SOCIAL STUDIES SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT

Name of Candidate: Tyrese Baxter

Teacher: Ms. Bennett

Centre: Jamaica College

Centre Number: 100052

Candidate Number: 1000520177

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Acknowledgement

2. Introduction

3. Topic

4. Statement of the Problem

5. Reason for Selecting Area of Research

6. Data Collection Instrument

7. Procedure for Data Collection

8. Presentation of Data

9. Analysis and Interpretation of Data

10. Statement of the Findings

11. Recommendation and Implementation Strategies

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The successful completion of this study wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance

and cooperation of the researcher’s family and friends, as a result the researcher wants to

convey his heartfelt gratitude to his mother, Elaine Titus who has given him reassurance in

terms of information and motivation in order for him to complete this assignment. The

researcher would like to praise God for good health and strength that was necessary in order

for him to complete the study. The researcher also gives thanks to Ms. Bennett for the

assistance she has provided with the S.B.A.

 INTRODUCTION

The New Harbour Village 2 community a large housing development, which is located in the

town of Old Harbour, St. Catherine. It entails restaurants, pharmacies, police stations, post

offices, wholesalers and retailers, bars, hardware stores and etc. It is estimated to be twenty

three miles from the nation’s capital city, Kingston. It has a total population of 3,380

households and is divided into 6 phases. The housing scheme was built on a woodland which

was inhabited by several species of wildlife GORE Development Ltd. Approximately 85%

persons who live in the community are middle classed citizens, educated and of average age

level. The community is residential and is located in an urban city. The community has

approximately 95% percentage of employed citizens taking residents. The community has

had one criminal act of murder taking place as one of the residents went out to check out a

strange sound that he heard in his yard and was shot n]by a gunman. The residents have

complained that this has happened as a result of the low perimeter wall that was built to

border the community. The researcher has been a resident of new Harbour Village 2 for the

past five years. The researcher have monitored an escalation in the robbery rate within this

community. Robbery is the action of taking property unlawfully from a person or place by

force of threat of force. As a result, the researcher have decided to organize an assessment to

investigate the level of robbery within the community.

 TOPIC

Topic: Robbery
 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

What are the causes of robbery in New Harbour Village between the hours 10p.m. to 2a.m?

Research Questions:

1. What are the factors contributing to robberies in the community of New Harbour

Village 2?

2. What are the measures implemented to deal with these incidents of robbery?

3. What are the effects of robbery on community residents?

 REASON FOR SELECTING THE AREA OF RESEARCH

The Reason for Selecting the Area of Research is, because it is foremost the most frequent

problem in my community, thus it is important that an investigation be carried out to discover

what are the causes of robbery in New Harbour Village between the hours 10p.m. to 2a.m.

and what are the measures to minimize the problem? Robbery in my community seems to be

the foundation of a variety of other social problems. The crisis is created by peer pressure,

substance abuse and opportunism. The activity has caused an upsurge in migration of

community members which is the leading cause of the community’s bad reputation which is

decreasing the income rate of the Gore (Company). To promote stability and decrease the

robbery rate, security guards have the power to conduct searches for those who are not

residents of the community. The researcher also urges that better security must be enabled to

protect the community members from this crime. In order to avoid the downfalls of the Gore

(Company) income rate and give the community back its reputation. The problem affects the

researcher and members of the community, because it causes them to feel endangered. The

researcher and community members feel awful about the issue.  These are the factors which

have led the research to investigate what are the causes of robbery in New Harbour Village

between the hours 10p.m. to 2a.m and what are the measures to minimize the problem?
 METHOD OF INVESTIGATION

The method of investigation used for this study, was a questionnaire. A questionnaire is a set

of written or printed pages in which a series of answers is given to obtain statistical data. An

advantage of using the questionnaire is that it prevents prejudice as the respondents aren’t

influenced by the researcher. It is convenient for the respondents to fill out the questionnaire

within their own time. Questionnaires are less time consuming as they can be quickly

completed and analyzed. The researcher chose 30 persons within the community to distribute

the questionnaires. The researcher felt it was necessary to gather information from both sexes

as they are both affected by the problem.

 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT

Dear Respondents,

My name is Tyrese Baxter and I attend Jamaica College. As a requirement for sitting

CSEC Social Studies, I am required to complete the given School Based Assessment (SBA).

The topic of my SBA is “What are the causes of robbery in New Harbour Village 2 between

the hours 10p.m to 2a.m?” It is advised that you should read these questions carefully and

answer them truthfully. In this survey your name or any other personal data that can be used

to track or identify you will not be required so your identity is confidential. In the

questionnaire below you are just required to tick the bracket corresponding with your answer

for the fulfillment of my SBA.

Yours Sincerely,

Tyrese Baxter

(4th Form Student of Jamaica College)

 QUESTIONNAIRE

Instructions: Please place a simple tick in the bracket (   ) according to your answer.

Gender:

Male (   )            Female (   )

Age Group

18-25 (   )           26-35 (   )

36-45 (   )           46-55 (   )

Ethnic Group:

African (   )   Chinese (   )   East Indian (   )   Other (   )

Occupation

___________________________________________________________________________

1. How long have you been living in New Harbour Village 2, Old Harbour?

1-5 years (   )

5-10 years (   )

10 years & over (   )

2. Do you like living in the community of New Harbour Village 2 Tropical Crescent?

Yes (   )             No (   )

Give reason for your answer

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

3. Have you ever been robbed?

Yes (   )            No (   )

If so, have you ever reported it?

_____________________________________________________________________

4. How often are these incidents of robbery being experienced?

 1-2 times (   )            5-6 times (   )

3-4 times (   )            daily (   )

5. How has the robbery affected you?

Terribly (   )                   Not badly (   )

Manageable (   )            Seriously (   )

Other _________________________

6. What do you think are the causes of these robberies?

Peer Pressure (   )                               Unemployment (   )

Inadequate Security (   )                     Poverty (   )

Other _________________________

(b). Are persons in the community suspected of instigating or being a part of these

incidents of robbery?

Yes (   )            No (   )

7. What are the immediate effects on families and their children due to incidents of

robbery?

Depression (   )                               Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (   )

Fear (   )                                          Flashbacks to the incident (   )

8. What are some of the losses experienced due to robbery?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

9. What are the hours and frequency of these robberies?

Daily (   )                                      Always (   )

Once weekly (   )                         Sometimes (   )

 Twice monthly (   )                      Irregular (   )

Other (   )                                     Other (   )

10. What factors do you think are attracting robbers to the community?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

11. How would you rate the level of police protection in your community since the past 2

years?

Increased (   )                               Decreased (   )

Constant (   )                                Other ____________________

12. What are some of the measures (strategies) the community have implemented to

reduce robbery in the community?

Increased Security (   )                                                           Neighborhood (   )

Ensure daily checkups on residents (   )                                 Other _______________

 PROCEDURES FOR DATA COLLECTION

A total of thirty questionnaires were printed and issued to the various respondents. It

was expected that the entire thirty questionnaires would have been returned; however,

only twenty-five were returned. The sampling method, which the researcher decided

to use in issuing the questionnaires was, cluster sampling. Cluster Sampling is a

probability sampling technique wherein the researcher divides a large population to

form smaller groups successively to sample in the study. In issuing the questionnaires,

the researcher decided to give every resident in the community of Tropical Crescent.

The questionnaires were issued in the week of July 4th and the majority were

collected during July 11th.

 PRESENTATION OF DATA

Figure 1: Pie chart showing the age group of respondents.

Based on the data presented in Fig 1, 46% of the respondents were between the ages

of 18-25 years, 27% of the respondents were between the ages of 26-35 years, 18% of

the respondents were between the ages of 36-45 years and 9% of the respondents were

between the ages of 46-55 years. There were no respondents within the age group of

55 years & older.

Figure 2: Bar graph showing the total amount of persons robbed in New

Harbour Village 2.
Table 1: Table showing the emotional effects of robberies on the family.

What are some of the emotional effects on families due Number of Percentage%
to robberies  Respondents

Depression 3 12

Fear 11 44

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 4 16

Flashbacks to the incidents 5 20

Other 2 8
 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Figure 1 shows the respective age group of the respondents. Forty-six (46%) of the

responder’s were in the age group of 18-25, Twenty-seven (27%) of the responder’s

where in the age group of 26-35, Eighteen (18%) of the responder’s where in the age

group of 36-45, Nine (9%) of the responder’s where within the age group 46-55 and

there wasn’t any responder’s within the age group of 55 years and older. Table 1

shows the emotional effects of robberies on families. Twelve (12%) of the

respondents stated that they suffered from Depression, Forty-four (44%) of the

respondents stated that they suffered from fear, sixteen (16%) of the respondents

stated that they suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Twenty (20%)

of the respondents stated that they suffered from Flashbacks to the incidents and Eight

(8%) of the respondents stated that there are other effects such as: direct cost and

inconvenience due to theft or damage of property. According to psychiatry.org,

depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you

feel, the way you think and how you act. In Figure 2, Thirteen (13%) of the

respondents stated that they have been robbed, Eighty-seven (87%) of the respondents

stated that they were not robbed. According to Table 2 the researcher found out that

Twenty-eight (28%) of the respondents stated that Unemployment is the cause of

robberies, Twenty (20%) of the respondents stated that Inadequate Security is the

cause of robberies, Twenty (20%) of the respondents stated that Poverty is the cause

of robberies, Twenty (20%) of the respondents stated that Peer Pressure is the cause

of robberies and Twelve (12%) of the respondents stated others such as: Residents

Family Members/Friends and Greed is the cause of robberies in the Community New

Harbour Village 2. Due to the previous results it is evident that these robberies are

attracted to the community, because of the Socio-economic Status of the residents.

Socio-economic Status is the social standing or class of an individual or group. It is

often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation. According to

apa.org. Due to the fact that the majority of the respondents are aware of these

robberies taking place in the community, it caused the researcher to ponder if there

are long-term problems faced by the residents of the community. But this fascinated

the researcher as in Figure 3 Thirty-two (32%) of the respondents stated that the

community has Increased Security, Forty (40%) of the respondents stated that the

community has implemented Neighborhood Watches, Twelve (12%) of the

respondents stated that the community has implemented Daily Checkups on residents,

Sixteen (16%) of the respondents stated that the community has implemented other

measures such as: Surveillance Camera. The researcher went further to investigate if

residents in the community is responsible for these incidents of robberies taking place

in the community Fifty-two (52%) of the respondents stated yes, Twenty-eight (28%)

of the respondents stated no and Twenty (20%) of the respondents didn’t answer the

question. Majority of the response is due to the fact that residents are suspicious of

other residents being part takers in these incidents of robberies. In response to the

question how would you rate the level of police protection in the community since the

past 2 years Twelve (12%) of the respondents stated that it has increased, Twenty

(20%) of the respondents stated that it has decreased, Forty (40%) of the respondents

stated that it has remained constant, Eight (8%) of the respondents stated that it has

being very good, very poor and rare will Twenty (20%) of the respondents didn’t

answer the question. 

 STATEMENT OF FINDINGS

1. The main reason for the increasing level of robberies in the community is

Unemployment, which accounts for 57%.

2. The main problem faced by the residents is fear which causes a lack of safety,

which accounts for 53%.

3. In order to reduce the problem faced by the residents 43% of the respondents

stated that the community has implemented Neighborhood Watch as well as

increased the level of security, which accounts for 37%.

 RECOMMENDATION AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

The researcher is now making the following recommendations after carefully analyzing the

data collected to reduce the incidents of robbery faced by residents of the New Harbour

Village 2 Community. Firstly, the researcher recommends that the Community President

should implement Surveillance Cameras in the community so that they could be aware of the

activities taking place within the community. This could be done with the aid of Churches

and Community Center Fundraisers. This would be successful, because the community would

be under the watch of the security guards and if they spot any suspicious activity it would be

reported to the police officers for investigation. Secondly, the researcher recommends that the

Community President should hold a massive Educational Programme to educate the residents

about the consequences of part-taking in robbery. This could be done with the aid of

Churches and Community Fundraisers. This would be successful, as residents will be aware

of the consequences of participating in robbery such as: Imprisonment, Charged with a fine

and etc, which would make them fearful. Thirdly, the researcher endorses that the

government should be in allegiance with private enterprises to provide employment

opportunities to residents of neighboring communities. This would be successful, since the

residents would be given an opportunity to employment which in other words would help

them to provide for their families and themselves without consulting means of a criminal

offence namely robbery.

 APPENDIX

Table 2: Table showing the causes of robberies in the community New Harbour Village

2.

The causes of robberies in New Harbour Village 2 Respondents Percentage%

Unemployment 14 28

Inadequate Security 6 20

Poverty 5 20

Peer Pressure 5 20

Other 3 12
Figure 3: Bar graph showing the measures (strategies) the community have

implemented to reduce the level of robbery in the community.

Figure 4: Bar graph showing the rate of the police protection since the past 2 years.
Figure 5: Pie chart showing the response towards the question is anyone suspected to be

involved in these incidents of robberies.