CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

This study investigates public perceptions of how poverty influences youth criminal behavior in Benin City, Nigeria. Despite the city’s cultural and economic significance, escalating youth crime has emerged as a major social concern, often attributed to widespread poverty, unemployment, and social disorganization. Grounded in criminological frameworks such as Strain Theory, Social Disorganization Theory, and Attribution Theory, the research explores how residents interpret the relationship between economic hardship and youth involvement in crime and how these perceptions shape support for social or punitive policy responses. A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was adopted. Using stratified random sampling, 100 adult respondents were selected across the three local government areas of Benin City—Oredo, Egor, and Ikpoba-Okha. Data were collected through structured questionnaires validated by experts and tested for reliability using the test-retest and Cronbach’s Alpha methods. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including frequency distributions, mean scores, and Chi-square tests, were employed to analyze quantitative data, while open-ended responses were thematically interpreted. Findings reveal an overwhelming consensus that poverty is a major determinant of youth criminality. Eighty-five percent of respondents identified poverty as the leading cause of crime among youths, with 60 percent rating its influence as “very high.” Unemployment, peer influence, and poor family background were also cited as significant contributing factors. The study found that 88 percent of respondents agreed that poverty breeds desperation, compelling young people to adopt illicit means of survival. Similarly, 84 percent believed that poverty- reduction initiatives would substantially decrease crime rates. A large majority (82 percent) expressed preference for preventive, welfare-oriented strategies—such as job creation, vocational training, and youth empowerment—over punitive measures like policing and incarceration. Demographic data highlighted that most respondents were young (ages 18–35), low-income earners with moderate education levels, reflecting the socioeconomic group most affected by unemployment and vulnerability to crime. These characteristics underscore the structural and psychological pressures shaping youth deviance in Benin City. The findings align with global criminological theories emphasizing the interplay between economic deprivation and social breakdown as key drivers of criminal behavior. The study concludes that public perception in Benin City strongly links poverty to youth criminality and favors socio-economic intervention over coercive control. It recommends that policymakers, law-enforcement agencies, and community organizations prioritize integrated poverty-alleviation programs, job-creation initiatives, and educational opportunities as core components of crime-prevention strategy. Academically, the study contributes to literature on the socioeconomic determinants of crime and provides empirical evidence for testing and refining criminological theories in Nigerian contexts.