NCJ Number
193338
Date Published
2001
Length
230 pages
Annotation
This report presents the findings of the International Crime Victimization Survey conducted in 17 countries in 2000 and focusing on participants' experiences of crime in 1999.
Abstract
The telephone interviews asked participants whether they had experienced any of 11 crimes, whether or not reported to the police. The surveys gathered information from about 2,000 people in each country, selected through variants of random digit dialing. Results revealed that more than 24 percent of the participants in Australia, England and Wales, the Netherlands, and Sweden had experienced victimization. Twenty to 24 percent of the people in Canada, Scotland, Denmark, Poland, Belgium, France, and United States reported victimization. Fewer than 20 percent of the people in Finland, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Japan, and Northern Ireland reported victimization. The United States faired relatively worse on incidence rates than on prevalence rates; the incidence was highest in England and Wales, Australia, and the Netherlands. More than 40 percent of the total crimes involved cars. People in different countries had similar attitudes regarding the seriousness of different crimes. Victimization risks were 60 percent higher in the most urban areas in comparison to the least urban areas. Younger people were at greater risk than older people. Reporting rates were highest for vehicle thefts and burglaries. The majority of victims were satisfied with how the police responded to their crime report. Just under one fourth reported feeling very unsafe or a bit unsafe walking alone in their area after dark; however, feelings about street safety were not consistently related to levels of street trouble. Forty-one percent of participants favored a community service order for a recidivist burglar aged 21, 34 percent favored imprisonment. Overall, attitudes toward punishment were hardening, with increasing proportions supporting imprisonment. Tables; figures; footnotes; appended methodological information and instrument; and 58 references