Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-495rp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-11T19:48:51.008Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Choosing and Using Statistical Sources in Criminology: What Can the Crime Survey for England and Wales Tell Us?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2016

Nick Tilley  and
Andromachi Tseloni
Nick Tilley
Affiliation:
Professor, JDI, Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London, 35 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9EZ, UK. E-mail n.tilley@ucl.ac.uk.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There is a wide range of sources that might fruitfully be used in criminological research. This article, by Andromachi Tseloni* and Nick Tilley**, overviews the type of evidence used in research that has recently appeared in the British Journal of Criminology, gives examples of unobtrusive administrative data that have been used in recent projects, and focuses on a single data set, the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which covers a wide range of criminological topics. Finally, it will be suggested that criminologists may be missing opportunities to draw on valuable data sets that, though imperfect, could be useful to them in their research.

Keywords

crime statisticscrime surveyscriminological researchcriminology
Type
Sources and Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice Research
Information
Legal Information Management , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , June 2016 , pp. 78 - 90
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016. Published by British and Irish Association of Law Librarians 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, S. and Leitch, S. (1996) Main Findings from the 1993 Scottish Crime Survey. Edinburgh: The Scottish Office Central Research Unit.Google Scholar
Aye Maung, N. (1995) Survey design and interpretation of the British Crime Survey. In Walker, M. A., (ed.), Interpreting Crime Statistics. Royal Statistical Society Lecture Series 1, ch. 12. London: Oxford Science Publications.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. (1986) The forms of capital. In Richardson, J. G. (Ed.), Handbook for theory and research for the sociology of education. New York: Greenwood. 241–258.Google Scholar
Brunton-Smith, I. and Sturgis, P. (2011) Do neighbourhoods generate fear of crime? An empirical test using the British Crime Survey. Criminology 49(2), 331–369.Google Scholar
Cantor, D. and Lynch, J.P. (2000) Self-report Surveys as Measures of Crime and Criminal Justice. In Criminal Justice 2000; Measurement and Analysis of Crime and Justice. Vol.4. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Justice.Google Scholar
Chenery, S., Ellingworth, D., Tseloni, A. and Pease, K. (1996) Crimes which repeat: Undigested evidence from the British Crime Survey 1992. International Journal of Risk, Security and Crime Prevention, 1, 207–216.Google Scholar
Chenery, S., Henshaw, C. and Pease, K. (1999) Illegal Parking in Disabled Bays: A Means of Offender Targeting. Briefing Note 1/99. London: Home Office.Google Scholar
Department of Justice (2015) Northern Ireland Crime Survey. Available at: https://www.dojni.gov.uk/articles/northern-ireland-crime-survey (accessed 28 January 2016).Google Scholar
Ditton, J. and Farrall, S. (2007) The British Crime Survey and the fear of crime. In Hough, M. and Maxfield, M. (eds) Surveying Crime in the 21st Century. Crime Prevention Studies. Vol. 22. Cullompton: Willan. 223–241.Google Scholar
Downham, L. (2015) ‘Secondary analysis of the Crime Survey for England and Wales.’ ONS Presentation at the Post-graduate Conference of the British Society of Criminology Conference, Plymouth, 3 July.Google Scholar
Farrall, S. and Ditton, J. (1999) Improving the measurement of attitudinal responses: An example from a crime survey. International Journal of Social Research Methodology 2, 55–68.Google Scholar
Farrell, G, Pease, K (1993) Once bitten, twice bitten: repeat victimization and its implications for crime prevention. Crime prevention unit paper 46. London: Home Office.Google Scholar
Farrell, G. and Pease, K.. (2007) The sting in the tail of the British Crime Survey: Multiple victimisations. In Hough, M. and Maxfield, M. (eds), Surveying Crime in the 21st Century. Crime Prevention Studies. Vol. 22. Cullompton: Willan. 33–53.Google Scholar
Flatley, J. (2014) British Crime Survey. Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice (ECCJ), Bruinsma, Gerben and Weisburd, David (Editors in Chief). New York: Springer-Verlag. 194–203.Google Scholar
Garwood, J., Rogerson, M. and Pease, K. (2000) Sneaky measurement of crime and disorder. In Jupp, V., Davies, P. and Francis, P. (eds.) Doing Criminological Research. London: Sage. 157–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Government Statistical Service (2011) National Statistician's Review of Crime Statistics: England and Wales. Government Statistical Service. News Release. 6 June 2011. Available at: http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/national-statistician/ns-reports--reviews-and-guidance/national-statistician-s-reviews/national-statistician-s-review-of-crime-statistics.html (accessed 17 November 2015).Google Scholar
Grant, C., Harvey, A., Bolling, K. and Clemens, S. (2006) 2004–5 British Crime Survey (England and Wales) Technical Report Volume I. Prepared for: Research, Development and Statistics- Strategic Data Flows (Crime Reduction and Community Safety Group), Home Office March 2006. Available at: http://www.esds.ac.uk/doc/5347/mrdoc/pdf/5347userguide1.pdf (accessed 4 February 2016).Google Scholar
Grant, Neil (2015) ‘The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Consistency and Change.’ Crime Surveys User Conference, 11th December 2015. Available at: https://www.ukdataservice.ac.uk/media/604218/grant.pdf (accessed 28 January 2016).Google Scholar
Gray, E., Jackson, J. and Farrall, S. (2008) Reassessing the fear of crime. European Journal of Criminology 5(3), 363–380.Google Scholar
Hales, J. (1993) 1992 British Crime Survey (England and Wales) Technical Report. London: Social and Community Planning Research.Google Scholar
Hales, J. and Stratford, N. (1997) 1996 British Crime Survey (England and Wales) Technical Report. London: Social and Community Planning Research.Google Scholar
Hales, J. and Stratford, N. (1999) 1998 British Crime Survey Technical Report. London: Social and Community Planning Research.Google Scholar
Hales, J., Henderson, L., Becher, H. and Collins, D. (2000) 2000 British Crime Survey Technical Report (England and Wales). London: National Centre for Social Research.Google Scholar
Hindelang, M.J., Gottfredson, M.R., Garofalo, J. (1978) Victims of personal crime: an empirical foundation for a theory of personal victimization. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.Google Scholar
Hope, T., Bryan, J., Trickett, A. and Osborn, D.R. (2001) The phenomena of multiple victimisation. British Journal of Criminology 41, 595–617.Google Scholar
Hough, M. (1987) Crime surveys and crime risks. Paper presented at the workshop on the design and use of the National Crime Survey. MD. July.Google Scholar
Hough, M. and Mayhew, P. (1982) The British Crime Survey: first report. A Home Office Research and Planning Unit Report. Home Office Research study No. 76. London: HMSO.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubble, D. and Wilder, B.E. (1995) Preliminary results from the National Crime Survey CATI experiment. Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Survey Methods Section, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Jansson, K. (2007) British Crime Survey – Measuring Crime for 25 Years. London: Home Office.Google Scholar
Long, A.D. and Perkins, D.D. (2007) Community social and place predictors of sense of community: A multilevel and longitudinal analysis. Journal of Community Psychology 35, 563–581.Google Scholar
Kershaw, C., Chivite-Matthews, N., Thomas, C. and Aust, R. (2001) The 2001 British Crime Survey, First Results, England and Wales. Home Office Statistical Bulletin 18/01. London: Home Office.Google Scholar
Mirrlees-Black, C. (1999) Domestic Violence: Findings from a New British Crime Survey Self-Completion Questionnaire. Home Office Research Study 191, London: Home Office Research and Planning Unit.Google Scholar
NOP Market Research Limited (1985) 1984 British Crime Survey Technical Report. Southampton: NOP.Google Scholar
NOP Market Research Limited and Social and Community Planning Research (1989) 1988 British Crime Survey (England and Wales) Technical Report. Southampton: NOP.Google Scholar
ONS (2015) Crime in England and Wales, year ending March 2015. Available at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/year-ending-march-2015/index.html (accessed 28 January 2016).Google Scholar
ONS (2016) Crime in England and Wales, year ending September 2015. Available at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/crime-in-england-and-wales---year-ending-september-2015/index.html (accessed 3 February 2016).Google Scholar
Osborn, D.R. and Tseloni, A. (1998) The distribution of household property crimes. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 14, 307–330.Google Scholar
DR, Osborn, Trickett, A and Elder, R (1992) Area characteristics and regional variates as determinants of area property crime levels. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 8, 265–285.Google Scholar
Pease, K. (1998) Repeat Victimisation: Taking Stock. Crime Detection and Prevention Series Paper No. 90. London: Home Office.Google Scholar
Pease, K. and Tseloni, A. (2014) Using modelling to predict and prevent victimisation. Springer-Brief Criminology Series, New York: Springer. ISBN: 978-3-319-03184-2 (Print) 978-3-319-03185-9 (Online).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perkins, D.D., and Long, D.A. (2002) Neighbourhood sense of community and social capital: A multilevel analysis. In Fisher, A. T., & Sonn, C.C. (eds.) Psychological sense of community: Research, applications and implications. New York: Kluwer Press. 291–318.Google Scholar
Poyner, B. (1992) Video camera and bus vandalism. In Clarke, R. (ed.) Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case Studies. First Edition. New York: Harrow and Heston. 185–193.Google Scholar
Putnam, R. (1993) The prosperous community: Social capital and public life. American Prospect 13, 35–42.Google Scholar
Putnam, R. (2007) E pluribus unum: Diversity and community in the twenty-first century. The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture. Scandinavian Political Studies 30, 137–174.Google Scholar
Reiss, A.J. (1980) Victim proneness in repeat victimization by type of crime. In Fienberg, S., Reiss, A.J. (eds) Indicators of crime and criminal justice quantitative studies. Department of Justice, Washington, DC. 41–53.Google Scholar
Riger, S., and Lavrakas, P.J. (1981) Community ties: Patterns of attachment and social interaction in urban neighbourhoods. American Journal of Community Psychology 9, 55–66.Google Scholar
Sampson, R.J. (2006) Collective efficacy theory: lessons learnt and directions for future inquiry. In Cullen, F.T., Wright, J.P., Blevins, L. (eds) Taking stock: the status of criminological theory, advances in criminological theory, vol 15. Transaction Publishers, New 851 Brunswick, New Jersey. 149–167.Google Scholar
Sampson, R.J. and Groves, B.W. (1989) Community structure and crime: testing social disorganization theory. American Journal of Sociology 94, 774–802.Google Scholar
Sampson, R.J., Raundenbush, S.W., and Earls, F. (1997) Neighbourhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science 227, 918–924.Google Scholar
Simmons, J. and colleagues (2002) Crime in England and Wales 2001/2002. London: Home Office. July.Google Scholar
Shepherd, J.P., Sutherland, I. and Newcombe, R.G. (2006) Relations between alcohol, violence and victimization in adolescence. Journal of Adolescence 29(4), 539–553.Google Scholar
Schneider, A. (1981) Methodological problems in victim surveys and their implications for research in victimology. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 72, 818–838.Google Scholar
TNS (2014) The 2013/14 Crime Survey for England and Wales Technical Report. Available at file:///C:/Users/sgy3tseloa/Downloads/201314csewtechnicalreportvolumeone27112014_tcm77-388399.pdf (accessed 10 February 2016).Google Scholar
Tseloni, A. (2006) Multilevel modelling of the number of property crimes: Household and area effects. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A-Statistics in Society 169, Part 2, 205–233.Google Scholar
Tseloni, A. and Pease, K. (2015) Area and individual differences in personal crime victimisation incidence: The role of individual, lifestyle /routine activities and contextual predictors. International Review of Victimology 21(1), 3–29.Google Scholar
Tseloni, A. and Thompson, R. (2015) Securing the premises. Significance. London: The Royal Statistical Society 12(1), 32–35.Google Scholar
Tseloni, A. and Zarafonitou, C. (2008) Fear of crime and victimisation: A multivariate multilevel analysis of competing measurements. European Journal of Criminology 5(4), 387–409.Google Scholar
Tseloni, A., Ntzoufras, I., Nicolaou, A. and Pease, K (2010a) Concentration of personal and household crimes in England and Wales. European Journal of Applied Mathematics, Special Issue on Mathematical Models for Criminality 21, 325–348.Google Scholar
Tseloni, A., Zissi, A. and Skapinakis, P. (2010b) Psychiatric morbidity and social capital in rural communities of the Greek North Aegean islands. Journal of Community Psychology 38(8), 1023–1041.Google Scholar
Van Dijk, J. and Tseloni, A. (2012) Global Overview: International trends in victimisation and recorded crime. In van Dijk, J., Tseloni, A. and Farrell, G. (eds), The International Crime Drop: New Directions in Research, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. 11–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UK Statistics Authority (2010) Overcoming barriers to trust in crime statistics: England and Wales. Monitoring Report 5, May 2010. London: Crown Copyright.Google Scholar
Watson, L. (2015) Crime soars 107% as cyber offences included for the first time – as it happened. The Telegraph. 15 October. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11932670/Cyber-crime-fuels-70-jump-in-crime-levels.html (accessed 3 February 2016).Google Scholar
White, A. and Malbon, G. (1995) 1994 British Crime Survey: Technical Report of a survey carried out by Social Survey Division for the Home Office. London: Office of Population Censuses & Surveys, Social Survey Division.Google Scholar
Williams, J. and Holcekova, M. (2015) Assessment of the impact of a lower CSEW response rate. Crime Survey for England and Wales, Office for National Statistics, TNS BMRB Available at: file:///C:/Users/Admin/Downloads/assessmentoftheimpactofalowerresponserateforcsewjuly2015_tcm77-411588.pdf (accessed 28 March 2016).Google Scholar
Wood, D. (1984) British Crime Survey, 1982 Technical Report. London: Home Office.Google Scholar
Zissi, A., Tseloni, A., Skapinakis, P., Savvidou, M. and Chiou, M. (2010) Exploring social capital in rural settlements of an islander region in Greece. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology 20(2), 125–138.Google Scholar