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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0   Background of the Study

The menace of crime across the globe is a serious concern. Every country across the globe has its particular problems. The West African sub region and in particular Nigeria is not an exception. One of such teething problems and challenges confronting the country is the rising wave of crime. This study is aimed at examining the factors responsible for the increasing wave of crime in Nigeria, Edo state in particular. Criminal offences simply put are those behaviors or attitudes that are punishable by law. Okoro et al 2012 opined that a criminal offence is a crime against the state. It can also be called 'breaking the law'. If you are accused of a criminal offence, the charge sheet or will say what offence you have been charged with. Generally in Nigeria, the level of crime offences has risen sporadically. This may be caused by a host of factors. Crime rates in different states are not on the same level, there are states where the level of crime is higher than others. According to the Nigeria police force, crime rate in Nigeria has risen geometrically overtime. Crime is an inhibitor to the economic, political and social progress of a nation and a major factor for underdevelopment; this is because it discourages both local and foreign investments, reduces the quality of life of its citizens, and damages relationship between citizens and states, thus undermining democracy, the rule of law and the ability of the country to promote sustainable development and peace (Abayomi 2013). The consequences of crime touch almost everyone in one way or the other. We are going to streamline our research work on crime offences in Nigeria to Edo state, Benin City precisely. This is because of its strategic location on the geographical map of Nigeria and its important socio economic and cultural values. 

Causes of crime

Crime can be caused by so many factors, criminologists in their knowledge of crime has stipulated some core causes of crime across the globe. The following are some of the major causes of crime
i.   Unemployment: the increase of unemployed youths across the world has lead to a steady rise in crime and corrupt practices. This is simply because when people are jobless or idle there is that chance of them criminally being busy.
ii.   Political activities: in the West African sub region, this factor is the chief cause of the rise of criminal activities. During political happenings, politicians leverage on the high rate of unemployment in this part of the world to recruit idle youths who would willingly engage in this unholy acts to make a living.
iii.   Crises or social unrest: naturally during cases of crises and social unrest, there is a high tendency for Criminal activities to be at its peak.

1.1   Statement of the general problem

In Nigeria, Edo state in particular, crime has impeded the development of the state. Crime offences in the state have done the state more harm than good. Criminality has taken a new dimension in Benin, crimes are being committed in a more sophisticated manner, and criminals have devised ways of evading the watchful eyes of the security operatives. This has led us to this research work, to be able to discover those new dimensions of crime in Benin so that we can proffer solutions of reducing crime by updating the security operatives and the general citizens of Edo state and Nigeria at large. There is also a major concern to know if crime is age and gender related. That is, do people within certain age bracket commit more crime than others and does a particular gender engage in criminal activities than the other. There is equally another concern of knowing the level of crime in Benin City, are the security operatives doing a good job? Have government being committed to positively employing our youths? Etc
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study
This study is aimed at the following;
1.    To statistically analyze the level of crime in Benin City.
2.    To know if crime in Benin is age and gender related.
3.    To discover if crime has a relationship with educational background.
4.    To discover other causes of crime in Benin City.
5.    To proffer new ways of curbing crime in Benin City.
6.    To know which age grade is more involved in criminal activities in Benin City.
7.    To know which crimes are most committed in Benin City and causes.  
1.3. Significance of the study
The significance of this study is mainly to ascertain the level of crime in Benin City, to know if crime is age, gender related. Another importance of this study is to know if there is a relationship between crime and educational background, to discover which age group is more involved in criminal activities. Another very cardinal significance of this study is to know the frequently committed crimes in Benin City and causes.        
1.4 Scope and limitations of the study
This study is centered on the statistical analysis of the crime offenses recorded in Benin City (from 1999-2014), knowing. Another scope of the study is to know if crime in Benin City is age and gender related. Thirdly, to know the frequently committed crimes in Edo state.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
It is necessary to mention some of the limitations in this research work. The chief limitation is the difficulty in obtaining relevant information in that a few of our values gotten from the police divisional headquarters Benin City were missing but these missing values were not  statistical significant enough to be noticed.  Another limitation is the difficulty in administering questionnaire and retrieving in that respondents were not prompt in filling out the questionnaire. Notwithstanding, in the highlighted limitation above, it is hoped that this research will be useful to Edo state and the general public.
1.5 Definition of Terms
Crime: activities that involve breaking the law. 

Criminal: the illegal act of somebody or group of people failing to do something that they should do. It also means connected with or involving crime.   
Criminal activity: an act committed in violation of the law where the consequences of conviction by a court are punishment, especially where the punishment is a serious one such as imprisonment.          
1.6. Research Hypotheses
The research hypotheses are as follows:
HYPOTHESIS 1
H0: There is no significant relationship between age and criminal offences in Benin City.
H1: There is a significant relationship between age and criminal offences in Benin City
Level of significance: 0.05
Decision rule: reject H0 if p-value is less than the level of significance. Accept H0 if otherwise.  
HYPOTHESIS 2
H0: There is no significant relationship between gender and criminal offences in Benin City.
H1: There is a significant relationship between gender and criminal offences in Benin City
Level of significance: 0.05
Decision rule: reject H0 if p-value is less than the level of significance. Accept H0 if otherwise.  
HYPOTHESIS 3
H0: There is no significant relationship between educational background and criminal offences in Benin City.
H1: There is no significant relationship between educational background and criminal offences in Benin City.
Level of significance: 0.05
Decision rule: reject H0 if p-value is less than the level of significance. Accept H0 if otherwise.