NAIROBI, KENYA: In a country like Kenya where crime rate is high, it is unimaginable for many to leave their premises unguarded at night and find everything intact the following day.
The situation is worse in major cities like Nairobi where thugs rob their targets in broad daylight without fear of being captured by several cameras mounted on different parts of the town.
Kenya’s crime story is different from Singapore which was recently ranked second on the Economist Intelligence Unit's Safe Cities Index for 2017, coming in just behind Tokyo.
According to CNBC, in 2016, the island nation's police reported 135 total days without any crimes including snatch-theft, house break-ins and robbery. That low crime rate means many small businesses enjoy little concern about shoplifting.
In fact, as CNBC recently observed, many local businesses take few precautions when closing shop at night.
For instance, in the ground floor lobby of a mixed-use building in the downtown business district, many shops don't have windows, locks — or even doors.
A Starbucks located in Raffles Place, one of Singapore's busiest underground train stations has no formal doors. Rather, a small rope indicates when the store is closed, and merchandise is all still displayed and within an arm's length of commuters.
But of course, surveillance is highly prevalent in the city-state, which boasts about 5.5 million people.
Last year, Singapore's police force announced an initiative, PolCam 2.0, in which it will roll out tens of thousands of additional surveillance cameras. In it's first initiative in 2012, the Police installed more than 62,000 cameras.
Kenyan crime report in 2013
According to the 2014 annual crime report released by Kenyan police, the most prevalent crime counties in Kenya were Nairobi at 6,732 incidents, Nakuru at 4,525, Kiambu at 4,449, Mombasa at 2,946 and Muranga at 2,501.
Under the same year, there were 1,793 murder cases as compared to 1,924 in 2013 and 1,774 in 2012 while manslaughter stood at 47 cases in 2014, 49 in 2013 and 52 in 2012.
The Government said 40 policemen were killed and 77 others injured in the line of duty during the period under study.
Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join