NCJ Number
86203
Date Published
1982
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Barriers to reliable results from victimization surveys are the infrequency of crime, the uneven distribution of victimization in the population, the furtiveness of crime events, and the fallibility of victims.
Abstract
Because crimes are relatively infrequent events, it is difficult to obtain a large enough sample to make accurate estimates of the number of victims of serious personal crimes. This problem is more extreme in countries with relatively low rates of crime. Further, crime victimization is unevenly distributed in the population, and the highest risk groups are often relatively small. These high risk groups can also be difficult to sample and locate. Because successful criminals are those who elude detection by their victims or commit crimes with such speed and planning they cannot be identified or described, victims often cannot reliably describe their attackers or their methods. Victims' fallibility also undermines reliable results in victim surveys. Not every victim knows that a crime has occurred (e.g., commercial fraud and employee theft), and victims cannot be expected to remember aspects of a particular crime. Further, victim respondents may withhold information or lie. Another difficulty with victimization surveys is that many crimes are ongoing conditions rather than discrete events (e.g., child abuse, wife abuse, and price-fixing). Seventeen notes and 14 references are provided.