Impact of Victimization, Rates and Patterns - A Comparison of the Netherlands and the United States

• NCJ Number: 75498
• Author(s): R Block
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 31 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This comparison of patterns of victimization in the United States and the Netherlands is accompanied by suggested explanations for the observed differences.

Abstract

Data sources included the Dutch National Crime Survey of 1977 and the United States National Crime Survey of 1976. The Dutch survey asked about completed household burglaries, street attacks, and thefts of purses or wallets. The American survey asked about completed household burglaries and about more general forms of assault, robbery, and theft. Although the two countries' crime definitions are not identical, they can form a basis for victimization comparison. Different sampling methods were used for the two surveys. Results showed that home burglary rates are five times as high in the United States as in the Netherlands, while rates of wallet or purse theft and street assault are higher in the Netherlands. The rates of street robbery are about the same in the two countries. In both countries, victimization increases with urbanization, with a precipitous rate change as communities reach 100,000 in the Netherlands and 50,000 in the United States. In both countries, families of the highest and lowest incomes have the highest rates of victimization. Burglaries in the United States are primarily directed against residences and are inversely related to the percentage of women in the labor force, whereas burglaries in the Netherlands emphasize commercial targets. This difference in target probably reflects a difference in opportunities, in that U.S. commercial enterprises are open longer hours and homes occupied fewer hours than in the Netherlands. Homes in the United States are far better protected by locks but less well protected by people than in the Netherlands. Thefts of purses and wallets are probably higher in the Netherlands because the Dutch carry far more cash than typical Americans, due to the use of credit cards and checks in the United States. The higher rate of street assaults in the Netherlands may result from the diverse population and the greater use of public transport and pedestrian walkways. Household burglary is likely to remain constant in the United States, while household burglaries and purse thefts are likely to decline in the Netherlands. Seven tables are included.