime. Thus, the WHO (2004) estimated that 90% of violence related deaths

in year 2000 occurred in low and middle income with violent deaths rates of 32.1% per 100,000

people.

In line with the global trend, crime and violence are assuming a significant proportion in all

urban centers in Nigeria. The statistics of reported crime nationwide show an increase from

251,055 cases in 1991 to 319,616 in 1993, while the number of serious crime reported rose from

120,911 in 1995 to 124,505 in 1997 (FOS, 1998, as cited in Agbola, 2006). Amongst others,

capital cities and big settlements such as Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Kaduna, Abuja,

Minna, Kano, Jos, Maiduguri, to mention a few, have witnessed and are still experiencing

sophisticated crimes of wide dimensions. Violent crime in these and many other settlements,

have graduated from the common offences (such as robbery, carjacking, rape, murder, assaults,

battery, arson, kidnapping, etc.) to sophisticated crimes of mass homicide through suicide attacks

and bombings activities. According to Agbola (2006), the incident of violence in Nigerian is not

only becoming more frequent, but that the nature of crimes is getting more heinous. This is

attested to by the recent rise in the frequency of high profile criminal activities and the emerging

menace of the Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in Nigeria.

The security of lives and properties in human settlements is of great importance to the socio-

economic, health and the general wellbeing of people in any nation. There is no doubt that

insecurity in towns and cities is a major challenge to the Nigerian Government and her security

operatives. The emerging dimensions and complexities of crime require serious and proactive

programmes of crime management and control. Such management measures will require

adequate information and knowledge on the spatial pattern of crime incidence in all settlements

to ensure effective monitoring and control. Hence, the main focus of this research is to examine

the nature and spatial pattern of criminal activities in Minna with a view to identifying the hot

spots and problem areas requiring police attention.

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1.2 Research Aim and Objectives

The project aims at examining the nature and spatial pattern of criminal activities with a view to

producing a crime map of Minna using the Geographical Information System (GIS).

The objectives are to:

i. Collect and collate crime data for Minna from the year 2000 to 2010.

ii. Identify the main types of crime committed by location in the area.

iii. Examine the age and gender characteristics of culprits.

iv. Digitize the township map and develop a crime data base of Minna.

v. Map the pattern of crime in the study area.

1.3 Significance of Research

Knowledge about the incidence of crime is of great importance in view of the increasing criminal

activities that threaten human safety and the sustainability of urban centers in Nigeria. The

government, police and other security agencies in the country need to understand the crime

pattern of their areas of jurisdiction in order to development strategies and programmes for crime

prevention and control. Also, the urban dwellers need adequate knowledge on criminal activities

in their neighbourhood in order to adopt safety and management measures such as the vigilante

or community policing.

This study will pinpoint predominant crime problems in Minna and delineate the pattern of crime

for the purpose of targeted prevention programme. The results of the research will provide useful

information for assisting in the design of crime prevention programmes. Thus, the research

output will go a long way in promoting the e-policing programme of the Federal Government of

Nigeria.

1.4 Research Setting and Scope

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The study is focused on Minna, the administrative capital of Niger State. Minna is situated

within latitudes 9033’ north and longitude 6033’ east of the Greenwish Meridian. With the

construction of railway line from Baro through Minna in 1911, the town grew steadily from an

initial small Gbagyi (Gwari) village to a medium-sized city in the 21st Century with

cosmopolitan outlook.

Minna became the administrative headquarters of Niger State in 1976. With the new status and

continuous migration of people and businesses into the capital town, it has grown from its initial

small population of 12,810 in 1953 to 189,200 in 1991, and to 209,951 in year 2006 (National

Population Commission, 2006).

The movement of the Federal capital of Nigeria to Abuja further influenced the growth of Minna

and the heterogeneity of its population. The population growth experienced over the years is

matched with physical expansion of the town and Minna is gradually assuming the status of a big

city with high potentials of urban security problem The spatial coverage of Minna now covers

areas from River Chanchaga to the south-east, Upper River Basin Development Authority

Headquarters to the north and Maitumbi to the east and can be classified into 26 neigbourhoods

including a Military Barrack area (Figure 1).

1.4.1 Neighbourhood Characteristics and Crime Prevalence

The socio-economic and environmental characteristics of the neighbourhoods in Minna are

important for the understanding of crime occurrence and spatial pattern. Studies have shown that

many residents of the neighbourhoods have low socio-economic status and live in low quality

environment ( see Baba, Morenikeji and Odafen (2001); Sanusi, 2006; Baba and Jinadu, 2008

and Sanusi, 2008) . For example, poverty level in most of the neighbourhoods is above 30

percent. Sanusi (2006) observed that only three of the 26 neighbourhoods, (GRA, F-Layout and

Tunga Low Cost) have poverty level of less than 30 percent while for others, poverty level vary

between 30 percent and even 100 percent. Similarly, only F-Layout and Tunga Low Cost

demonstrated a marginal medium human development by having human development index of

slightly above 0.500 (0.507 and 0.509 for F-Layout and Tunga Low Cos respectively).

In the same manner, findings on household based deprivation show that most of the

neighbourhoods are deprived in terms of housing facilities, housing adequacy, housing space and

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solid waste management (Sanusi, 2008). In the overall, only Bosso Estate, GRA and F-Layout

are classified as having good environment with environmental development index (EDI) of

between 0.800 and 1.00. Ten other neighbourhoods are seen to be seriously deprived (poor

quality neighbourhoods) while 12 are deprived (medium quality neighbourhoods), and only three

are good. These prevailing conditions show the level of vulnerability of the neighbourhoods to

criminal activities in its entire ramification and degrees.

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Figure 1: Neighbourhood\Ward Map of Minna

Source: Urban and Regional Planning Department, FUT, Minna2012

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2.0 Conceptual Issues and Literature Review

2.1 The concept of Crime and Urban Violence

(i). Crime

The idea of what constitutes crime varies widely, depending on differences in human societies or

the peculiarity of their legal systems. However, the definition or conception of crime centers on

committing offences against the citizens of a country or its sets of rule and regulations. Hence, in

modern societies, crimes are generally regarded as offences against the public or the State.

A crime is defined as an antisocial act that violates a law and for which punishment can be

imposed (UN-Habitat, 2007). According to the Wikipedia encyclopedia (2012), crime is the

breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority (via mechanisms such as legal

systems) can ultimately prescribe a conviction. A crime is “an act committed or omitted in

violation of a law forbidding or commanding it and for which punishment is imposed upon

conviction.” It is an unlawful activity or serious offense, especially one in violation of morality

(Thesaurus Dictionary, 2012) or a wrongdoing classified by the State or Congress as a felony or

misdemeanor or an offence against a public law (The Lectric Law Library, 2012). Generally,

crimes are defined and punished by statutes of a country and the punishment is usually in form of

a fine and/or imprisonment.

(ii) Urban Violence

The WHO (2002) defines violence as ‘the intentional use of physical force, threatened or actual,

against oneself, another person or against a group or community that either results in or has a

high likelihood of ….. injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation’. The

Thesaurus Dictionary (2012) also defines violence as a rough or injurious physical force, action

or treatment as well as an unjust or unwarranted exertion of force or power as against rights of

laws.

Basically, the conception of violence centers on the use of physical force exerted for the purpose

of violating, damaging, or abusing people and which causes harm or injury to people. Thus,

whether physical, verbal, sexual, or psychological, whether inflicted by individuals, groups,

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institutions, or nations, violence threatens the body in numerous and complex ways

(answers.com. 2012)

There are different levels of violence. At the micro level, it is known as ‘personal violence’,

which is an act of aggression or force performed by individuals and directed at inanimate objects,

animals, one's self, or other bodies. Violence at a Macro level, it is termed ‘collective violence’

and this occurs when individuals engage in violent activities at a group or institutional level.

Crime and violence are related issues as the two go together in most cases. In most cases,

violence is used as a feature to distinguish types of crime. However, while certain violence may

not be considered as crime, some crimes are associated with violence. For instance, murder,

armed robbery, sexual assaults, battery are crimes that often go with violence.

2.2 Typology of Crime

The nature of crime in human societies are quite diverse and many. Attempts to characterize and

group the different types of crimes common in all human societies have yielded a diverse

typology of crime, ranging from the specifics to general categories. Specific crime are

characterized or named depending on the nature of the offense. For example, an offence that

involves taking another person's property may be considered a theft crime, that of a sexual nature

or which involves a sexually deviant act may be considered a sex crime (Criminal Information

Centre, 2012) while drug related offence may be termed drug crime.

i. Crime Against Persons or Personal Crime

Crimes against persons consist of a broad array of different types of offenses which usually

involve bodily harm or a threat of bodily harm. Offenses in this category generally include

homicide, murder, manslaughter, assaults\battery, robbery, rape, kidnapping, child abuse,

assaults etc. These offences usually described as violent crimes that cause harm on the victims

and have long term negative impacts that jeopardize the physical and psychological wellbeing of

victims.

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ii. Property crimes

This category of crime is considered less serious than personal crimes, but with significant

negative effects on people and quality of life in urban areas. The offences in this category

include thefts, burglary, larceny, arson, robbery, carjacking, vandalism, shoplifting etc.

iii. Crime against public order

This broad category covers moral infractions and crime against public order (UN Habitat, 2007).

It includes offences like corruption; human, arms and drug trafficking; fraud, forgery,

embezzlement, public peace disturbance, cyber crime, perjury, alcoholism and public

intoxication; perjury, conspiracy, treason etc.

2.3 Factors of Crime and Violence

The nature, pattern and rate of crime across the globe are influenced by a number of factors.

According to UN- Habitat (2007), crime and violence are linked to a rage of economic, social,

culture and political circumstances that produce opportunities and incentives for criminal

behavior and violent acts. These factors combine with some risk factors like availability of guns

and other small arms, drugs and alcohol to promote criminal activities in our towns and cities.

Criminologists of the twenty-first century consider to a wide range of factors in explaining the

cause of c r i m es . Ac c o r d in g t o Melkonyan (2012), c e r t a i n s o c i e t a l f a c t o r s

c u l tu r e s ( f am i l y values), system (educational, political, law-enforcement...), economy, etc.,

explain the potential of criminal activities of an individual. Amongst others, the author identified

the root causes of crime to include poor parenting skill, peer influence, and drug\alcohol, easy

access to firearms, as well unemployment and poverty.

With respect to socio-cultural factors, the psycho-social theories of the origins and motivations

for crime focused on the factor of socialization of individuals, including initial family dynamics

and violence, lack of self esteem, peer experience in school, street gang etc., as causing and

influencing criminal activities in human societies. Thus, in societies where the process of

socialization initiates individuals into a culture of crime and violence, such acts are common

components of daily life and are accepted social and cultural norms.

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Amongst the socially related causes of crime, the effect of family based factors is noteworthy.

According to the Wikipedia encyclopedia (2012), child maltreatment, low parent-child

attachment, marital discord/family discord, alcoholism and drug use in the family, and low

parental supervision/monitoring are associated with criminality. This assertion is corroborated by

several research findings in all parts of the world. In America, for instance, 85% of all children

that exhibit behavioral disorders was found to come from fatherless homes; 90% of all homeless

and runaway children were from fatherless homes; 80% of rapists motivated with displaced

anger came from fatherless homes while 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a

fatherless home ( MacRae, 2000).

The problem of poor family background is closely associated with the issues of rapid rate of

urbanization, economic deprivations and poverty as important factors of crime in the urban

settlements of the world. In all parts of the world, rapid pace of urbanization in developing

countries and the resultant growth in the size and density of cities are seen as factors of crime

and violence. The rapidly growing settlements are often associated poor physical constructions

and slum developments that are characterized by poor migrants who suffer a high level of

deprivations. For the poor urban dwellers therefore, crime is seen as survival alternative in the

face of grinding poverty.

The social disorganization theory, which is based on the work of Henry McKay and Clifford

Shaw of the Chicago School, postulates that neighborhoods plagued with poverty and economic

deprivation tend to experience high rates of population turnover. This postulate is further

confirmed by social ecology studies that have established that crime rates are associated with

poverty, disorder, high numbers of abandoned buildings, and other signs of community

deterioration (Wikipedia encyclopedia, 2012). According to UN- Habitat (2007), the rate of

violent crime varies considerately across neighbourhoods, with higher rates correlating with

lower incomes and drug-related behavior which are attributes of slum neighbourhood.

In most parts of the world, deprivations and inequality are important factors of increased crime

and violence. Deprivation is seen as an important factor in the perpetuation of crime and violence

while unequal access to employment, education, health and basic infrastructure promote criminal

attitude in persons. Studies conducted in industrialized and developing countries have concluded

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that inequality had significant and positive effects on homicides (Fajnzylber et al, 1999). Also, a

survey of the residents of greater east London in South Africa suggests that unemployment and

marginalization have dramatic impact on attitudes towards violent crime (Haines and wood,

2002). Thus, crime and violence are seen as a response to relative deprivations as they result

from the survival struggle of the economically disadvantage group (UN Habitat, 2007).

The problems of rapid urbanization, neighbourhood decay, deprivations and poverty as causative

factors of crime and violence are made worse by that of the growth of youthful population on

urban areas. Crime studies have confirmed that the youth play great role in urban crime and

violence and that youth unemployment is a fundamental risk factor promoting crime and

violence among youth. In all regions of the world, the prevalence of both violent and property

crimes is related to the problems of eco hardship among the youth. The WHO asserted that some

199,000 youth homicides were committed globally in year 2000, translating to the rates of 9.2%

per 100,000 people. In Africa, with nearly 75% urban population living in slum and 44% of the

population below the age of 15, gang violence is prevalent. Specifically in Cape Town, South

Africa, there were an estimated 100,000 gang members who were responsible for 70% of urban

crime (Ministry of Foreign Affair Canada, 2006 as quoted in UN Habitat, 2007).

The different factors of crime and violence are interwoven and causal in nature. These factors

could be categorized into two. These are those that increase the motivation to commit crime and

those that enhance the opportunities for criminal activity (Felson, 1994; Van Dijk, 1994) as

quoted in William and Allen (2004). The motivational factors – low family values, low

educational attainment, growth of unemployed youthful population, deprivations and consequent

poverty propel individuals to commit crime while the factors that enhance crime opportunities -

drug addiction and proliferation of small arms (guns), constitute the risk factors promoting crime

and violence in all societies. Altogether, these factors combined to promote all kinds of crime

that threaten the security of urban centers in the 21st century and beyond.

2.4 Spatial Pattern of Crime and Violence

Studies of crime pattern across the globe have established that there are difference in the rate and

pattern of crime in time and space. The work of Ingrid and O’Regan (2009) focused on temporal

variation in crime rate overtime. The study investigated the pattern of crime in the United States

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and found out that the general crime rate fell by 33% between 1990 and 2005. Property and

violent crime declined at a rate of 30% and 48% respectively in the study area. Changes in

central city crime rate were investigated using a sample 278 central cities. The authors found a

dramatic decline in total crime rates from an avenge of 9,200 reported crimes per 100,000

population in 1992 to just over 5,600 in 2005. The cities experienced 39% decline in total crime

in the 12-year period.

Analysis of spatial variation in crime at the global level reveals that high rate of crime is

associated with less developed regions of the world. According to Reza et al. (2001), the highest

rates of crime are found in developing countries, particularly, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America

and the Caribbean. The WHO (2004), also estimated that 90% of violent-related deaths in the

year 2000 occurred in low and middle income countries with violent death rates of 32.1% per

1000 people.

Pattern of crime also differ at the individual country level across the globe. Hung and Nguyen

(2002) gave an account of the spatial pattern of crime in Canada, North America. The study

examined the crime profile for 4 different regions- Atlantic, Prairie provinces, Quebec, Ontario

and British Columbia. The authors used data recorded by police departments across 600

Canadian cities. The offences were grouped into 25 offence groups and the data were subjected

to factor analysis to reduce the variable is 4 factors. The study found out that the Atlantic and

Prairie Provinces had a similar crime profile while the remaining three larger provinces had their

individual district crime profile. For instance, cities in the Atlantic and Prairie regions have

slightly above average minor and violent crimes while cities in the Quebec region have low

minor crime, average violent crime and slightly above average major property crimes.

At the settlement level, pattern of crime varies with size of cities, characteristics and specific

areas of the cities. With respect to city size, Alejandro and Carmen (2002) found a relationship

between urbanization and crime rate. The authors analyzed the pattern of crime victimization in

Latin American cites using data from opinion survey of over 50,000 households 17 cities. They

found out that the probability of being a crime victim increases with the socioeconomic status of

individuals, the city size and population growth. Their results also corroborate the hypothesis

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that lager cities harbor a greater proportion of crime prone individuals. On the whole their results

indicate that urban growth increases victimization rates. The authors concluded that urban crime

in Latin America is, to a large extent, a consequent of the inability of many cities to keep up with

the increasing development of high and disorderly urbanization process.

The city-size effect of crime rate is further established by Hung and Nguyen (2002) in their study

of spatial pattern of crime in Canada. The authors found out that violent crime are higher in

towns (<10,000 inhabitants) than in larger cities. However, property crime rates follow

theoretically expected pattern – highest in large cities (>100,000 inhabitants) and second highest

in medium cities (50,000 -100,000 inhabitants). A household living in a city of more than one

million inhabitants is 20% points more likely to be victimized than a household living in a city of

less than 20,000 inhabitants. In a study of pattern of crime victimization in United States and

Latin American cities, Alejandro and Carmen (2002) asserted that the probability of being a

victim is substantially higher in larger cities. However, the city-size effect was found to be much

larger in Latin America than in the United States. While in the United States, a household living

in a city of one million inhabitants or more is 28% more likely to victimized than that living in

city of between 50, 000 and 100,000 inhabitants, the corresponding figure for Latin America is

71%. The works of these scholars attested to several other findings that associated the level of

crime to the size of settlements. However, it is also acknowledged that not all cities in the same

size categories have similar crime rates, since different sets of characteristics drive crimes in

different places.

The spatial pattern of crime is also found to vary across the different spatial components of a

settlement. The study of Ingrid and O’Regan (2009) established spatial variations in crime

occurrence in the city and the suburbs. Crime rates in cities were found to decline more sharply

than crime in the surrounding suburbs in the USA and the differences between city and suburban

crime rates fell from 4,100 crimes per 100,000 people in the cities in 1992 to 2,100 in 2005.

Thus, Living in marginal areas was found to increase probability of victimization by 2.0% point.

Other geographic studies have supported and further ascertained the spatial dynamics of crime

with a town or city. Many findings show that high crime rates are associated with areas with high

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rates of unemployment and poverty, slummy conditions as well as high concentrations of

minorities and youth (Harries, 1974, Ackerman, 1926). Ecological analysis of crime in Lima,

Ohio by Ackerman (2000) found out that crime in Lima was concentrated in low socio-economic

status neighborhood in and around the CBD. The authors studied violent and property crimes at

macro, meso and micro levels in Lima, Ohio to identify problems neighborhood and hotspots

within the problem area. Amongst others, they found out that the pattern of violent crimes in

Lima remained remarkably consistent since 1988 – concentrated in low socio-economic census

tracks situated on a north-south axis centered on main streets in south of the CBD. In contrast,

property crimes demonstrated a weak relationship with socio-economic status, and expanded to

the west from the CBD along major traffic arteries.

The forgoing literature review reveals the different aspects of crime and violence in cities of the

world. It is evident that the typology of crime in our towns and cities are diverse; the explanatory

factors are complex and interrelated; the rate of occurrence is increasing for most developing

countries while the spatial character in dynamic in nature. The fact from the literature thus

provides the background information and an anchor for crime statistics mapping in Minna, Niger

State.

3.0 Research Methodology

The research work relied on data collated from the records of the Niger State Police

Headquarters in Minna and other secondary data sourced from relevant literature. A total of 909

crime cases by type, location, age and gender of offenders for between January 2000 and

September, 2011 were collected and used in the analysis. The frequency and cross tabulation

functions of the SPSS were used to analyze the characteristic of offenders by location in the

study area.

A geo-referenced map of Minna for year 2009 was acquired and used as a base map for crime

pattern analysis. The map was digitized to obtain the arc overages of the Wards\neighbourhoods

in Minna. First, the crime cases were collated and organized using the Microsoft Excel software.

The geographic coordinates of crime locations were picked using the GPS (Appendix I). The

data were later transferred into the Arc GIS environment for crime pattern mapping. The crime

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classes were determined based on the number of cases in each neighbourhood that below, around

and well above the mean (35) of total cases recorded in the study area. Thus areas with crime

incidence of 35 and below were classified as low crime areas, those with between 36 and 70 as

high while neighbourhoods with 71 cases and above are crime hot spots. The results of analyses

carried out were presented in simple frequency tables, charts and maps.

4.0 Research Findings

4.1 Types of Crime committed in Minna

Research findings on the types of crime committed in Minna between 2000 and 2010 show a

wide variety of offences (table 1) which are categorized into three broad classes. These are crime

against persons (armed robbery, murder, suicide, rape kidnapping, assault, etc.), property crime

(burglary, theft, trespass etc) and crime against public order (arson, breach of public peace,

forgery, gambling, unlawful procession, etc.). Amongst others, Theft (25.4%), Assault (9%),

House breaking (8.5%), Causing hurt (7%) and Cheating (7%) were found to be the common

crime committed in the study area. It was observed that incidences of very serious crime such as

Armed robbery (2.6%), Rape (2.4%), Abduction (1.9%), Manslaughter (1.7%) and Murder

(0.6%) were relatively low in Minna, indicating an average level of urban security and personal

safety in the city ( see appendix II).

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Table 1: Types and Categories of Crimes Reported in Minna (2000 – 2011)

Crime Category Type of Offence

Crime against Person AbductionAbortionAdulteryArmed RobberyAssaultBreach of TrustCausing hurtCheatingChild StealingDefarmation of CharacterHomicideImpregnate under age girlKidnappingManslaughterMurderRapeSlave DealingSudden DeathSuicide

Property Crime BurglaryHouse BreakingTheftTrespassTrespassingTresspassing

Crime against Public Order ArsonAttempt to commit crimeBelong To Gang of ThievesBreach of Public PeaceBribery and CorruptionEscaping from Lawful CustodyForgeryGamblingMischiefNegligent conductOther offencesPerjuryUnatural OffenceUnlawful possessionUnlawful PossessionUnnatural Offences

Authors’ Analysis, 2012

As shown in table 2, crime against persons and property crimes were prevalent, constituting

75.6% of the total crime committed in the study area. The most common crimes in these two

categories are Theft, House breaking and Assault.

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Table 2: Main Categories of Crime Committed in Minna (2000 – 2011)

S/No. Crime ClassFrequency Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

1 Crime against Persons 345 38.2 38.2

2 Property Crime 338 37.4 75.6

3 Crime against Public Order 220 24.4 100.0

Total 903 100.0

Source: Authors’ Analysis, 2012

4.2 Age and Gender Characteristics of Offenders

The mean age of the crime suspects was found to be 28.76 years (sd = 8.84) with the minimum

age being 2 years (fire accident) and maximum 85 years (trespass). Suspects/criminals in the age

bracket of 18 to 35 years constituted about 76% of the total number of people arrested as

illustrated in Figure 2. Out of the total of 711 criminals/suspects whose gender was captured in

the data, 95% were males while 5% were female. This shows that most crimes in Minna are

committed by the male gender.

Figure 2: Age Distribution of Criminal/Suspects


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4.3 Trend of Crime in Minna, 2000- 2011

A total of 909 crimes were reported to the Police between January 2000 and September 2011.

This gives an average of 7 crimes per month and over 70 cases per annum. The year 2007 was

found to be unusual as a total of 235 criminal cases were recorded, the nearest figure to this, 123,

was recorded in 2003. It is observed that the two peaks of committed crimes correspond with two

election years (2003 and 2007) in Nigeria. This proved the assertion that election years in

Nigeria are characterized by high crime rate. Figure 3 shows the trend over 12 years.

Figure 3: Trends in Reported Crimes in Minna (2000 – 2011)


4.4 Pattern of Crime in Minna

Analysis of crime pattern in Minna reveals variations across the 26 neighbourhoods studied. As

shown in Figure 4 Bosso town and Kpakungu recorded the highest incidence of crime in the year

2000 – 2011 period. Other areas that recorded relatively high cases of crime are Tunga, Sabon

Gari, Maitunbi, Limawa, Jikpan, Barikin Sale, Angwan Dagi, Tayi village, amongst others. The

entire area was classified into three main crime classes (hot spots, high and light crime areas) to

reveal the spatial pattern of crime in Minna. Figure 5 shows that Bosso town, Barkin Sale,

Kpakungu and Tunga are classified as crime hot spots; Limawa and Maitunbi are high crime

2000 2001 2002Frequency 76 75 76

020406080

100120140160180200220240260

No

of C

rimes

Rec

orde

d

18


















2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 201176 123 51 27 40 235 85 47 33

18


















2010 201141

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areas while the GRA, F – Layout, Bosso estate, Tudun Fulani, Shango, Chanchaga, Fadupe,

Dutsen Kura, Makera, Minna Central, Nassarawa, among others are classified as light crime

areas.

Figure 4: Spatial Distribution of Crime in Minna (2000 – 2011)


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Figure 5: Spatial Pattern of Crime in Minna (2000 – 2011)


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It is observed that crime hot spots and areas of high crime are low income neighbourhoods with

high population density and poor environmental condition. This pattern largely agrees with the

findings of several studies that correlate higher rate of crime with low income, slummy

neighbourhoods (See Akerman, 2000 and UN – Habitat, 2007). However, there is a deviation

from this general assertion as areas like Makera, Minna Central, Sabon Gari and Nassarawa

which are high density low, quality neighbourhoods fall under the light crime category. The

deviation may be attributed to inadequate record of crime committed during the period under

review which may be attributed to poor reporting and documentation in the areas.

5.0 Summary of Findings, Recommendations and Conclusion

5.1 Summary of Findings

The findings of this research show that a wide variety of crimes were committed in Minna

between 2000 and 2010. The offences fall into three major categories of crime against persons,

property crime and crime against public order. Crime against persons and property were

predominant (75.6%) with theft, house breaking and assault being the most common crimes. The

crimes were mostly committed by young adults (18 – 35 years), mostly of the male gender. The

trend analysis of crime incidences reveals that the city witnessed high cases in the election years

of 2003 and 2007, confirming the assertion that election years in Nigeria are characterized by

high crime rate.

The spatial pattern of crime in Minna exhibits variations in the incidence of crime across the

different neighbourhoods of the city. Kpakungu, Barkin Sale, Tunga and Bosso town were found

to crime hot spots while Limawa and Maitumbi recorded high rates of crime. In the aggregate,

the high density, low income and\or low quality neighbourhoods recorded relatively high

incidence of crime, indicating that issues of poverty and social delinquency associated with low

income neighbourhoods promote crime.

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5.2 Recommendations

The outcome of this research has implications for policy formulation and programme execution

to reduce crime rate and ensure adequate urban security in Minna. The following

recommendations are made to address the problem of crime and to promote the safety of persona

and properties in the study area.

i. There is the need for the Nigerian Police and other law enforcement agencies tofocus and devote more policing activities to crime against persons and propertywhich are the predominant in Minna,

ii. The crime hot spots and areas of high crime require close monitoring anddevotion of more resources in terms of establishment of police stations\post,deployment of more personnel and logistics, etc.

iii. The association of high crime rates with low income areas with poorenvironmental quality is an indication for a serious need for slumneighbourhoods improvement. The State government should pursue anaggressive programme of urban renewal in the affected areas to reduce the levelof deprivations and social delinquency that promote criminal activities in thearea.

iv. Poverty and lack of means of economic livelihoods are key elements of the highdensity, low income neighbourhoods that promote criminal activities among theyoung adults. The economic livelihood and poverty reduction (adult literacyand skill acquisition) programmes of the State government should give priorityto neighbourhoods with high crime rate so as to engage the young adults inmeaningful productive activities.

5.3 Conclusion

Crime of different types and magnitudes are common features of human settlement that threaten

the security of our towns and cities. The study of types and pattern of crime in Minna reveals that

city recorded varying degrees of crime across the 26 neighbourhoods between year 2000 and

2010. Although the study observed that the incidences of serious crimes like murder,

manslaughter, armed robbery and rape are not high, the predominance of other forms of personal

and property crimes in neighbourhoods classified as hot spots and high crime areas are enough

threat to urban security. Therefore, the recommendations made should be considered and

implemented by concerned authorities to promote the security of lives and properties in Minna.

23

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APPENDICES

Appendix I

Crime Distribution by Location in Minna

S/NO LOCATION FREQUENCY EASTING NORTHING1 Standard Trust Bank Minna 1 231405.11 1063042.732 123 qtrs MX 1 229745.97 1063422.753 A/Biri Bosso 1 229383.63 1067966.634 Abdul Salam qtr Maitumbi MX 1 233562.08 1067409.445 Abdul Salam qtr MX 3 226783.67 1067237.426 Ahaji Adamu Shehu 1 226941.35 1067334.247 Airport Junction filling station Maikunkele 1 223927.49 1071248.528 Airport Quarters Maikunkele Minna 1 224242.52 1071383099 Airport Road 3 230459.17 1063312.0810 Anguwan Daji 10 231528.35 1065409.0811 Army Barracks Minna 2 233017.36 1057349.2912 B/sale 5 230079.51 1061053.7413 B/Sale 22 229395.38 1060928.6514 Bosso Low cost 3 227463.01 1067427.6815 Bosso road 1 229225.03 1068049.5816 Bosso town 48 229805.15 1068375.2117 Bosso Town 3 229402.26 1069180.2318 CBN Quarters Minna 1 232572.09 1061168.0219 Central Market 9 230872.05 1063685.8120 Cool Cat Area Minna 2 230771.45 1062323.7321 Custom Barracks 2 232102.61 1059973.3222 Dana Pharm. Company MX 2 234702.35 1065996.2723 David Mark Road 1 232905.13 1063447.6424 Diamond Bank MX 1 232539.89 1061442.1525 Dutsen Kura 1 227120.81 1068321.8326 Dutsen- Kura Gwari 1 227479.61 1065178.8527 F.U.T. Mx GK 6 221472.30 1055266.3728 Farm Centre Minna 5 232304.79 1060994.6029 Flamingo Junction Maitumbi Minna 1 233072.69 1065680.2530 FUT MX 9 228843.37 1068400.0631 G.D.SS Minna 1 230623.19 1065220.8632 Gbeganu 3 227779.55 1061940.7633 General M.I. Wushishi House Estate Minna 1 234144.88 1061824.76

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34 Gwari Market 7 231138.95 1063494.4835 IBB Specialist Minna 1 235548.65 1054345.4736 Jikpan Bosso 13 228464.60 1067657.8037 Ketaran-gwari 2 230166.86 1062989.9238 kpakungu 5 228547.09 1062000.0839 Kpakungu 61 227771.47 1061951.5740 Kpakungu Minna 12 229355.65 1061985.1641 Kuta road MX 1 231142.50 1064229.8942 Lagos Street 2 230613.80 1063887.0443 Limawa 20 229304.82 1064562.9844 Maitumbi 13 233757.67 1065344.8445 Maitumbi Qtrs MX 16 233566.44 1065290.1346 Maitumbi Round about Minna 1 234397.05 1066107.4447 Minna Airport Maikunkele 1 221389.89 1067918.9548 Minna Motor Park 1 230827.07 1063619.3849 Minna Township 2 231474.74 1062959.0650 Mobile 1 230919.48 1063549.4951 NECO Computer 1 231684.89 1059789.6252 Neteko Road 1 231131.56 1061609.9453 New Market 5 229020.10 1064161.4654 Newsline Tunga 1 232131.20 1062522.9955 Niger Motel/Shango 1 233137.63 1060074.7656 Niteko Road 1 231131.56 1061669.9457 Oduoye Qtrs 2 229063.42 1063671.0858 Ogun Guest Inn MX 1 230542.16 1063524.6259 Okada road Bosso 2 228460.56 1067401.1160 Old Airport Road 3 230324.95 1064156.0561 Peter Sarki road 1 231416.57 1061808.1462 PZ Market 3 231508.83 1063718.3563 S/kahunta factory 1 230077.91 1058206.5564 S/kahunta Minna 4 231117.46 1059863.5865 S/Kahuta MX 6 230710.82 1060238.1466 Sabon-gari 8 231668.45 1064232.1067 Sauka-Kahuta MX 9 230704.26 1060236.7868 Shango Minna 3 234201.35 1059399.4069 Shanu Village 3 225941.75 1066706.9970 Shiroro Road MX 1 231069.95 1061845.3571 Soje 'A' 5 229377.79 1061975.0372 Soje 'B' 6 229336.98 1061586.35

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73 T/Fulani Bosso 18 227865.40 1069189.1474 T/Wada MX 3 234092.87 1062579.2275 Tayi Village 5 230754.08 1067513.1276 Top medical Tunga 1 232442.45 1061954.8777 Tunga Low Cost 3 231720.18 1060283.45

Appendix II

Types of Crime committed in Minna, 2000 - 2011

Crime Frequency PercentTheft 231 25.4

Assault 82 9

House Breaking 77 8.5

Causing hurt 64 7

Cheating 64 7

UnlawfulPossession

39 4.3

Breach of PublicPeace

35 3.9

Attempt to commitcrime

27 3

Tresspassing 26 2.8

Belong To Gang ofThieves

25 2.8

Armed Robbery 24 2.6

Mischief 23 2.5

Rape 22 2.4

Abduction 17 1.9

Forgery 15 1.7

Manslaughter 15 1.7

Other offences 15 1.7

Defarmation ofCharacter

10 1.1

Perjury 9 1

Adultery 8 0.9

Escaping fromLawful Custody

7 0.8

Sudden Death 7 0.8

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Arson 6 0.7

Bribery andCorruption

6 0.7

Coining Offences 6 0.7

Gambling 6 0.7

Suicide 6 0.7

Unnatural Offences 6 0.7

Breach of Trust 5 0.6

Murder 5 0.6

Slave Dealing 5 0.6

Burglary 4 0.4

Child Stealing 4 0.4

Kidnapping 4 0.4

Abortion 1 0.1

Homicide 1 0.1

Impregnate underage girl

1 0.1

Negligent conduct 1 0.1

Unnatural Offence 1 0.1

Total 909 100

Digital Mapping of Crime Statistics in Minna

Documents