AN APPRAISAL OF INCREASE IN PROPERTY CRIMES AMONG STUDENTS OF VILLAGE HOSTEL, UNIVERSITY OF JOS

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INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND STUDY

Despite crime being on college and university campuses and hostels in the Nigeria since their formation over 61 years ago, only in the past 25 years have scholars begun systematically researching crime and related concerns on Nigerian college and university campuses (Fisher and Sloan, 2017; Sloan and Fisher, 2011). The majority of these researches have attempted to describe or explain the dynamics of on-campus victimization, namely the role of students’ lifestyles in increasing victimization risk (Fisher et al,2018; Mustaine and Tewksbury, 2017). Researchers have just recently begun to look into the spatial and temporal distribution of crime on university campuses with hostel inclusive. Their focus has been on finding, describing, and explaining how the design elements of university campuses explain the crime patterns found there, rather than on documenting or understanding the dynamics of individual victimization(Mullen et al , 2011; Brinkley and Laster, 2017; Robinson and Roh, 2017).

In layman’s terms, a crime is an illegal conduct that is penalized by the state or another authority. In modern criminal law, there is no simple and universally agreed meaning of the term crime; however legislative definitions have been supplied for specific purposes.

A student hostel is a type of lodging meant to relieve some of the financial load on young people who desire to travel. Individuals residing in these facilities, which are often known as youth hostels, are frequently required to share rooms, toilets, and showers.

Burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism are among the offenses that fall under the category of property crime. A property crime is one committed for the purpose of obtaining money, property, or some other gain. According to (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013) Concerns about safety and prevention began to reverberate among students in university hostels around the country as the prevalence of violent criminal victimization increased during the 2010s and into 2014. Up until now, university dormitories have not been immune to criminality; they simply did not place a high priority on public reporting of crime statistics (Hummer, 2010; Jennings, Gover, &Pudrzynska, 2017). Beginning in 2014, colleges and universities receiving federal funds or participating in federal student aid programs were obliged to publish annual reports on violent and property crime statistics on their campuses under the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act (Henson & Stone, 2015; Hummer, 2010). Despite the fact that violent victimization is not a common occurrence on university campuses, property crime accounts for 97 percent of all offenses recorded to law enforcement each year (Office for Victims of Crime, 2013). Despite these figures, theft is not an official crime that is included in annual reports on national crime rates (Henson & Stone, 2015).Despite the fact that universities are mandated to disclose their annual crime rates, these reports use the same index of crimes as the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and the National Crime Victim Survey (NCVS). As a result, the original goal of exposing crime secrets within the limits of a university campus for parents, students, and instructors to witness has failed. Early study on campus crime shows that there is a link between educational quality and crime rates (Fox & Hellman, 2012). In other words, as educational quality improved, so did crime rates. Furthermore, researchers discovered that male students had an impact on crime rates (Fox & Hellman, 2012) as did residence on campus (Sloan, 2016). Despite all of the underlying elements that experts hypothesized to influence campus crime rates (e.g., alcohol and drug use, gender, and race) the majority of crimes on university campus were simple thefts (Henson & Stone, 2015; Sloan, 2016).Scholars are still utilizing old metrics to find acceptable interventions that may potentially minimize the problem two decades later, despite expanded understanding about the likely determinants of worry for crime and actual victimization among students on university hostels. Sets of strategies and notions rooted in theories from the discipline of criminology deviate from these unsuccessful tactics. According to Brantingham&Brantingham, (2014) Environmental criminology, coupled with situational crime prevention (Clarke, 2010), and Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) give creative techniques to analyze, analyze, and implement preventive strategies to reduce crime within the area of criminology. Perhaps implementing these techniques and concepts on college campuses will forever change the perception that “young people and their portable possessions will, in general, always be incapable guardians and suitable targets, and a reserve army of motivated offenders will always be found among the ranks of college students.”(Henson & Stone, 2015:305).

The increase in property crime among students in Nigerian universities especially village hostel of university of Jos has been a major problem over time this is because large number of students both and male and female residing in and around village hostel areas are victimized in the sense that most properties belonging to them are being collected forcefully and illegally by criminals residing in those areas. Over the time the university authorities have put in place some measures to help curb this crime in campus but to no avail; it seems these measures are ineffective, it is in this light that school authority need to employ more measures which is deem effective for the fighting of crime in around village hostel areas.

Therefore this research centers on an appraisal of increase in property crimes among students of village hostel, university of Jos.

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Concern for crime and victimization does not belong in an environment that promotes education and learning. Despite the University of Jos’ efforts to reduce the fear of crime and criminal victimization, university students are forced to coexist with the possibility of crime victimization in the hostel, particularly in the University of Jos’ Village Hostel.The type of lifestyle that students typically live (i.e., sharing dorm rooms with strangers, general lack of concern for personal belongings in the hostel) has a significant impact on the crime prevention measures that campus administration implements. Alternative measures are thus needed to reduce the perception of fear and crime victimization among village hostel students.Therefore this study centers on an appraisal of increase in property crimes among students of village hostel, university of Jos

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of the study is an appraisal of increase in property crimes among students of village hostel, university of Jos. Other specific objective includes:

1) To examine the level of property crime committed among students of village hostel university of Jos

2) To examine the causes of crime among university of Jos students

3) To outline the stages of theft in tertiary institutions.

4) To examine the facilitators of property crime among village hostel students in University of Jos.

5) To outline how environment design will help curb property crime and other sort of crimes in university hostels.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions shall guide this study and in the course of this research, we shall attempt to find answers to the following questions:

1) What is the level of property crime committed among students of village hostel university of Jos?

2) What are the causes of crime among university of Jos students?

3) What are the stages of theft in tertiary institutions?

4) What are the facilitators of property crime among village hostel students in University of Jos?

5) How does environmental design help curb property crime and other sort of crimes in university hostels?

1.5     HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

In line with the statement of research problems and the objectives of this thesis, the following hypothesis will be tested:

Hypothesis 1:

HO: Increase of property crime has no significant effect on victimized student’s behavior in village hostel of university of Jos

H1: Increase of property crime has a significant effect on victimized student’s behavior in village hostel of university of Jos

Hypothesis 2:

HO:There is no significant relationship between peer pressure and increase of property crime among village hostel students in university of Jos

H1:There is a significant relationship between peer pressure and increase of property crime among village hostel students in university of Jos

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

This study would enable the researcher to pass their experience on the subject matter to correctional centers, police, government ministries, schools, students to serve as a medium for further research.

1.7   SCOPE OF THE STUDY   

The study would cover an appraisal of increase in property crimes among students of village hostel, university of Jos

1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The researcher was faced with the following constraints in carrying out this study:

Time: The time within the researcher is too short to carry on the detail study on this topic.

Resources: Another constraint of the researcher is financial resources to carry on the detail study of this topic.
Data: Another limitation to this study will be lack of data to make valid study on the research problem.

1.9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Crime:A crime is an offence that merits community condemnation and punishment, usually by way of fine or imprisonment.

Property Crime:Property crime is a category of crime, usually involving private property that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism. Property crime is a crime to obtain money, property, or some other benefit

Students:A student is a person who goes to school and is learning something. Students can be children, teenagers, or adults who are going to school, but it may also be other people who are learning, such as in college or university. A younger student is often called a pupil

Hostel:A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared bathrooms

University of Jos:University of Jos was established in November 1971 from the satellite campus of the University of Ibadan. The first students were admitted in January 1972 as pre-degree students and the first Bachelor of Arts degree program begun in October 1973. In October 1975, then military government under General Murtala Mohammed established the Unijos as a separate institution. The first Vice-Chancellor of the Unijos was Professor Gilbert Onuaguluchi. Classes began at the newly reorganized University of Jos in October 1976 with 575 students spreading over the existing four faculties of Arts and Social Sciences, Education, Natural Sciences and Medical Sciences. Post-graduate programs were added in 2017. By 2013 Faculties of Law and Environmental Sciences were established and the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences were separated.

Increase:To make greater, as in number, size, strength, or quality

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