Bodaboda Identification and Urban Crime Control in Nairobi Central Business District, Kenya

In as much as the bodaboda industry is thriving, employing millions of people, a source of livelihood to many and daily transactions running into millions; the sector is a hub for criminal elements and directly linked to insecurity. The riders engage in criminal activities or get paid a commission for enter or as a getaway from crime scenes. Therefore, in seeking to control urban crime, this paper focused on bodaboda identification. The theoretical foundation was based on broken window theory and the study guided by the descriptive research design. The 6 bodaboda stage managers, 24 bodaboda Sacco officials, 7 officers in-charge of police station and 60 county law enforcement officers formed the target population. There was use of stratified sampling technique as respondents were placed into groups, simple random sampling adopted in selecting respondents and purposive sampling used in getting the interviewees. Primary data was collected from semi-structured questionnaires and interview schedules and quantitative and qualitative data was obtained. Descriptive, inferential and linear regression analysis was conducted where findings showed that 25.1% variation in crime control in the Nairobi CBD was through the influence of bodaboda identification. The relationship between bodaboda identification and urban crime control was positive and significant based on regression coefficient results β =0.391. The paper concludes that movement of the 5.5 million people in Nairobi’s CBD is reliant on bodaboda transport sector. But, to maintain law and order and for the success of the region, all bodabodas must have identification that eases the tracking and monitoring of activities of the riders. The research recommended for government entities to embrace new technology in the number plates of the bodabodas for ease of identification, tracking and apprehending. The technology will also help in reporting crimes as there is still fear of visiting police stations. The identification of all bodabodas will help in security and safety of the business environment as a necessity in thriving of the central business district.