Abstract

The study therefore examined the preventive strategies in tackling the perceived effects of crimes in rural family livelihoods in Ogbomoso Agricultural zone of Oyo State. Multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 90 rural families for this study. Data was obtained with the aid of a questionnaire and data were analysed using frequency count, percentage, mean and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The results showed that the major effects of crime on rural family livelihoods were loss of stored products (4.82), loss of resources (4.37), and loss of yield of crops (4.91). While major preventive strategies against crime were keeping farm area clean always (3.00), setting of traps around barns/stores (2.96) and the use of vigilante group for surveillance (2.92). Pearson’s Products Moment Correlation (PPMC) analysis indicated that the perceived effects of crimes on rural family livelihoods were negative and significantly related to the frequency of preventive strategies against crimes (r=-0.221**; p= 0.037). The result showed that preventive strategies against various crimes/criminality were found to be inversely and significantly related to the perceived effects of crime/criminality on rural family livelihoods. It was therefore concluded that the preventive strategies against crime/criminality had decisive influence on perceived effects of crime/criminality on rural family livelihoods in Ogbomoso Agricultural zone of Oyo State. The study recommends the need to tackle rural crime effectively through adequate adherence to community rules and regulations so that the rural family could live in a relatively safe and low-crime environment to enhance rural family livelihoods.

PDF