The national crime surveys used in many nations reflect limited and varying views about what is crime and who are the victims. Crimes such as white-collar crimes are absent from all the surveys. In addition, many of the victimizations reported in the surveys are trivial events; citizens generally report matters they consider serious to the police. Another problem with victimization surveys is their definition of crime victims as individuals and households. Crimes against businesses and other organizations and crimes against children under age 12 are not included. Furthermore, harm from crime is generally defined in the surveys in terms of physical harm and property or financial loss. The surveys do not cover all the psychological consequences of victimization. They also fail to provide information on such issues as the spatial distribution of crime, crime's impacts on communities, how victims deal with crime's consequences over time, and ways that victims prevent or cause the consequences of their victimization. However, with further development, victim surveys have great potential for providing knowledge relevant to policy development. Notes and 16 references.