NCJ Number
86201
Date Published
1982
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This essay compares the characteristics of police statistics and victim surveys, outlines the methodology of the U.S. National Crime Survey, and presents a lifestyle model for explaining U.S. victimization data.
Abstract
In police crime data collection programs, statistics are collected on a limited number of elements about all crimes of interest known by the police to have occurred. Victimization data, on the other hand, represent extensive information collected on a representative sample of victimizations. Police data and victimization data complement each other in portraying the crime situation. Whether a researcher uses one or both data sources depends on the purpose of the research. The U.S. National Crime Survey uses a stratified multistage cluster sample for obtaining victimization data. The sample size for the national survey of households is about 60,000 housing units containing about 136,000 persons; however, the total interviewed sample is composed of 6 independently selected subsamples of equal size which are interviewed in successive months. Each time they are interviewed, respondents are asked about victimizations they may have suffered during the previous 6 months. Lifestyle is presented as the central component in the theoretical model presented to fit data obtained from the U.S. victimization surveys. For victimization to occur, the offender and victim must have occasion to interact. Secondly, some dispute or claim must arise between them so that the victim is perceived by the offender as an appropriate object of the victimization. Thirdly, the offender must be willing and able to threaten or use force to achieve the desired end. Finally, the circumstances must be such that the offender views it as advantageous to use or threaten force to achieve the desired end. Whether or not these conditions are met depends on the lifestyle of the victim. Fifteen notes and 21 references are provided.