Motor vehicle thefts up 22pc as Kiambu tops crime reports

Police officers display stolen vehicles number plates. file photo | nmg 

By LYNET IGADWAH

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Summary

• Economic Survey 2017 shows that 1,355 vehicles were reported stolen to the police in 2016 compared to the 1,111 the year before.
• A recent report by the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) indicates that vehicles whose value is below Sh1 million are the most likely to be stolen.
• The AKI reported that out of the 406 cars reported stolen to insurers, 71 per cent were of the Toyota brand while 51 per cent were white in colour.
• Kiambu tops the counties with the highest number of reported crimes at 6,006, followed by Meru (5,117), Nairobi City (4,954) and Nakuru at (4,133).

Motor vehicle theft shot up by 22 per cent last year as crime levels continued to soar, the 2017 Economic Survey shows.

The data shows that 1,355 vehicles were reported stolen to the police in 2016 compared to the 1,111 the year before.

The Economic Survey indicates that crime went up by 6.2 per cent to 76,986 from the 72,450 cases recorded in 2015.

“Offences against persons and stealing were the main types of crime reported in 2016 accounting for 29 per cent and 13 per cent of crimes reported respectively,” read the data prepared by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

A recent report by the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) indicates that vehicles whose value is below Sh1 million are the most likely to be stolen.

The AKI reported that out of the 406 cars reported stolen to insurers, 71 per cent were of the Toyota brand while 51 per cent were white in colour.

Silver, black, blue and grey vehicles, in that order also made it to the list of cars stolen most frequently.

The number of people reported to have committed offences shot up by 3.8 per cent to 73,221 during the period under review, from 70,515 in 2015.

The survey shows that males dominated the list of offenders at 77.9 per cent even as the proportion of female offenders increased from 20.7 per cent to 22 per cent.

Assault accounted for more than half of the total number of persons reported while creating disturbance and defilement accounted for 22.7 and 16.4 per cent respectively.

In total, the number of persons reported as having committed offences against morality and offences against other persons increased by 2.9 percent in 2016 to 27,018 from 26,250 in 2016.

Kiambu tops the counties with the highest number of reported crimes at 6,006, followed by Meru (5,117), Nairobi City (4,954) and Nakuru at (4,133).

On the other hand, Bungoma, Trans-Nzoia and Kisumu recorded high declines at 430, 324 and 267 respectively.

The number of corruption reports under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission increased by 40.4 per cent from 2,747 in 2014/15 to 3,856 in 2015/16.

The value of public assets recovered in the year ending June 2016 amounted to Sh420 million compared to Sh140.3 million in the 2014/2015 financial year.