Socioeconomic determinants of property crime offending in Ethiopia:

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the socioeconomic determinants of property crimes on convicted offenders in the Chilga district correctional institution (CDCI). Design/methodology/approach This study conducted a socioeconomic determinant of property crimes on convicted offenders using quantitative research. Respondents consisted of a random sample of 170 convicted offenders in CDCI. This study used descriptive statistics, logistic regression and Pearson correlations for analyzing the quantitative data in CDCI. Findings The results of the study showed that the age at first engagement, educational status, offender’s immediate economic situation and previous experience of the offender were the perceived reasons in one’s major property crime offending. However, average monthly income, peer effect and family structure (grown up with) were found to be non-perceived reasons. Youths who are unmarried, illiterate and unemployed offenders had over three times more probabilities of committing theft than robbery and burglary in the winter season, especially in February, because of the determinants of illiteracy and unemployment such as negligence for the future life. Furthermore, the convicted offenders who were illiterate, unemployed and raised by single parents have engaged in theft for the first time, but burglary and robbery by employed and literate offenders in more probable. Originality/value This paper takes a fresh perspective on knowledge about property crime and economic as well as criminological theories using various bodies of academic research. This paper’s insight will be helpful to fill the literature gaps; there are lot research studies with little investigations addressing to the issue of the determinants of property crime. It will also be useful for policymakers to mitigate the determinant of property crime.

Criminal Activities in Nigeria: Does Mother’s Marital Status Matter?

“…They were insignificantly more likely to commit a crime against persons. This result supported a previous study in Ethiopia that showed a positive correlation between involvement in property crimes such as theft, burglary and robbery and growing up in a single parent family (Wassie et al, 2020). The finding was also related to studies in North America, Australia, and Brazil that found single motherhood a higher risk factor for anti-social behaviour outcome in children relative to those raised in two-parent family (Bor et al, 2004;Cavanagh, 2008;Cavanagh & Huston, 2006;Curto et al, 2011;Pougnet et al, 2011), and externalizing behaviour problems in adulthood (Sillekens & Notten, 2020).…”

Socioeconomic Determinants of Economic Crimes in Turkey: Dynamic Panel Data Analysis

“…The result is that as the level of education increases, the number of crimes does not decrease. However, as migration and household size increased, crime increased; again, as unemployment increased, crime increased Wassie et al (2020) investigated the socioeconomic determinants of property crimes for convicted criminals in Ethiopia. It has been emphasized in the study that age, educational status, economic status, and criminal experience prior to the current crime of the criminal are the factors affecting the individual's committing property crime.…”

Profiling Crime in Pakistan: An Aggregated and Disaggregated Socioeconomic Analysis

“…Similarly, higher level of educational attainment increases the probability of getting higher paying jobs. Further, this positive association can also be narrated 6 Altindag, 2012;Burdett et al, 2003;Carmichael and Ward, 2000;Edmark, 2005;Ehrlich, 1973a;Fleisher, 1966;Gillanni, Khan, and Gill, 2011;Han, Bandyopadhyay, and Bhattacharya, 2013b;Juárez, Urdal, and Vadlamannati, 2020;Levitt, 2001;Mazorodze, 2020;Saridakis and Spengler, 2012;Vital, De Souza, and Faciroli, 2020;Wassie, Melese, and Eyasu, 2020) as higher cost associated with incarceration as educated people have more economic as well as social cost of being found guilty. In oppose, some studies have found that higher educational attainment increases the tendency of white collar crimes such as tax evasion, money laundering (Freeman, 1994;Lochner, 2005;Lochner and Moretti, 2001).…”

“…However, like unemployment rate, impact of education on crime is ambiguous. The results shows (as depicted in Table 2, Table 3 and Table 4) a negative relation of Secondary enrolment has strong negative impact on crime in long run (as depicted in table 2, Table 3 and Table 4) as well as in short run ((as shown in Table 5, Table 6 and Table 7) that more time spent in educational institutes enhance the discipline and future consciousness (Devi, 2020;Khan et al, 2015;Lance, 2011;Lochner, 1999Lochner, , 2020McMillen, Sarmiento-Barbieri, and Singh, 2019;Rakshit and Neog, 2020;Syed and Ahmed, 2013;Usher, 1997;Wassie, Melese, and Eyasu, 2020). Level of education serve as a proxy of opportunity cost of crime.…”