NCJ Number
208693
Date Published
April 2005
Length
48 pages
Annotation
This report presents the results of a development project exploring the feasibility of undertaking a general population survey focused on offending behavior in the United Kingdom.
Abstract
The development project was commissioned by the Home Office as part of their efforts to obtain data on offending behavior. One way of generating data on offending behavior is to carry out a general household survey in which respondents are asked about their experiences with offending behavior and drug use. A parallel development project explored the feasibility of conducting a similar survey among institutional populations. The goals of the household feasibility study were to design and evaluate a quantitative questionnaire suitable for a general population household survey of adults and another questionnaire suitable for children aged 10 to 15 years. Following the pilot of the questionnaire, cognitive interviews with adults and children were undertaken to assess understanding and accuracy of responses to self-report questions on offending. Key findings indicated that most adult and child respondents did not object to answering questions about their offending behavior and most answered truthfully. Most of the questions were well understood by adults, but understanding among the child respondents varied considerably. A reasonable response rate of around 64 percent can be achieved, with higher response rates expected for longer fieldwork periods. Recommendations for the future general population survey include the advice to not tell respondents at the beginning of the survey that the survey is focused on offending behavior. Instead, the survey should be introduced in general terms in order to encourage participation. The population survey should be administered by highly skilled and experienced interviewers because of the sensitive nature of the questioning. Overall, such a population survey appears feasible and the resulting data should be an accurate reflection of offending behavior. Tables