Social studies school-based assessment 2023

Candidates: Quintus Angelo, Shiloh Frederick, Tristan Octave

School: Saint Mary’s College

Center Number: 140003

Subject: Social Studies

Proficiency: General

Territory: St. Lucia

Table of Contents
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Acknowledgement
The successful fulfillment of this study would not have been possible without the guidance and

assistance of our friends and family members. In that way, we’d like to express our earnest

gratitude to our parents who has given us the boost we needed for us to complete this

assignment. I would like to thank God for good health and strength which was a necessity for us

to fulfill this investigation. Additionally, we’d like to convey my heartfelt appreciation to our

Social Studies teacher, Mrs. Atkinson James, who played an instrumental role in communicating

with us, the necessary information and support we required to prosperously accomplish what was

required of this assignment.

Introduction
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The capital of St. Lucia, Castries, is in district two of the country. It entails restaurants, fire
stations, wholesalers and retailers, bars, hardware stores etc. For decades, the rate at which crime
has been committed has continued to increase and there appears to be no stunt in the level of
criminal activity engaged particularly in the city of Castries. Additionally, the causes of these
crimes are due to several factors which have gone unnoticed by the government and the general
public. According to numbeo.com, “corruption and bribery” are the most committed crimes
among many performed in the last three years, in the city of Castries. However, in order to curb
the level of criminal activity engaged in, various measures must be considered and the current
ones must be reviewed.

Statement of the problem

__________________________________________________________

What do students of in district two, between the ages of 12-18 think are the main factors that
contribute towards the increasing level of Crime in Castries?
 Rationale
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The reason why we chose this topic was because crime has detrimentally affected a variety of
parts in our country particularly its city, Castries. As a result, it directed us to investigate deeper
into the main causes of crime. I also wanted to determine why crime rapidly continues to
increase within Castries. In doing so, I would not merely like to highlight the causes, but also
identify effective solutions to resolve those issues

INSTRUMENTS USED TO COLLECT DATA

__________________________________________________________

Dear Respondents,
Research Question: What do students of District Two between the ages of 12 – 18 years think
are the contributing factors towards the levels of Crime in Castries.

This study is being carried out as part of the requirement for a Social Studies School Based
Assessment we are presently pursuing.

Part 1 of this questionnaire deals with the third person view of an individual witnessing crime.
Part 2 represents a question relating to victim experience with crime.
Part 3 is concerned with the solutions and recommendations.

Please answer the questions as truthfully as possible. There are no right or wrong answers, just
place a tick (✓) in the spaces provided or write on the lines where necessary. Thanks for your
assistance.

Yours Truly,

Shiloh Frederick, Quintus Angelo and Tristan Octave

Questionnaire
__________________________________________________________

INSTRUCTION: Please place a tick in the spaces provided (i.e. (✓) according to your response).

Demographic Information
1. Gender
Male ( ) Female ( )

2. To which age group do you belong?

12-13 ( ) 14-15 ( ) 16-17 ( ) 17-18 ( )

3. Where do you live? Answer: _________________________________________________

4. To which religious group do you belong?

Rastafarian ( ) Hinduism ( ) Christianity ( )
Other: ____________________________

Part 1

5. How many times have you witnessed or knew of criminal activities taking place in Castries?
1–5( ) 6 – 10 ( ) 11 – 15 ( ) over 15 ( )

6. What type of crimes have you witnessed or knew of occurring? Tick more answers if
necessary.
Vandalism ( ) Stealing ( ) Assault ( ) Robbery ( )
Other: ____________________________

7. At what time of the day do you usually witness these crimes occurring?
Morning ( ) Afternoon ( ) Night ( )

8. When these crimes were committed, for what duration do they last?
Under 1 minute ( ) 2 – 4 minutes ( ) over 5 minutes ( )
9a. Were the crimes committed with a weapon?
Yes ( ) No ( )

9b. If yes, what was the weapon used?

Scissors ( ) Knife ( ) Fire arm ( )
Other: ____________________________

10a. At the time of the incident, was there any interventions?

Yes ( ) No ( )

10b. If yes, who were the persons who intervened?

Security guard ( ) Police officer ( ) Passers – by ( )
Other: ____________________________

11. How successful was the aggressor in committing the crime?

Successful ( ) Not Successful ( )

12. What do you think were the causes of the crime you witnessed? Tick more answers if
necessary.
Poverty ( ) Parental Neglect ( ) Low self-esteem ( )
Alcohol and Drug abuse ( ) Bitter anger ( ) Homelessness ( )
Other: ____________________________
Part 2

13a. Have you been a victim of criminal activity?

Yes ( ) No ( )
13b. If yes, what crime and how did it affect you?
________________________________________________________________________

Part 3

14. What happened to the perpetrator after the crimes were committed?
Cautioned ( ) Arrested ( ) Escaped ( )
Other: _________________________________________________________

15a. How efficient is the work of the police in handling those criminal activities?
Efficient ( ) Somewhat efficient ( ) Not efficient ( )

15b. If possible, how can the work of the police be improved?

Answer: _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

16. What measures do you think can be implemented by the Government to reduce the levels
of crime committed in Castries.
Answer: __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Procedures for Data collection

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The instrument which was utilized was electronically distributed questionnaires. The
questionnaire consisted of 16 questions inclusive of the demographic data. There were thirteen
close ended questions and two open ended questions. Twenty instruments were distributed to 15
males and 5 females in the 11-18 age range. The researchers together with the assistance of a
colleague collected the data. The random sampling data collection method was used.
Questionnaires were distributed at random until all the questionnaires were finished. The data
collection period was one week, from October 12 – 19, 2022. The researchers distributed and
collected the instruments upon completion and electronic submission. The procedure was
necessary as it ensured that the researchers obtained access to data which was both reliable and
accurate.

Presentation of data
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Question 1
 Gender

28.60%

71.40%

Male Female

71.40% of the respondents are male while 28.60% are female.

Question 2

Age of Respondants
12

10

6
10
4 8

2
2
1
0
11 - 12. 13 - 14 15 - 16 17 - 18

10 of the respondents are 15-16 years old, 8 are 17-18 years old, 2 are 13-14 years old and 1 is
11-12 years old.
Question 3
 Locati on
12

10

6
10
4

2 4
3
2 2
0
Gros - Islet Castries Vieux- Fort Micould Dennery

10 of the respondents live in Castries, 4 live in Gros-Islet, 3 live in Dennery and 2 live in Vieux-
Fort and 2 live in Micoud.

Question 4

Religion
4.50%
4.50%

9.50%

81.00%

Christianity Rastafarian Adventist Israelite

81% of the respondents are Christian, 9.50% are Rastafarian, whilst 4.50% are Adventist and
4.50% are Israelite.
Question 5
 Times Witnessed or knew of criminal acti viti es
8 taking place
7

0
1 - 5 times 6 - 10 times 11 - 15 times over 15 times

7 of the respondents answered that they have witnessed or knew of criminal activities taking
place over 15 times, 7 of them answered 1-5 times, 6 answered 6-10 times and 1 of them
answered 11-15 times.

Question 6

Types of Crime Witnessed

Assault

Stealing

Vandalism

Robbery

Rape

Harrassment

Homicide
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

13 respondents answered that they witnessed assault, 12 answered that they witnessed stealing,
11 answered that they witnessed vandalism and 11 answered that they witnessed robbery, and 1
answered that they witnessed rape, 1 witnessed harassment and 1 witnessed homicide.

NB: More than one answer was ticked in this question.

Question 7
 Time of Day crimes are Witnessed

19.00%

42.90%

38.10%

Morning Afternoon Evening

42.90% of the respondents answered that they witnessed the crime taking place in the morning,
whilst 38.10% witnessed them in the afternoon and 19% witnessed them in the night.

Question 8

Durati on of Crimes Witnessed

12

10

0
under 1 minute 2 - 4 minutes over 5 minutes

11 of the respondents answered that the duration for the crimes being witnessed lasted under 1
minute, whilst 7 answered that it lasted 2-4 minutes and 3 responded that it lasted over 5
minutes.
Question 9
 Were the crimes committ ed with a weapon?

28.60%

71.40%

Yes No

71.40% of the respondents answered that the crimes witnessed were committed with a weapon
whilst 28.60% answered that there witnessed crimes were not committed with a weapon.

Question 10

If Yes, the Weapon Used

Knife

Firearm

Scissors

Wood

Cutlass

Marker

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

7 respondents answered that a knife was used as a weapon, 5 answered that a firearm was used, 2
answered that a scissors was used, and 1 answered that a piece of wood was used, 1 answered
that a cutlass was used and 1 answered that a marker was used.

NB: More than one answer was ticked in this question.

Question 11
 Were there any interventi ons?

47.60%
52.40%

Yes No

52.40% of the respondents answered that there was an intervention made whilst 47.60%
answered that there was not.

Question 12

If Yes, Persons who intervened

Passers - By

Police Officer

Security Guard

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

8 of the respondents answered that passers-by intervened amidst the committing of the crime,
whilst 5 answered that the crime was intervened by the police and 1 was intervened by a security
guard.

NB: More than one answer was ticked in this question.

Question 13
 How successful is the aggressor in commit -
ti ng the crime?

28.60%

71.40%

Successful Not Successful

71.40% of the respondents answered that the aggressor was successful whilst 28.60 answered
that the aggressor was unsuccessful in committing the crime.

Question 14

What do you think are the causes of crime?

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
rty ct m us
e e r s s
en
t ge be
ve le ee ng ne en ou
Po Ne
g
E st Ab rA ess l em e v T r
l lf ug tte e l tit R
fo
r
ta Se Dr Bi m En
ren w d Ho kin
g
Pa Lo l an o
ho Lo
cl o
A

12 respondents answered that they perceive that the cause of crime is due to bitter anger, 9
answered that it is due to poverty, 9 answered that it is due to alcohol and drug abuse, 8
answered that it is due to low self esteem, 8 answered that it is due to parental neglect, 2
answered that it is due to homelessness, and 1 answered that it is due to revenge, 1 answered that
it is due to entitlement and 1 answered that it is due to a situation where the aggressor is actively
looking for trouble.

NB: More than one answer was ticked in this question.

Question 15
 Have you been a victim of criminal acti vity?

47.60%
52.40%

Yes No

52.40% of the respondents answered that they have been a victim of criminal activity whilst
47.60% answered that they have not.

Question 16

What happened to the perpetrator after the

crimes were committ ed
12

10

0
Cautioned Arrested Escaped Other

10 respondents answered by saying that the perpetrator escaped after the crime was committed, 5
answered by saying that the perpetrator was arrested, 3 answered by saying that the perpetrator
was cautioned and 3 answered by saying that the perpetrator’s fate or was dealt with in a
subsequent manner.
Question 17
 How effi cient is the work of the police?
12

10

0
Efficient Not Efficient Somewhat Efficient

10 of the respondents answered that the work of the police is not efficient, whilst 9 answered that
it is somewhat efficient and 2 answered that it is efficient.