Causes, Implications and Remedies of Crimes in Addis Ababa Since 1991
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Date
2007-07
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A.A.U
Abstract
It is easily understandable that the problem of crime is very serious issue threatening the normal life of citizens. In Addis
Ababa, crimes have been causing loss of lives and property. Different types of crimes were committing in the city, which
affected directly many victims and their families. Apart from the losses inflicted on human beings and property, acts of
criminalities are also known to have several ramifications among which destabilizing peaceful and secured life of
residents, hampering development and democratic governance and ruining the positive image of Addis Ababa in
particular and Ethiopia in general are the major ones.
Furthermore, Addis Ababa as a capital city has various significances. It is economic and political center of the whole
nation which is home to more than 3 million populations. Moreover, important international organizations like AU,
UNECA and other wide ranging diplomatic missions are residing in the city. For these main reasons, Addis Ababa is
selected to be a study area.
The researcher is in a strong belief that the root causes of crimes and their implications have to be identified so as to
propose remedial solutions for tackling the prevailing problems of crime. Various types of acts of criminalities have been
committed in Addis Ababa. But for the purpose of this study, records of only seven types of crimes were collected.
These are homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, attempted robbery theft and illicit possession and
trade of arms. Crime statistics of suspected offenders were collected starting from 1993/94 up to 2006/2004 and the trend
for these types of crime was not consistently increasing or decreasing.
Comparative analysis of crime was made for the Regional States of Ethiopia. Countrywide criminal analysis including
for Addis Ababa have sown that male offenders were the highest compared to female counterparts. For Addis Ababa
the highest offenders by educational qualifications were the illiterate and elementary levels, while the age category of
offenders was 19-30 years. Similarly, the unemployed individuals were the highest crime committers in Addis Ababa.
In tbis research the root causes of crime have been identified. The first possible explanation for the commission was
unemployment. Many individuals in the city involve in various crimes to satisfy their economic necessities. On the other
hand, legal shortcomings and loopholes together with illicit proliferation, circulation and use of arms were other causes
of crime.
Finally, certain policy options have been devised as means to tackle the problem of crime. The proposed policy options
are believed to be used as possible remedial solutions to mitigate problems of unemployment, capacity, regulatory
limitations and gaps, implementation and other problems.
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Keywords
Implications, Remedies