International Crime Victimization Survey (ICVS) Series

collection: series

Investigator(s): ICVS International Working Group, Anna Alvazzi del Frate, Jan J.M. van Dijk, John van Kesteren, Pat Mayhew, and Ugi Svekic

Studies

3

Variables

2,221

Publications

119

About this Collection

The International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) series was developed by the ICVS international working group. Overall funding was provided by the Ministry of Justice of the Netherlands. The project was set up to fill the gap in adequate recording of offenses by the police for purposes of comparing crime rates in different nations and to provide a crime index independent of police statistics as an alternative standardized measure. The ICVS is the most far-reaching program of standardized sample surveys to look at a householders' experience with crime, policing, crime prevention, and feelings of insecurity in a large number of nations. It also allows for analysis of how risks of crime vary among different groups of populations across social and demographic lines. The first wave, developed by a working group set up in 1987, led to fieldwork in early 1989. The second ICVS wave took place in 1992. Participants in the first ICVS and a number of other nations were invited to participate in the second round in 1992 in order to enlarge the scope of comparisons by increasing the number of industrialized nations, in particular to provide East European nations with the opportunity of improving their understanding of problems of crime and law enforcement, and to implement some improvements in the methodology of the survey. The project was expanded to 13 developing nations and six nations in transition, although the surveys were restricted to the capital cities in most of these. The main purpose was to sensitize local governments to the dimensions and extent of crime in their urban areas. It was also felt that the collection of credible data about criminal victimization in developing nations, which had been previously unavailable, would give a boost to comparative criminology research and theory. The third wave occurred in 1996-1997 and involved 12 industrialized nations, all but one of which were in central and east Europe, and 15 developing nations. The survey also made limited use of some independent national and local surveys. The fourth wave was administered in 2000 in 47 countries.

Studies

3 results

International Crime Victimization Survey (ICVS), 1989-2000

The International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) is a far-reaching program of fully standardized surveys investigating householders' experience of crime in different countries. The data were collected in four waves: 1989, 1992, 1996, and 2000. The main focus of the ICVS is whether the respondent was a victim of theft of or from vehicles, other thefts, vandalism, robbery, pickpocketing, sexual harassment or violence, or assault. The surveys also investigated the frequency of victimization, reasons for not reporting a crime to the police, familiarity with the offender in the case of a sexual offense, physical violence, injuries, fear of crime in the respondent's local area, use of help agencies for victims, satisfaction with police behavior, preferred legal sanctions, punishment, and length of detention for offenders, safety precautions when leaving home, possession of a gun, burglar alarm, or insurance, and frequency of going out. Some of the 2000 surveys were administered nationally and some were restricted to a main city within a given country. The ICVS National Survey Data cover the following countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Catalonia, Denmark, England and Wales, Finland, France, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. The ICVS City Survey Data cover the following countries: Albania, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Ukraine, and Zambia.

International Victimization Survey, 1988 and 1992

This survey was undertaken in 1988 and 1992 to compare crime rates for industrialized countries and to assess national crime problems by providing a crime index independent of police statistics. Fifteen countries participated in the 1988 survey, and 13 countries were included in 1992. A standardized survey instrument was employed, with Japan, Czechoslovakia, and Poland using questionnaires and sampling methods that varied slightly from the rest. The data include variables such as number of people in the household, sex of the respondent, and number of respondents in the household 16 years of age and older as well as under 16. Additional household demographic variables include employment, education, income, insurance, and city size. Crimes covered include motor vehicle theft and damage, motor bicycle theft and damage, bicycle theft and damage, housebreaking, violence, robberies, assaults, and attempts. Victim-offender relationships, crime prevention techniques, and police contact variables are also provided.

International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS), 1989-1997

The International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) was a far-reaching program of standardized sample surveys that investigated householders' experiences with crime, policing, crime prevention, and perceptions of safety. The surveys were carried out in the following countries: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chechnia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Egypt, England and Wales, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany (West), Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Rumania, Russia, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, the United States, Yugoslavia, and Zimbabwe. The data were collected in three waves: 1989, 1992-1994, and 1995-1997. The main focus of the ICVS was whether the respondent was a victim of theft of or from vehicles, other thefts, vandalism, robbery, pickpocketing, sexual harassment or violence, or assault. The surveys also investigated the frequency of victimization, reasons for not reporting a crime to the police, familiarity with the offender in the case of a sexual offense, physical violence, injuries, fear of crime in the respondent's local area, use of help agencies for victims, satisfaction with police behavior, preferred legal sanctions, punishment, and length of detention for offenders, safety precautions when leaving home, possession of a gun, burglar alarm, or insurance, and frequency of going out.
Back to top