Degree Name

MA in Conflict Management

First Advisor

John Ungerleider

Abstract

This research project was conducted for the purpose of investigating the perceptions of young men in the Mankassa area of Nima about the local incidence of violent crime. The data for this study was gathered using qualitative methods, primarily individual interviews. This research project was conducted in order to provide insight into the perspectives of young men in this area, aged 18- 35, about violent crime in their locale. Available statistics show that Nima has a relatively high rate of crime, and has for several years. This project was focused upon those individuals who data proclaim are the most likely to perpetuate violent crime. The intention of this research is to provide some academic understanding of impoverished youth in the Mankassa area of Nima. The methodological approach utilized for this research project consisted of 10 voluntary, structured, and open- ended individual interviews (I1-I10). All data was coded and analyzed after collection. The conclusions I drew from this project are that young men in Mankassa perceive crime in their area as being motivated by the lack of legal means of financial acquisition, and the widespread poverty in which most people live. This poverty prevents many people from being able to procure their basic human needs in a legal way, and motivates some to engage in criminality as a means to support themselves. Over time, some of these criminal behaviors, deemed deviant by the rest of society, have become legitimized in Mankassa, due to both the almost endemic nature of the poverty in the area, and the actions (and acquisitions) of those who participate in crime. It is my conclusion that initiatives to develop the capacity of the area residents would result in a reduction in the local crime rate.

Disciplines

Criminology | Inequality and Stratification | Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance

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