NCJ Number
228612
Date Published
2008
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the history of crime victimization surveys in Estonia and the role they have played in the development of Estonia's crimes statistics; suggestions are offered for how victimization surveys can be improved.
Abstract
The first national victimization survey in Estonia was conducted in February 1993. It involved 1,000 respondents ages 16-74 years old. Subsequent victimization surveys were conducted in 1995, 2000, and 2004, with the number of respondents ranging from 1,173 to 1,700. The basic questionnaire was the same as that used for the International Crime Victims Survey (ICVS). During the last 15 years, victimization surveys in Estonia have become an important tool for measuring the crime level. The main issues of interest have remained essentially the same since the first survey. Since the second survey in 1995, monitoring crime trends has become an essential issue, particularly after the new Criminal Code was enacted in 2002. In the new code, many offense definitions were modified, such that official crime data for recent years are not totally comparable with data from the 1990s. The latest surveys in Estonia (2004) and in the other European Union countries show that the total crime level has declined since the previous survey (2000). In Estonia, some surveys have become more important in planning and evaluation. There is a need for a more comprehensive picture of crime developments in Estonia. One approach might be to conduct simultaneous but separate surveys for the general population and for businesses, so as to obtain a more comprehensive picture of crime than one survey alone. Questions might be added to victimization surveys to encompass electronic crime, attitudes toward each component of the criminal justice system, sources of information on crime, and personal security measures used. 1 figure and 9 references