Problems and Results in Comparing Intrnational Victim Surveys (From Verbrechensopfer, P 159-176, 1979, Gerd Ferdinand Kirchhoff and Klaus Sessar, ed. - See NCJ-72716)

• NCJ Number: 72724
• Author(s): M B Clinard; J Junger-Tas
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Studienverlag Dr N Brockmeyer
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: German
• Country: West Germany (Former)

Annotation

The usefulness of victim surveys for comparing crime rates on an international level and problems relating to comparability of data are discussed.

Abstract

The victim surveys developed since the sixties have shown that crime rates are generally 3 to 10 times higher than police statistics indicate. More important, victim surveys make possible reliable comparison of crime statistics on an international level, including data on third world countries in which police statistics are not particularly reliable. However, studies of this type are also problematic. What is perceived as an offense varies from culture to culture. As a result, victim surveys must be limited to offenses which can be clearly defined. Furthermore, representative samples are selected according to varying criteria, and their thoroughness and frequency depend on the country's financial resources. Findings suggest that victimization statistics are more accurate when all members of a household rather than just the head of household are interviewed. The minimum age of survey respondents varies from 12 to 18 years old, with very different results from country to country. Accuracy requires construction of very precise questions and use of similar questionnaires in all countries, which is frequently hard to achieve. Interviewers must be carefully selected and trained to assure thoroughness and uniformity. Comparing police crime statistics with victim survey data is complicated by such factors as time periods which do not overlap, failure of police to record all crimes reported, and variations in public reporting practices for different crimes. International studies have prompted new theoretical explanations of victimization risk and of crime (e.g., working mothers, isolation, living environments,), as crimes can now be compared under differing social and economic conditions. Further perfection of victim survey technique will provide opportutnities for new directions in criminological theory. Notes, a 43-item bibliography, and a schematic drawing are supplied.