{{short description, Survey of victims of crime
A victim study (or victimization survey or victimization study) is a survey, such as the
British Crime Survey
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (previously called the British Crime Survey) is a systematic victim study, currently carried out by Kantar Public (formally known as BMRB Ltd) on behalf of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Curated ...
, that asks a sample of people which crimes have been committed against them over a fixed period of time and whether or not they have been reported to the police. Victim studies may be carried out at a national or local level.
Victim studies are canvasses of the public which request them to report any crimes which they have experienced, whether or not they have reported them. This is one of the main ways in which the
dark figure of crime is exposed particularly in cases of abuse. Such surveys usually show the level of criminal activity is at least double that which appears in the official
crime statistics
Crime statistics refer to systematic, quantitative results about crime, as opposed to crime news or anecdotes. Notably, crime statistics can be the result of two rather different processes:
* scientific research, such as criminological studies, vi ...
.
Victimisation
Victimisation ( or victimization) is the process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process, rates, incidence, effects, and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology.
Peer victimisation
Peer victimisa ...
surveys are usually of two types:
*National survey - of a whole country in which people are asked to provide information on crimes which have been perpetrated against them. The British Crime Survey and the United States
National Crime Victimization Survey
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), administered by the US Census Bureau under the Department of Commerce, is a national survey of approximately 49,000 to 150,000 households - with approximately 240,000 persons aged 12 or older - twice ...
are examples.
* Area or neighbourhood surveys - in which a specific, usually inner city, neighbourhood is targeted, and
criminologists
Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and Deviance (sociology), deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both t ...
or
sociologists
This is a list of sociologists. It is intended to cover those who have made substantive contributions to social theory and research, including any sociological subfield. Scientists in other fields and philosophers are not included, unless at least ...
engage in a more detailed study of the same issues. These small scale victim stud