Profile of Victims of Neighbourhood Crimes in Ghanaian Cities

Abstract

Generally, urban crime research in Ghana is non-ambiguous on the socio-cultural, political economy and environmental ramifications of neighbourhood crimes in emerging cities, but the personal and neighbourhood level characteristics of the most likely victims of neighbourhood crime in Ghanaian cities remain meagre. This paper fills the gap in knowledge by answering the question ‘who/where is the most likely victim of crime in urban Ghana?’ This study employed a sequential mixed methods approach to collect data through the administration of a household survey, as well as focus group discussion (FDG) sessions. The survey data were analysed using binary logistic regression while the qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The study found that socio-demographic characteristics, which are associated with a higher likelihood of victimisation, include young unemployed persons, residents of a detached or ‘self-contained’ apartment, household of increasing household size, residents of neighbourhoods with less police visibility and residents of unsafe neighbourhoods. Cognisance of the limited capacity of the Ghana Police Service, this study recommends the need for the Ghana Police Service to consider neighbourhood demographic characteristics in their efforts to enhance distributive justice in the provision of internal security.