Trend Analysis of Crime Incidences and Crime Vulnerability Differentials on Urban Transport Facilities in Ibadan

Abstract

There is a noticeable increment in the rate of criminal attacks on transport facilities globally and some evidences of such abound in Nigeria, a most worrisome trend is that most criminals are increasingly finding passengers veritable targets for criminal acts. In this study, the temporal pattern of crime incidences across five selected bus stops and the variables that may likely determine the chances of becoming crime victims in Ibadan were analyzed. Crime records for six years (2003-2008) were statistically and descriptively analyzed alongside primary data obtained through a questionnaire survey of 250 respondents, who were frequent users of these terminals. The result validated the established findings that frequencies and concentration of criminal acts usually significantly differs temporally and spatially. It was equally revealed that criminals seemingly target the more vulnerable groups as victims as the females (of all age groups) bore the brunt of most attacks. It is also discernible from the study that site selection processes for the choice of bus stop within the public transit system is subjective and can aid their emergence as crime ‘hot spots’.