NCJ Number
178444
Journal
International Review of Victimology Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: 1998 Pages: 1-16
Date Published
1998
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This paper reports results from the first national crime victimization survey conducted on a Caribbean island.
Abstract
A stratified random sample of 491 persons were interviewed, with a 90-percent response rate. Results were compared with those obtained in the International Crime Victims Survey for 10 countries. The prevalence and incidence of theft of vehicles, theft from vehicles, vehicle vandalism, robbery, and personal theft were relatively low on the island compared to the 10 countries. The prevalence and incidence of bicycle theft, burglary, attempted burglary, outside theft, assault/threats, and sexual incidents were relatively high on the island. The probability of reporting a crime to the police was relatively low, but confidence in the police was relatively high. Despite the relatively high level of crime on the island, fear of crime was relatively low. This study also compared the number of survey crimes with the number of police-recorded crimes on the island for the same year (July 1995-June 1996). Police-recorded crimes were more inclusive than survey crimes, because they include victimization of holiday rentals, second homes, and short-term residents. Six categories of offense were reasonably comparable in the survey and police statistics: theft of vehicles, burglary, attempted burglary, assault, threatening behavior, and sexual incidents. Possible explanations of the crime patterns are offered, and the limitations of victimization surveys are discussed. 7 tables and 4 references