U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

On the Uses of the International Crime Survey; With Special Reference to the Findings of the Netherlands

NCJ Number
131760
Author(s)
J J M van Dijk
Date Published
1990
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Victimization surveys gathered information from 15 countries to permit international comparisons about the rates and nature of crime victimization during 1988.
Abstract
Participating countries included Australia, Belgium, Canada, England and Wales, Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Japan, The Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. Local surveys using the same questionnaire were also conducted in Poland and Indonesia. In most countries, 2,000 residents completed telephone interviews regarding 11 forms of victimization as well as the circumstances of crimes, police involvement, and victimization. Results showed that the United States, Canada, and Australia had the highest victimization rates, and Japan had the lowest rate. The Netherlands had the highest rates among the participating European countries, partly due to its high rate of bicycle thefts. Crime also increased substantially between 1970 and 1985 in The Netherlands. In all countries, the victimization rates were higher than police statistics. Results also showed that victimization risk was greatest in urban areas, for younger people, and for people who often went out in the evenings. Figures, tables, and 13 references