Burden of Crime on Dutch Society, 1973-1979

• NCJ Number: 77347
• Author(s): J J M vanDijk; C H D Steinmetz
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 48 pages
• Corporate Author: Netherlands Ministerie Van Justice
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands
• Note: No. 38

Annotation

The results of victim surveys in the Netherlands for 1973 through 1979 are presented and compared to U.S. survey results, and a victimological risk analysis for the Netherlands is performed.

Abstract

The surveys, carried out by the Social Scientific Research Centre of the Ministry of Justice, covered 10 crimes: damage to property; innocent party in collision with motor vehicle or involved in a hit-and-run accident; bicycle, moped, and private car theft; threatening or violent behavior in the street; pickpocketing/bag-snatching; indecent assault in the street; theft from a private car; and burglary in a dwelling. The rates for most of these offenses have steadily risen over the 7-year period, while burglary and theft from a car alone rose by 42 and 48 percent between 1978 and 1979. In the years 1976-79, the likelihood of becoming a victim of 1 or more of the 10 offenses mentioned was 18-23 percent, respectively. A comparison with U.S. crime rates, which was conducted by weighting the results of American and Dutch surveys for 1976, showed that an American household was seven times more likely than a Dutch one of being burglarized. However, the percentage of victims of threatening behavior in a public place was actually higher among the Dutch population, as was the percentage of victims who sustained physical injury. In the United States, firearms were more frequently involved in such incidents. In the Netherlands, victim rates were highest among people who lived in urban areas, among younger people, among males, and among higher social echelons. The risk of victimization of the individual was determined by the degree to which the person was visibly an attractive target, how close the person lived to potential offenders and how much contact the person had with them, and the extent to which a person gave potential offenders the opportunity to commit an offense. In addition to these, outgoing behavior and former victimizations may serve as useful predictors for victimization. Background information and local crime rates are included. Data tables, footnotes, and a 34-item reference list are provided.