An investigation of the increase of gun crimes in Namibia: A case study of Katutura
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Date
2012
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Abstract
This study aimed at investigating the causes of the increase of gun crimes in Katutura from 2006 to 2010. It is also investigating ways how guns are increasingly misused, factors such as availability of guns, common categories of gun crimes, age, sex and what influences gun crime. There are perceptions that violent crime is rife in the Katutura in Khomas Region in particular hence some of the people have acquired licensed firearms intended for self-defense. The research reviewed a number of aspects of the cause of the increase of gun crimes in Namibia particularly in Katutura, including the inadequacy of existing gun control laws; the adequacy of existing law on gun crimes, the context of gun abuse, the community most affected by it, and vulnerable victims, the age group, gender of criminals, vulnerable victims, the police, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) NANGOF and the respondent’s suggestions to minimise the problem of the increase of gun crimes in Katutura. This study also reviewed literature dealing with criminals, psychological, sociological, crime and crime control theories pertinent to gun crimes. The study used combined qualitative and quantitative methods. Structured and unstructured questionnaires (open-ended) were used. About 30 key respondents were interviewed. Respondents were in three categories, namely, victims of gun crimes, convicts of gun crimes and professionals such as, the police, Members of Parliament (MPs) and NGOs. The Police provided qualitative and quantitative data on gun crime statistics and data of the victims for interview. During data collection, Prison and Correctional Services availed 5 convicts in three different categories for interview, namely, convict for gun murder, convict for armed robbery and convict for murder and attempted gun suicide. Among the major findings were: too many illegal guns in circulations, inadequacy in the gun control law Act, there is a significant relationship between age and misuse of guns, and women were found to be more domestically vulnerable to gun crimes. However, one strong evidence from the study is that most of the problems associated with the cause of gun crimes require social and economical intervention rather than criminal justice solutions.
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A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Arts in Security and Strategic studies.
Keywords
Gun crimes