The Bearing of social capital on violent crimes in Nigeria

Abstract

Human beings are social animals who cannot live independent of each other. The constant interaction of humans defines their nature and weaves the network upon which order is created and maintained. Social order endures on the basis of trust established among men and the benefit derived there from. This established trust which underlines social relationship is prized by men as safety net against trepidations and adversities. Referred to as social capital, it is also seen an informal social control mechanism. The object of this paper is to examine the relationship between social capital and individuals’ involvement in murder as an example of violent crime. Using a quantitative research design, a (N – 615) research subjects were sampled from among convicted prisoners from four (4) prisons in Niger State, Nigeria. Prepared semi-structured questionnaires were administered on the research subjects. The theory Social Disorganization was adopted as framework that explains socio- economic status factors as they interact with violent crimes of murder, assault, rape and armed robbery due to their potency to explain principal variables involved. Data obtained from the completed questionnaires were analyzed. The result indicates a significant relationship between social capital and involvement in murder. It was therefore suggested that a union of neighbourhood residents be formed to serve as safety valve for the lack of social capital which explains involvement in violent crimes was suggested.