THE UNEMPLOYED AND ARMED ROBBERY IN PORT HARCOURT CITY, (2000-2010)

Abstract

This research focuses on the rising unemployment rate and armed robbery in the Port Harcourt City, especially between 2000-2010. 300 registered unemployed persons and 100 convicted armed robbers were randomly selected from a sampling frame of 3771 persons for a questionnaire survey. Primary and secondary data were used for this study. The primary data was collected from job applicants with the Federal Ministry of Employment, Labour and Productivity and convicted armed robbers at the Port Harcourt Maximum Security Prison, while the secondary data were obtained from the Ministry of Labour and Productivity and State Criminal and Investigation Department (SCID). Study is situated in Sutherland theory of Differential Association. Five hypotheses are tested using the Chi-Square test of independence that were applied at 0.05 level of significance and 1 degree of freedom. The result of the Chi-Square (X²) test was subjected to the estimate of relative risks between unpaired observations using the Odds Ratio.  Findings showed that there is correlation between unemployment, family background, level of education, religious integration, peer group pressure and armed robbery. We recommended creation of more jobs both at the public and private sectors of the economy. We also recommended that the government should grant tax breaks to private companies as a way of encouraging them to employ more youths.