Crime Survey Research Articles

Assessing the Reversed Gender Gap in the Swedish Crime Survey: Reasons Why Young Women Report Higher Victimization Rates Than Young Men During the Period 2009 to 2016

Self-reported victimization among young women in the Swedish Crime Survey increased during the early- to mid-2010s, resulting in a gender gap, with young women reporting 10% to 15% higher victimization rates than young men. In this study, we use multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to assess whether the increase in victimization rates is due to declines in measurement equivalence across different cohorts of young women during the period 2009 to 2016. The results show cohort differences in how young women interpret the victimization items in the Swedish Crime Survey, especially with regard to the item about sexual victimization. The results show that the increasing victimization rates are likely the result of changes in perceptions about sexual offences, rather than an actual increase.

The drop in worry about crime and its gender gap: Trends in England and Wales from 1998 to 2019/2020

Using data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, this research explores trends in worry about crime and its gender gap between 1998 and 2019/20. Worry about different types of crime follows a downwards trajectory, with worries about car-related crimes showing the strongest decline. Although both men’s and women’s worries decline over time, the gender gap in worry about crime reveals a narrowing trend for crimes that involve physical interaction with the offender (e.g. assault or rape) due to women’s worries decreasing more rapidly than men’s. Potential reasons for the general downwards trend include the steady decline in crime rates, the rise in security standards and a shift in worry from traditional to newer forms of crime (e.g. cybercrime). Rising gender equality and women’s empowerment over the last few decades may explain the narrowing trend in the gender gap in worry about personal crime.

Identifying and preventing future forms of crimes using situational crime prevention

Traditional crime has been falling for some time in most countries. However, developing technologies and our use of them are creating new opportunities for offending. For example, estimates from the Crime Survey of England and Wales indicate that in the UK, online fraud and related offences account for as many crimes as do “traditional” offences. To date, academia, law enforcement and governments have been reactive both in terms of identifying new and emerging forms of offending and in developing approaches to address them. In this paper, I will discuss the future crime agenda, and how futures thinking can help identify future crime opportunities and security threats including online fraud, crimes involving artificial intelligence, and crime in the metaverse. The paper will close with a discussion of the implications for theory and crime prevention.

Definition and Measurement of Violence in the Crime Survey for England and Wales: Implications for the Amount and Gendering of Violence

Abstract The definitions and the methodology used in surveys to measure violence have implications for its estimated volume and gendered distribution. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) uses quite a narrow definition of ‘violence against the person’ which excludes crimes which are arguably violent in nature. This article expands the CSEW’s measurement of violence by regarding threats, robbery, sexual violence and mixed violence/property crimes as violence. This results in a shift in the gender distribution of violence, with a higher proportion of violence against women (from 39% to 58%) and by domestic perpetrators (from 29% to 32%). Impacts of violence (injuries and emotional harm) are also affected by the change in definition and disproportionally so for women.

(Mis)Representing Ethnicity in UK Government Statistics and Its Implications for Violence Inequalities

The question of how we measure, categorise, and represent ethnicity poses a growing challenge for identifying and addressing ethnic inequalities. Conceptual critiques and qualitative studies highlight the complexities and challenges of measuring ethnicity, yet there remains a lack of quantitative studies investigating the implications of these complexities for inequalities research. This paper addresses this gap by scrutinizing methodological processes and analysing the implications of measurement and categorisation in the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), critiquing the UK’s standardised measurement of ethnicity in national survey data and government statistics. Based on our comparative quantitative analysis of standardised ethnicity categories and regional origins and our evaluation of the CSEW and census’ methodologies, we propose an alternative categorisation of ethnicity, focusing on the ‘Mixed’, ‘Asian’, and ‘Latinx/Hispanic’ ethnic groups. Using adjusted crosstabulations and logistic regression models, we found variations in ethnic patterns of violence based on standardised measures and our alternative recategorisation, particularly relating to the distinction between ‘Asian’ sub-groups, the recategorisation of ‘Mixed’ ethnicities, and the inclusion of ‘Latinx/Hispanic’ as a distinctive ethnic group. Our findings reveal valuable insights into the implications of ethnic categorisation for understanding violence inequalities, with significant implications for further policy and research areas.

Exercise, Sleep Quality, and Physical Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Sufficient exercise and high-quality sleep are important for good health, and they may be particularly crucial during the coronavirus pandemic. Sleeping difficulties and insufficient exercise are prevalent in the United States, however, and data indicate little to no change-or even worsening-of these health behaviors before the pandemic. This study explores how exercise quantity coincides with sleep quality in the United States during the pandemic and how both ultimately relate to physical health. We used logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression to analyze data from the 2021 Crime, Health, and Politics Survey sampled from the National Opinion Research Center's AmeriSpeak panel. Survey responses were collected between May and June 2021. Results show that more typical weekly exercise and more exercise during the pandemic are significantly associated with higher odds of better current sleep quality and sleep quality during the pandemic, controlling for a variety of sociodemographic factors. Both exercise activity and sleep quality are also significantly associated with higher odds of good physical health. These findings support the literature that increases in exercise frequency and improved sleep quality are linked and are also associated with better physical health outcomes, even during a global crisis.

Assessing the Prevalence of Cannabis Use Through a Survey About Criminal Activity Versus One About Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs

Background: The prevalence of cannabis use in the United Kingdom might be underestimated using the Crime Survey of England and Wales. The current study examined whether responding to questions about their cannabis use as part of a crime survey would be less likely to report that they use cannabis compared to those responding to the same questions that are part of a survey about health. Methods: Participants were randomized to be told that the items about cannabis use came from a crime survey versus from a health survey. In addition, the sample was recruited using a representative online sampling method and compared to published rates of self-reported cannabis use collected as part of the Crime Survey for England and Wales. Results: There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the proportion endorsing cannabis use between those told the items came from a crime survey versus a health survey. However, self-reported rates of cannabis use collected as part of the online panel (51.3% ever use; 11.9% past year; age range 18–64 years) appeared higher than those reported based on results from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (37.2% ever and 5.8% past year; age range 18–59 years). Conclusion: The current study did not find evidence that manipulating whether participants were told that the items asking about cannabis use came from a survey asking about criminal activity versus one about health had an impact on self-reported cannabis use. However, as prevalence estimates generated by the Crime Survey of England and Wales do appear to be an underestimate of actual levels of cannabis use in the United Kingdom, further research is merited on this topic.

Religijos-viktimizacijos modulio link tarptautinio jaunimo delinkvencijos ir viktimizacijos tyrimo (ISRD) kontekste: mokymasis iš praeities pavyzdžių

The concept of postsecular society highlights the increasing relevance of religion in social, cultural, and political affairs. Given this trend, criminology should pay increasing attention to how religion is linked to victimization and offending. Since the religion–crime studies have traditionally focused on offending, the research lacunae are biggest in the study of victimization. The inclusion of religion is particularly relevant in international surveys in religiously heterogeneous communities. In this article, we aim to develop a survey module suggestion for use in the context of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD). We first examine the current content of the ISRD-4 sweep. To locate lacunae in it, we move to review how international surveys have tackled the dimension of religion, including the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), the European Social Survey (ESS), the World Values Survey (WVS), and the International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS). Building on these state-of-the-art examples, we propose a new ISRD module (Appendix) for studying the religion–victimization link in international crime surveys with limited space. In conclusion, we argue that criminology would benefit from increasing attention to religion and other cultural variables alongside traditional socioeconomic, structural, and individual factors.

Developing and Testing New Domestic Abuse Questions and Approach for the Crime Survey for England and Wales

Previous research highlighted that a fundamental rethink of the measurement of domestic abuse was needed in the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). The research reported here aimed to develop and test new questions on domestic abuse for the CSEW to improve the headline prevalence measure, including frequency of abuse, to develop a way of measuring controlling or coercive behavior within the overall prevalence measure, and to develop a measure of the impact of abuse. The research included focus groups and interviews with victims (n = 27) to assess a set of draft questions and cognitive testing of revised questions with victims and the general public (n = 42). A final set of 24 questions was developed for use with victims of both intimate partner and family abuse, with an additional question for family abuse. The new questions were found to echo victim experiences and were deemed acceptable and reliable measures by victims and the general public for domestic abuse, including controlling and/or coercive behavior and impact. An analytical approach was recommended to improve the headline prevalence measure of domestic abuse by establishing ‘high’ and ‘low’ abuse profiles using measures of both behavior and impact.

Measures of Violence within the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Survey and the Crime Survey for England and Wales: An Empirical Assessment

Criminology has been hampered by a lack of longitudinal data to examine the consequences of victimisation. However, recently, ‘Understanding Society’, the United Kingdom Household Panel Survey (UKHLS), began fielding a small battery of questions relating to violence experience. Here, we examined the strengths and weaknesses of these UKHLS measures with similar indices from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), a widely used and regarded but cross-sectional survey. We empirically assessed the extent to which the UKHLS variables are comparable with those in the CSEW to determine the viability of the UKHLS for the longitudinal study of (fear of) violence and its consequences. Overall, we regarded the UKHLS to provide an important resource for future panel research on the consequences of victimisation. We found the indicators measuring physical assault to be similar in both sets of data, but also noted differences in prevalence and/or different distributions by socioeconomic group for the indices relating to being threatened and of feeling unsafe. Nonetheless, we maintain their utility for researchers in this field, allowing researchers to uncover new inequalities in violence exposure.

Use of SARC services by victims of sexual violence: Auditing the ethnicity of Saint Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre's clients

IntroductionSaint Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Manchester provides services to adults and children who have suffered sexual assault. The ethnic composition of those who attended the centre was audited in 2001 and 2003 to measure how well it serves different ethnic groups. This paper provides an updated audit using 2019 data. MethodologyCensus data for Greater Manchester, and data from the Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) showing rates of sexual assault for different ethnic groups, were used to predict the ethnic composition of sexual assault victims in Greater Manchester. These predicted figures were then compared with the ethnic composition of Saint Mary's SARC 2019 client base to measure how well the SARC is serving different groups. This comparison was repeated using data from the 2001 SARC client base to explore change over time. ResultsThe analysis shows that South Asians and Chinese individuals are underrepresented in the SARC client base, and that this issue has become more pronounced over time. Every other group is overrepresented. ConclusionThe underrepresentation of South Asian and Chinese clients at Saint Mary's SARC is concerning. Making the service more accessible to those from these ethnic groups should be a priority for the centre.

How Priority Ordering of Offence Codes Undercounts Gendered Violence: An Analysis of the Crime Survey for England and Wales

Abstract The Offence Classification System (OCS) of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) applies a priority order of offences that undercounts violence. By prioritizing burglary and criminal damage above some types of assault, physical violence that co-occurs with property crimes is discounted from official counts of incidents and victims of violence. Analyzing CSEW data from 2010/11 to 2019/20, we find the OCS omits approximately 210,000 incidents of violence every year. Out of these incidents, 51 per cent are domestic violence against women, contributing further evidence to the CSEW’s gendered data gap. Socioeconomically disadvantaged victims are also disproportionately undercounted. Whilst prior research has highlighted the undercounting of violence prevalence and repetition in the CSEW, the OCS undercounts the concurrency of violence.

Adverse Events during Adulthood, Child Maltreatment, and Asthma among British Adults in the UK Biobank.

Rationale: Intimate partner violence and child maltreatment have been separately associated with asthma in adults. No study has concurrently examined of adulthood adverse events (including, but not limited to, intimate partner violence) and child maltreatment on asthma in adults. Objectives: To concurrently examine of adulthood adverse events and child maltreatment on asthma in adults. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of adulthood adverse events and child maltreatment on current asthma in 87,891 adults 40-69 years old who participated in the UK Biobank. Adulthood adverse events were assessed using questions adapted from a national crime survey. Child maltreatment was ascertained using the Childhood Trauma Screener questionnaire. Current asthma was defined as physician-diagnosed asthma and current wheeze and was further classified as noneosinophilic or eosinophilic according to eosinophil count (<300 vs. ⩾300 cells per microliter). Results: In a multivariable analysis, participants who reported two or more types of adulthood adverse events had 1.19-1.45 times significantly higher odds of asthma than those who did not, whereas participants who reported two or more types of child maltreatment had 1.25-1.59 significantly higher odds of asthma than those who reported no child maltreatment. After stratification by sex, similar results were obtained for child maltreatment in women and men, whereas adulthood adverse events were only significantly associated with asthma in women. Similar findings were observed in analyses that were restricted to never-smokers and former smokers with <10 pack-years of smoking and in analyses of noneosinophilic and eosinophilic asthma. Conclusions: In a cohort of British adults, child maltreatment was associated with current asthma in men and women, whereas adulthood adverse events were associated with current asthma in women only. This was independent of cigarette smoking or eosinophil count.

Do early life traumas moderate the impact of cumulative pandemic stress on anger?

Do early life traumas condition the psychological consequences of pandemic stressors? Using national data from the Crime, Health, and Politics Survey (May-June 2021), we examine whether early life traumas buffer or amplify the impact of cumulative pandemic stressors (CPS) on anger, an understudied measure of emotional distress. We examine two competing perspectives. The trauma amplification perspective posits that people who experience early life traumas are especially vulnerable to subsequent stressors, while the trauma resiliency perspective suggests the opposite, that people who experience traumas in early life are less vulnerable to subsequent stressors. The trauma resiliency perspective was partially supported by our analyses. Although early life traumas abated the impact of three or more pandemic stressors on anger, we failed to observe any attenuation at lower levels of pandemic stress exposure. We extend previous research by recasting the common stress proliferation model as a stress modification model and by focusing on feelings of anger. Findings are discussed in the context of social stress, mental health, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Factors influencing burglary and home security measures in England and Wales

Objectives: This exploratory study aims to investigate the relationship between the characteristics of the survey respondents, reported fear of burglary and installed home security measures. Methods: This study analyses secondary data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales 2017/18. The data was analysed using suitable statistical methods: regression modelling and factor analysis. Results: The main findings showed that the socioeconomic status of respondents and the status of the area they live in are the strongest predictors of the installation of deterrence home security measures. The findings further revealed that those of lower socioeconomic status are more afraid of burglary and more likely to have deterrence but not entry prevention home security installed. However, the direct impact of fear of burglary on the deterrence home security measures indicated a decrease in the likelihood of this type of home security measure being installed. This suggests that the affordability of home security measures plays an important role. Conclusion: Participants from lower socioeconomic status are more afraid of becoming victims of burglary and invest in cheaper home security measures to protect their homes, while wealthier participants do not feel the need to protect their homes since they are more likely to live in low-crime areas.

Pandemic Job Separation and Psychological Distress: Modeling Chains of Adversity

Although recent studies have linked pandemic unemployment with poorer mental health, the mechanisms underlying this association remain understudied. In this paper, we develop a mediation model to explain why pandemic job separation might undermine mental health. Using national data from the 2021 Crime, Health, and Politics Survey (n = 1,258), we test the indirect effects of pandemic job separation on psychological distress through several mechanisms. Mediation analyses reveal compound indirect effects of pandemic job separation on psychological distress through the primary pathway of financial strain and the secondary pathways of social support, self-esteem, mastery, religious struggles, and sleep disturbance. Absent the indirect effect of pandemic job separation through financial strain, we would have failed to observe any simple indirect effects through the other proposed mechanisms. Formal moderated mediation analyses also indicate that our observed indirect effects are invariant to subgroup differences in current employment status, education, and household income. In short, our indirect effects are observed for those respondents who were able to regain employment, those with college degrees, and those with the most financial resources. Our results suggest that the temporary expansion of public assistance has been insufficient to offset widespread unemployment and financial hardship during a global pandemic.

Male Sexual Dysfunction and the Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence.

We contribute to our understanding of the social epidemiology of intimate partner violence (IPV) by developing a mediation model that frames IPV as an outcome of male sexual dysfunction (performance anxiety and erectile dysfunction) and the mechanisms of masculine discrepancy stress (the perceived failure to conform to internalized normative expectations of masculinity) and anger. Our mediation analyses of recently collected data from the 2021 Crime, Health, and Politics Survey (CHAPS), a national probability sample of 792 men, confirmed that sexual dysfunction was indirectly associated with the perpetration of any IPV, physical IPV, and sexual IPV through the compound path of masculine discrepancy stress and anger.

Broken Windows and Community Social Control: Evidence from a Study of Street Segments

Objectives Broken windows theory identifies community social control as a central mechanism for controlling crime. In turn, controlling disorder is seen as the primary method that police or other government agents can use to strengthen community social controls. Our study examined the antecedents of informal community social control, measured as collective efficacy, at street segments. Methods This article leverages multi-wave primary data collection at 447 street segments in Baltimore, MD including official crime statistics, survey responses, physical observations, and systematic social observations. We used mixed-effects OLS regression models to examine antecedents of collective efficacy at the street-level. Results We find that social disorder and crime, rather than physical disorder, are the primary antecedents of collective efficacy at the street-level. We also find that fear of crime does not have a direct impact on collective efficacy. Conclusions Our study suggests that police and city government more generally should not look to controlling physical disorder as a means of increasing community controls. At the same time addressing social disorder is an important mechanism to bolster collective efficacy, though care is needed to avoid bias or backfire effects from aggressive order-maintenance policing.

Political variations in pandemic lifestyles and COVID-19 vaccination by age cohort in the United States

While recent scholarship suggests that political affiliation is a robust predictor of pandemic behaviors and COVID-19 vaccination status, research has yet to examine whether the impact of political affiliation on these outcomes vary by age. Drawing on health lifestyles theory, we contribute to the social epidemiology of infectious disease behaviors by testing whether the impact of political affiliation on risky pandemic health lifestyles and COVID vaccination varies by age cohort. We employ data collected from the 2021 Crime, Health, and Politics Survey (CHAPS), a national study of adults from the United States, to formally assess this understudied association. In all models, Democrats reported less risky pandemic lifestyles compared to their Republican counterparts. Moreover, Democrats displayed greater odds of being vaccinated than Republicans or Independents. Further, the impact of political affiliation on vaccination status varied by age cohort, such that the impact of political affiliation was stronger among the oldest adults in our sample. Our analyses contribute to the growing study of politics and health lifestyles by challenging theoretical perspectives and cultural narratives that claim that older adults are less swayed by political influence when it comes to healthcare decisions. Our results help better our understanding of the ways in which political discourse shapes adopting public health recommendations.

Cumulative Pandemic Stressors, Psychosocial Resources, and Psychological Distress: Toward a More Comprehensive Test of a Pandemic Stress Process

Although the mental health consequences of individual COVID-19 stressors (e.g., bereavement, job loss, or financial strain) have been well-documented, little is known about the cumulative toll of multiple pandemic stressors. Using national data from the Crime, Health, and Politics Survey (May–June 2021), we test whether the accumulation of pandemic stressors is associated with greater psychological distress. We also consider whether this association is moderated by psychosocial resources (i.e., mastery, self-esteem, and social support). Our findings suggest that individuals who report three or more pandemic stressors tend to exhibit greater psychological distress than those who report fewer pandemic stressors or no pandemic stressors. While mastery offsets the impact of pandemic stressors at higher levels of stress exposure (i.e., two or more COVID-19 stressors), social support and self-esteem played a stress-buffering role to a point, but became ineffective at the highest levels of pandemic stress. The current study provides new insights into the pandemic stress process by conceptualizing and operationalizing the cumulative impact of COVID-19 stressors. We also confirm the continued significance of traditional coping resources in the context of novel pandemic stressors.