On the Uses of the International Crime Survey; With Special Reference to the Findings of the Netherlands

• NCJ Number: 131760
• Author(s): J J M van Dijk
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 14 pages
• Corporate Author: Netherlands Ministerie Van Justice
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Survey (Cross-Cultural)
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands
• Note: Paper for the International Forum on Crime Prevention, Tokyo, Japan, September 18, 1990

Annotation

Victimization surveys gathered information from 15 countries to permit international comparisons about the rates and nature of crime victimization during 1988.

Abstract

Participating countries included Australia, Belgium, Canada, England and Wales, Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Japan, The Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. Local surveys using the same questionnaire were also conducted in Poland and Indonesia. In most countries, 2,000 residents completed telephone interviews regarding 11 forms of victimization as well as the circumstances of crimes, police involvement, and victimization. Results showed that the United States, Canada, and Australia had the highest victimization rates, and Japan had the lowest rate. The Netherlands had the highest rates among the participating European countries, partly due to its high rate of bicycle thefts. Crime also increased substantially between 1970 and 1985 in The Netherlands. In all countries, the victimization rates were higher than police statistics. Results also showed that victimization risk was greatest in urban areas, for younger people, and for people who often went out in the evenings. Figures, tables, and 13 references