NCJ Number
133141
Date Published
1991
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This 1989 international crime survey analyzed victimological risk in 14 countries.
Abstract
Preliminary data analysis revealed that risk-increasing factors were young age, the status of urban dweller, a high socioeconomic status, an outgoing lifestyle, and being male. For the average person, the likelihood of becoming a crime victim over a 5-year period was 49 percent. Relationships between social characteristics and victimization rates differed by offense type. Town size was consistently related to victimization risks for all crime types. Young persons had the highest risks for bicycle theft and aggressive criminality. The middle age group, however, showed the highest risk coefficients for car-related crimes. Individuals between 16 and 29 years of age were most at risk in all countries. Also in all countries, overall risks were highest among those with the highest socioeconomic status. Risks for employed persons were higher than for the unemployed. Victimization risks among women tended to be more similar to those of men in countries where female employment levels were more equal. The author concludes that social correlates of local crime rates can best be analyzed within a theoretical framework that combines criminal opportunity theory with elements of strain theory. In this perspective, victimization rates are viewed as the outcome of a confrontation between local groups of motivated offenders on the one hand and criminal opportunity structures on the other. Supplemental data on victimization in England and Wales, the Netherlands, the United States, and Germany are appended. 18 references and 10 tables