Authors: Ajise, Olalonpe Oluwakemi, Adeniyi, Adedapo
Abstract: Crime is one of the major challenges facing Nigeria today. The need to assess the patterns of incidence of crime rate is therefore essential for effective crime control and management. This paper examines the trends of incidence of crime in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Data on reported cases of culpable homicide, armed robbery, grievous harm and wounding, theft and stealing, house breaking, false pretence and cheating, cultism, kidnapping, fraud/ forgery and assault from 2018 to 2022 were collected from Kwara State Police Command Headquarters, Ilorin. Mann-Kendull Statistic and Semi-Average Method were used to analyse the trend of the reported crime rates. The result of the analysis using Semi-Average method reveals that culpable homicide, armed robbery, grievous harm and wounding, theft and stealing, house breaking, cultism, fraud/ forgery and assault exhibit a downward trend while false pretence and kidnapping exhibit upward trend. This implies that the number of reported cases of culpable homicide, armed robbery, grievous harm and wounding, theft and stealing, house breaking, cultism, fraud/ forgery and assault reduces from 2018 to 2022. However, false pretence and cheating and kidnapping exhibit an upward trend which mean an increase in number of reported cases. Therefore, the study recommends that the government should encourage intelligence led policing, continue to allocate more fund for security agencies for the purchase of modern equipment and regular training of security agents so as to enable them to curtail the incidence of crime in the area to the barest minimum.
