NCJ Number
90216
Date Published
1982
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The typical crime victim in Australia is male, relatively young, with low income, separated or divorced, likely to have changed residence two or three times within the past 5 years, not a church member, and likely to live in a major city.
Abstract
Data for this study were obtained from an Australian national victimization survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 1975. Over 18,500 people were interviewed in all parts of the nation, except the Northern Territory. Although women reported greater fear of being victimized, in virtually every category of crime (except heterosexual offenses) men are many times more likely to be victims than women. Further, the data showed that persons under 19 years-old and people 60 years-old and older are significantly less likely to become victims of all types of crime than persons between those age groups. Persons who are unemployed or with low income are more likely than the middle-class or the wealthy to become crime victims, while separated and divorced persons are more likely than the never married, the married, or the widowed to be victimized. There is no satisfactory explanation for this finding. Also, the evidence indicated that those who move their place of residence frequently are much more likely to be crime victims than those who are more settled in their lifestyles. There was a slight tendency for people who classify themselves as having no religion to be crime victims than those stating a religious preference. Victimization rates for all of the major cities were considerably higher than for rural areas. Because those who hold the greatest fear of crime (women and the elderly) are the least likely to be victimized, some effort should be made to inform these groups about the actual risks of victimization so their minds might be eased.