NCJ Number
228606
Editor(s)
Kauko Aromaa,
Markku Heiskanen
Date Published
2008
Length
188 pages
Annotation
Fifteen papers from the second Stockholm Criminology Symposium (June 4-6, 2007) focus on "Victimization Surveys in Comparative Perspective."
Abstract
The papers reflect the following workshop topics on victimization surveys: victimization surveys in comparative perspective, national victimization surveys, and surveys on violence in intimate relationships. Regarding victimization surveys in comparative perspective, two papers focus on the Eurostat project that involves drafting a new European victimization survey. Another paper describes the ways that results of the International Crime Victims Survey have been used by the Dutch victim support organization for policy development at the national and international levels. A paper presented by a representative of the German Ministry of Justice discusses a potential problem of victimization surveys that arises from respondents' misunderstanding or subjective perception of what constitutes a crime. Papers from a second workshop focus on recent developments in national victimization surveys. These papers address experiences from Estonia, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. These papers review the history of each country's design and methodology of its victimization survey and presents findings from one or more administrations of the survey. The third workshop on victimization surveys dealt with national surveys on violence in intimate relationships. One paper discusses the features and findings of such a survey in Finland, and the other focuses on such a survey conducted in Italy. Both surveys found high rates of male partner violence against women. The last paper in the book addresses the important issue of "how to convert information from surveys into practical indicators." This is viewed as a critical issue because indicators summarize the complex data into a form that is useful for decisionmakers. This is the key to linking research data and analysis to policymaking.