Impact of government empowerment programmes on crime level in Kenya

Crime among the youth who comprise the largest number of proportion in a country¿s population is a global problem. The scope of youth and crime has received a lot of attention especially in slum areas where there is a high number of idle youths, with a very high population thus a congested neighborhood, with cultural diversity, high poverty levels, informal housing, poor economic activities as well as limited resources to prevent crime. With the glaring evidence of the nexus between youth impoverishment and crime in urban areas, governments need to put in place numerous empowerment programs aimed at empowering the youth. By instituting these empowerment programmes, the government is able to harness the energy of the youth. This deters them from channeling such energy to criminal activities. Such programmes, have the capacity to check crime among urban populations. One way in which governments can enhance access to its empowerment programmes is through capacity building on the young people who are able to identify and develop capacities and use the assets that they already have to gain control over their lives and influence the social conditions that affect them.