{{short description, Survey of victims of crime A victim study (or victimization survey or victimization study) is a survey, such as the

British Crime Survey The Crime Survey for England and Wales (previously called the British Crime Survey) is a systematic victim study, currently carried out by Kantar Public (formally known as BMRB Ltd) on behalf of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Curated b ...

, that asks a sample of people which crimes have been committed against them over a fixed period of time and whether or not they have been reported to the police. Victim studies may be carried out at a national or local level. Victim studies are canvasses of the public which request them to report any crimes which they have experienced, whether or not they have reported them. This is one of the main ways in which the

dark figure of crime In criminology and sociology, the dark figure of crime, or hidden figure of crime, is the amount of unreported or undiscovered crime. Methodology This gap between reported and unreported crimes calls the reliability of official crime statist ...

is exposed particularly in cases of abuse. Such surveys usually show the level of criminal activity is at least double that which appears in the official crime statistics.

Victimisation Victimisation ( or victimization) is the process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process, rates, incidence, effects, and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology. Peer victimisation Peer victimisa ...

surveys are usually of two types: *National survey - of a whole country in which people are asked to provide information on crimes which have been perpetrated against them. The British Crime Survey and the United States

National Crime Victimization Survey The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), administered by the US Census Bureau under the Department of Commerce, is a national survey of approximately 49,000 to 150,000 households - with approximately 240,000 persons aged 12 or older - twice ...

are examples. * Area or neighbourhood surveys - in which a specific, usually inner city, neighbourhood is targeted, and

criminologists Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

sociologists This is a list of sociologists. It is intended to cover those who have made substantive contributions to social theory and research, including any sociological subfield. Scientists in other fields and philosophers are not included, unless at least ...

engage in a more detailed study of the same issues. These small scale victim studies have been particularly associated with Left Realist

criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

. For example, victim studies have been carried out in Islington in London by Jock Young, revealing a fear of crime amongst local residents that shapes much of their behaviour. There is a third type of survey: ''The International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS)'' is a programme of standardised sample surveys to look at householders’ experience with crime, policing, crime prevention and feelings of unsafety in a large number of countries. International comparison is the main aim for this project. A criticism of victim surveys is that there is no way of verifying information given by respondents.

External links

the 2004/05 International Crime Victims Survey
Criminology Law enforcement theory Law enforcement Law enforcement techniques Victimology

See also

Further reading

External links