NCJ Number
156444
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1995) Pages: 360-365
Date Published
1995
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper builds on previous work which identified the importance of multiple victimization in determining crime rates.
Abstract
Using the first four sweeps of the British Crime Survey, patterns of property and personal crime victimization are investigated, and the interdependence of incidents is established: the probability of a further victimization increases with each subsequent victimization. The authors compare the observed distribution and a hypothetical distribution which assumes that crime incidents are randomly distributed throughout a small number of chronic victims. The authors also make recommendations for the way official crime statistics are recorded: (1) Make short-term provision for incorporation of data on crime concentration; (2) Incorporate data which identify repeat events suffered by the same people or at the same location; (3) Give due weight to the phenomenon and circumstances of repeat victimization; (4) Use information about crime concentration in the rapprochement of crime prevention and victim support services; and (5) Encourage crime prevention endeavors concentrating on repeat victimization as having the virtues of prioritizing effort upon places and people at high risk of crime. Tables, references