NCJ Number
210974
Date Published
March 2005
Length
152 pages
Annotation
This report presents findings from the 2002 Illinois Crime Victimization Survey.
Abstract
During 2002, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) mailed a statewide survey to almost 7,500 adult residents of Illinois asking about their experiences with crime victimization. A total of 1,602 completed surveys were analyzed; figures were estimated for the extent of crime victimization in Illinois and for the extent of crime victimization among subpopulations. Characteristics of crime victimization incidents are described, as are the characteristics of victims of different types of crimes, the characteristics of offenders, the types of crime victimization reported to police, and public knowledge and utilization of crime victim services. Computer crimes, hate crimes, sex crimes, and domestic crimes are analyzed and reported separately. Key findings include the estimate that almost two out of five Illinois residents (39 percent) were victimized during 2002. Among the subpopulations experiencing the most crime victimization in Illinois were residents of Hispanic origin, Black residents, individuals age 34 or younger, divorced or never married residents, and residents with an annual income of less than $10,000 or more than $100,000. Statewide, only 39 percent of victimizations were reported to police; of these, 15 percent resulted in an arrest. Crime victims in Illinois were no more likely than non-victims to be aware of the crime victim services in their communities. Only 4 percent of respondents reported receiving victim services and only 16 percent of personal crime victims and 8 percent of property crime victims who reported their victimization to police reported being informed of victim services by police. Recommendations for future victimization surveys include the advice of keeping surveys administered via mail to 30 minutes or less for responses. Footnotes, figures, tables, appendixes