International Crime Survey: A Tool for the Planning and Evaluation of National Crime Policies

• NCJ Number: 136446
• Author(s): J J M van Dijk
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 13 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands
• Note: Paper read at the Prepatory Seminar of the International Conference on Understanding Crime: Experiences of Crime and Crime Control, Rome, March 17-18, 1992.

Annotation

This study uses a standardized survey to examine international crime statistics as a basis for planning an integrated crime policy.

Abstract

The majority of the 2,000 participants from 15 countries were interviewed by telephone and answered questions pertaining to several issues of victimization. Those victimized were queried about police intervention and satisfaction with police response. Comparisons between the surveys and police data indicate similar figures for robbery, assault, and sexual incidents, though for many types of crimes, police statistics are invalid for comparative purposes due to different reporting rates in the various countries. Further, police figures are unstable indicators for actual victimization rates since trends and greater social awareness may account for increased reporting. Though overall prevalence rates can be misleading because both minor and major crimes are counted equally, the study published the information based on their routine inclusion in criminological literature. In the International Crime Survey in 1992, participants responded to questions regarding the seriousness of their victimization, and this information provided a more comprehensive method in measuring overall prevalence rates. 2 tables and 1 graph