Victimization Survey Research Articles

Determinants of extortion compliance: Empirical evidence from a victimization survey

AbstractThis article focuses on the situational-, victim- and area-level determinants of extortion compliance. Extortion, a quintessential organized crime, is one of the most common crimes in Mexico. However, compliance with extortion demands is relatively rare. Previous research suggests that compliance with extortion depends on the perceived risk of punishment for non-compliance. However, most research has been theoretical or experimental. The article offers empirical evidence of patterns of extortion compliance based on data from a large commercial victimization survey conducted in Mexico. Findings suggest that situational factors (extortion type, the presence of weapons and number of offenders) are the main determinants of extortion compliance. Victim- and area-level variables have comparatively smaller effects. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

An Analysis of Hate Crime Victimization Amongst Immigrants

The primary purpose of the current study was to understand immigrant hate crime victimization in the U.S. Specifically, the authors analyzed the most recent data from the National Crime Victimization Survey to explore the factors that influence hate crime experiences and reporting by immigrant victims. Results from the binary logistic regression analyses revealed significant relationships between immigration status, citizenship status, number of prior incidents experienced as well as certain demographic characteristics and being the victim of a hate crime. Overall, being an immigrant or non-citizen, was associated with an increase in odds of being the victim of a hate crime. In terms of victims’ reporting of hate crime, immigration status had no impact, but the number of incidents experienced, being married and being less educated significantly increased reporting among victims. Numerous recommendations are provided, however, the most important step forward is the creation of a legal status category within the UCR’s Hate Crime data collection coupled with several legal protections for victims.

The socioeconomic distribution of alcohol-related violence in England and Wales.

Inequalities in alcohol-related health harms have been repeatedly identified. However, the socioeconomic distribution of alcohol-related violence (violence committed by a person under the influence of alcohol)–and of subtypes such as alcohol-related domestic violence–remains under-examined. To examine this, data are drawn from nationally representative victimisation survey, the Crime Survey for England and Wales, from years 2013/14 to 2017/18. Socioeconomic status specific incidence and prevalence rates for alcohol-related violence (including subtypes domestic, stranger, and acquaintance violence) were created. Binomial logistic regressions were performed to test whether the likelihood of experiencing these incidents was affected by socioeconomic status when controlling for a range of pre-established risk factors associated with violence victimisation. Findings generally show lower socioeconomic groups experience higher prevalence rates of alcohol-related violence overall, and higher incidence and prevalence rates for alcohol-related domestic and acquaintance violence. Binomial logistic regression results show that the likelihood of experiencing these types of violence is affected by a person’s socioeconomic status–even when other risk factors known to be associated with violence are held constant. Along with action to address environmental and economic drivers of socioeconomic inequality, provision of publicly funded domestic violence services should be improved, and alcohol pricing and availability interventions should be investigated for their potential to disproportionately benefit lower socioeconomic groups.

Gender Identity Disparities in Criminal Victimization: National Crime Victimization Survey, 2017-2018.

Objectives. To estimate the prevalence of personal and household victimizations among transgender people in the United States.Methods. We analyzed pooled 2017 and 2018 data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, the first nationally representative sample that allows identification of transgender respondents.Results. Transgender people experienced 86.2 victimizations per 1000 persons compared with cisgender people's 21.7 per 1000 persons (odds ratio [OR] = 4.24; 90% confidence interval [CI] = 1.49, 7.00). Households that had a transgender person had higher rates of property victimization (214.1 per 1000 households) than households with only cisgender people (108 per 1000 households; OR = 2.25; 90% CI = 1.19, 3.31). Transgender victims whose sex assigned at birth was male were more likely to perceive their victimization as a hate crime than cisgender victims whose sex assigned at birth was male. There were no disparities in reporting victimizations to authorities: only about half of the victimizations of both transgender and cisgender people were reported.Conclusions. Public policy and administration need to consider the unique vulnerabilities transgender people routinely encounter, resulting in disparities in criminal victimization.

Tecnologías de vigilancia en las empresas mexicanas para protegerse de la inseguridad

El presente artículo tiene como objetivo estudiar los efectos de la violencia y la inseguridad en las empresas mexicanas, enfocándose en la inversión en medidas preventivas que consideran las tecnologías de vigilancia –alarmas y cámaras de video– como alternativa para protegerse de la inseguridad. A partir del análisis estadístico de cuatro encuestas de victimización de empresas en México –2012, 2014, 2016 y 2018– a las que se tuvo acceso a través del Laboratorio de Microdatos del Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), se encontró que las empresas han incrementado su inversión en tecnologías de vigilancia en los últimos años y que esta inversión no está únicamente asociada con la victimización directa, sino también es una medida preventiva que se explica a partir de variables como el entorno a nivel local, la percepción de inseguridad, las fallas de la seguridad pública, entre otras.

A Comparison of Traditional Victims, Cyber Victims, Traditional-Cyber Victims, and Uninvolved Adolescents: A Social-Ecological Framework

Very few studies explicitly investigate the prevalence, similarities, and differences among adolescents who experience one or both types of bullying victimization. The exploratory study aims to illustrate patterns of concurrence of traditional bullying and cyberbullying victimization and identify similarities and differences of traditional victims, cyber victims, and traditional-cyber victims within the social-ecological theoretical framework. Multinomial logistic regressions were constructed employing the data from the 2013 National Crime Victimization Survey School Crime Supplement with a nationally representative sample of adolescents aged 12 to 18 who were selected through a stratified multistage cluster sample of households across the United States. Traditional victims were the most prevalent type of victims followed by traditional-cyber victims and finally cyber victims. The relationships between social-ecological contexts and bullying victimization were relied on whether bullying victimization was offline, online, or both. There were shared and unique predictors observed that distinguished between traditional victims, cyber victims, and traditional-cyber victims. Findings suggest the social-ecological theory may not work similarly for explaining different forms of bullying victimization. It may be beneficial to the development of intervention programs that consider both universal and unique strategies targeted specifically for youth who are victimized by traditional bullying, cyberbullying, or both.

Street corner decisions: an empirical investigation of extortionist choices in El Salvador

ABSTRACT This paper identifies offender choice patterns associated with extortion subtypes in El Salvador, Central America. Previous research attributes the rise of extortion in the country to the evolution and propagation of Los Angeles-born street gangs Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18. Data from a unique business victimisation survey is used to analyse 53 decisions in 869 reported cases. The study borrows a multidimensional scaling method used in criminal profiling research to identify offender choice patterns. Cases are classified into extortion subtypes based on identified choice groupings. Key offender choices and location features are compared across extortion subtypes. Offender choice patterns identified in the study are consistent with systemic and opportunistic extortion described in previous literature. About a third of the cases are designated as hybrid extortions due to the blend of choice structuring properties they exhibit, which combines aspects of both systemic and opportunistic extortion.

Gun acquisition in Mexico 2012–18: findings from Mexico𔃻s National Crime Victimization Survey

Abstract Data from Mexico’s National Crime Victimization Surveys (Encuesta Nacional de Victimización y Percepción sobre Seguridad Pública, ENVIPE) indicate that 1.89 million Mexican households acquired a gun from 2012 to 2018. The objective of this article is to analyse factors associated with gun acquisition in Mexico. We analysed data from the 2013 through 2019 ENVIPE surveys and ran a binary logistic regression. Our results show that gun acquisition in Mexico is associated with the demographics of the head of the household, characteristics of the household, perception of insecurity, illegal activities around a household, victimization and mistrust in security agencies. This study adds to efforts of understanding gun acquisition worldwide while also contributing to the complex research of guns and violence in Latin America, specifically in Mexico.

Using National Data to Inform Our Understanding of Family and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization: A Review of a Decade of Innovation

This review summarizes developments over the past decade in national data sources that can further our understanding of intimate partner and family violence. Particular attention is given to recent improvements in the National Crime Victimization Survey and Uniform Crime Reporting Program’s National Incident-Based Reporting System as well as to features of the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. Over the past 10 years, these data sources have broadened their collection in areas such as victim demographics, disclosure and access to services. This information can support the research necessary to better respond to victims of intimate partner and family violence.

Understanding intimate partner violence in context: social and community correlates of special and general victimization

ABSTRACT In prior research, intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization has been predominantly studied as distinct from other forms of violent victimization. As a result, relatively little is known about IPV victimization in relation to other violent victimization and the extent to which same people tend to be both IPV and other violent victims. In this study, the combined data from five sweeps of the Finnish National Crime Victim Survey (N = 25,927) is used to examine violent poly-victimization among IPV victims and to compare social and community correlates of IPV victimization and other violent victimization. The results indicate that IPV victims are significantly more likely to be victims of other violent actions than those who have not been victimized by an intimate partner. Moreover, IPV victimization shares similar correlates with other violent victimization. However, more research is needed on the causal mechanisms behind the associations between IPV and general violence.

Immigration Policies and Access to the Justice System: The Effect of Enforcement Escalations on Undocumented Immigrants and Their Communities

Does intensifying immigrationenforcement lead to under-reporting of crime among undocumented immigrants and their communities? We empirically test the claims of activists and legal advocates that the escalation of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities in 2017 negatively impacted the willingness of undocumented immigrants and Hispanic communities to report crime. We hypothesize that ICE cooperation with local law enforcement, in particular, discourages undocumented immigrants and their Hispanic community members from reporting crime. Using a difference-in-difference approach and FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data at the county level, we find that total reported crime fell from 2016 to 2017 in counties with higher shares of Hispanic individuals and in counties where local law enforcement had more cooperation with ICE. Using the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), we show that these declines in the measured crime rate are driven by decreased crime reporting by Hispanic communities rather than by decreased crime commission or victimization. Finally, we replicate these results in a second case study by leveraging the staggered roll-out of the 2008–2014 Secure Communities program across US counties. Taken together, our findings add to a growing body of literature demonstrating how immigration enforcement reduces vulnerable populations’ access to state services, including the criminal justice system.

Effects of COVID-19 Shutdowns on Domestic Violence in US Cities

We empirically investigate the impact of COVID-19 shutdowns on domestic violence using incident-level data on both domestic-related calls for service and crime reports of domestic violence assaults from the 18 major US police departments for which both types of records are available. Although we confirm prior reports of an increase in domestic calls for service at the start of the pandemic, we find that the increase preceded mandatory shutdowns, and there was an incremental decline following the government imposition of restrictions. We find no evidence that domestic violence crimes increased. Rather, domestic violence assaults declined significantly during the initial shutdown period and there was no significant change in intimate partner homicides in these months. Nationwide intimate partner violence rates in the National Crime Victimization Survey, including crimes not reported to police, were also lower during shutdown months. Our results fail to support claims that shutdowns increased domestic violence and suggest caution before drawing inference or basing policy on calls data alone.

Impact of the Perceived Crime at the Local and National Levels

The cognition mechanism on crime rather than the actual cause of crime has become an important topic of interest for criminologists and the public who have experienced concern and fear rather than an actual criminal victimization. We compared the effects of population and condition variables at the local and national levels on the perceived crime through the ‘Korean Crime Victims Survey’ of 28,416 South Koreans. This study presents that there are significant differences in the influence of independent variables such as the environment around the neighborhood, interaction with the neighborhood, policing in the neighborhood, fear of night, victimization of crime and media consumption at the local and national levels. Variables such as dissatisfaction with the environment around the neighborhood, experience of crime victimization, and more media consumption elevated the perceived crime across both the local and national levels. Moreover, we found that the lack of interaction with neighbors had the only significant impact on increasing the perceived crime at the local level, and dissatisfaction with policing in the neighborhood had little influence on increasing the perceived crime at the local level. However, good policing in the neighborhood had a significant effect on decreasing the perceived crime at the local and national levels. According to the results, the consumption of media had a significant effect on increasing the perceived crime at the local and national levels. However, the consumption of media affected the perceived crime at the national level as the second highest effect after victimization of crime, while the perceived crime at the local level was found to have the least significant effect among the independent variables. This study presents the relationship between the perceived crime and other individual indicators while controlling for socio-demographic variables. We also provide differences of the indicators’ effects on the perceived crime at the local and national levels.

International Differences in Crime Reporting: A Multilevel Exploration of Burglary Reporting in 35 Countries

Our knowledge about crime, and the ability to help victims, is only as good as the information that is shared with us. However, crime reporting is known to be variable, and much research has been done to look at factors that influence the decision to report. Few studies, though, have looked at whether, and how, the country context impacts a victim’s decision to report crime. Using data from the International Crime Victims Survey and available data on corruption, income inequality, development, and democracy, this article explores that relationship for burglary reporting in 35 different countries through multilevel models. The results confirm that there is significant variation among countries in terms of burglary reporting. In addition, models that take into account both micro- and macro-level predictors show that country-level crime prevalence, democracy, corruption, and income inequality significantly predict burglary reporting and provide support for using Freda Adler’s conception of “synnomie” and anomie as a theoretical framework for understanding the crime reporting decision internationally. Future research should continue to examine crime reporting decisions cross-nationally, as this research has shown the importance of sample composition and crime type on findings, and test the influence of macro-level factors, especially relating to “synnomie,” over time.

Improving dog bite victim survey and estimation of annual human deaths due to suspected rabies cases in three selected Liberian cities and environs, 2008-2017.

Rabies remains a public health challenge of unknown magnitude in Liberia in spite of the goal of ensuring that no human in the country dies of rabies by 2030. The annual prevalence of Dog Bite Victims (DBVs) and true load of Annual Human Deaths (AHDs) due to rabies were not known. We investigated three selected cities of Liberia for annual prevalence of DBVs and true load of AHD due to suspected rabies, using 10–year retrospective record, 2008–2017 obtained from Buchanan, Gbarnga, and Voinjama, three socio-economically important cities in post-conflict Liberia. Data were sourced at County Reference Hospitals and at the Liberia National Institute of Health for these cities and their local environs. In addition, household questionnaire survey was used to identify and audit data quality for unreported DBVs, and treatment received from traditional caregivers. The proportion was used to audit the 10-year data on unreported DBVs in the cities. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize annual DBVs over the 10-year period in the three cities, respectively. A standardized clinical decision tree model was used to estimate AHDs due to suspected rabies. Based on questionnaire survey, 140/365, 148/375 and 146/350 DBVs did not visit any orthodox health facility in Buchanan, Gbarnga and Voinjama cities, respectively in 2014. An estimated total of 559 DBVs died of suspected rabies in the three cities and their environs during the 10-year period. Mean yearly prevalence of DBVs was 179±106.82, 393±257.85 and 76.9±38.11 per 100,000 population, while mean AHDs due to suspected rabies was 14.3±8.47, 35.5±23.25, and 6.1±3.21 per 100,000 population in Buchanan, Gbarnga, and Voinjama cities, respectively. The present findings provide annual prevalence of suspected rabies cases, corrected for under-reporting in three selected cities of Liberia. The findings would be useful in planning for stepwise actions towards rabies elimination, ensuring that no human dies of rabies in Liberia by 2030.

Testing Routine Activity Theory in Mexico

Abstract Using a comprehensive victimization survey data set, we develop the first test of routine activity (RA) theory in a Latin American country. Estimating a complementary log–log multilevel model of the theory in several stages, we investigate what factors in the theory predict residential burglary risk. We find that measures associated with the exposure to potential offenders, target attractiveness, target accessibility, personal guardianship, social guardianship, and natural guardianship predict residential burglary in our sample of Mexican cities. As such, residential burglary is a complex crime with multiple factors at play, for which RA theory is a suitable theory given the conciseness of its propositions and operational definitions. We foresee RA theory successfully influencing future studies of crime in the Latin American region.

Violent Victimization Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations in the United States: Findings From the National Crime Victimization Survey, 2017-2018.

Objectives. To estimate US nonlethal violent victimization rates for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) males and females aged 16 years and older and to compare disparities among LGB and straight males and females, controlling for other correlates of victimization.Methods. We used data from the 2017 and 2018 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to provide nationally representative rates of various forms of violent victimization for self-identified LGB and straight persons. Multivariable models assessed the risk for violence associated with LGB status.Results. Total violence rates were 2 to 9 times higher among LGB persons compared with heterosexuals. For some forms of violence (e.g., rape and sexual assault, violence with serious injuries, and multiple offender violence) there were notably high disparities between bisexuals and heterosexuals. With adjustment for covariates, LGB orientation was associated with odds ratios nearly 2 to 4 times those of heterosexuals.Conclusions. This is one of the first known uses of NCVS data to estimate LGB victimization, revealing substantially higher rates of violence directed at LGB individuals.Public Health Implications. Sexual orientation and gender identity questions in federal surveys such as the NCVS enable monitoring of violent victimization rates and should continue. Collecting these data can help researchers understand victimization risk and guide appropriate resources toward victim services, especially important given the high violent crime levels experienced by LGB individuals.

Emotional and physical symptoms after gun victimization in the United States, 2009–2019

Interpersonal firearm violence is a major public health problem in the United States. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of gun victimization on the likelihood of post emotional and physical symptoms as reported by victims. We focused on non-fatal violent crimes reported to the National Crime Victimization Surveys for 2009–2019 and ran a set of binary logistic regressions. For outcome measures, we used two dichotomous variables, whether the victim reported feeling at least one of the seven emotional symptoms included in the survey (i.e., anxious, angry, sad/depressed, vulnerable, violated, distrustful, unsafe) and whether they reported having at least one of the seven physical symptoms (i.e., headaches, sleep eating/drinking disorders, upset stomach, fatigue, high blood pressure, muscle tension). Our key independent variable was the type of weapons used by the offender: guns, other weapons, and no weapon. We controlled for demographics of the victim, as well as other aspects of the crime (e.g., age, race, sex of victim, multiple offenders, type of violent crime). Victims of crimes in which the offender used a gun were most likely to report both emotional and physical symptoms, followed by victims of crimes in which the offender used other weapons, and lastly by victims of unarmed offenders. Our findings suggest that the presence of a firearm during a violent crime results in an increased likelihood of subsequent emotional and physical repercussions.

Severity and Predictors of Physical Intimate Partner Violence against Male Victims in Canada

ABSTRACT Recent debates surrounding intimate partner violence (IPV) have focused on its gender symmetry and gender-oriented nature. These debates center on findings from various data sources, like victimization or self-reported surveys and police-based reports. Data by Statistics Canada, from 1999 to 2014, has shown that the prevalence of IPV is similar for male and female victims, except for sexual assaults. However, there has been a paucity of studies on the severity and risk factors of IPV against men by female partners. Thus, this paper examines the severity of and risk factors for physical IPV against heterosexual men in Canada using the General Social Survey (Victimization) data of 2014. This study revealed that there is a symmetry in the experiences of physical violence between male and female victims. This study also revealed that male victims experience more severe violence than female victims. Using binary logistic regression analysis, years of dwelling together, the victim’s age, childhood victimization, and marijuana use were found to predict physical IPV against heterosexual men. This paper concludes with suggestions about how these predicting factors can be used to identify male victims and the need for a more inclusive approach toward addressing IPV, which should include male victims.

Geographical Variation in the Relationship Between Religiosity and Campus Sexual Assault:

In this study, we use the 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Study and Clery Act institution-level data to investigate the relationship between state-level religiosity and campus sexual assault rates in the U.S. We found a strong negative correlation (r = -0.54, p < 0.001) between the reported rates of campus sexual assault and religious service attendance in the 50 U.S. states. Two possible explanations for the correlation, along with their divergent implications, are discussed: differences in reporting and differences in prevalence. In exploratory analyses, we used the 2007-2014 National Crime Victimization Survey to examine regional differences in rape incident victimization and reportage, but we could not rule out the explanation that there are genuine prevalence differences across geographical regions. We argue that, due to the significant policy issues at stake, a campus sexual assault victimization survey that includes state-level geographical data for the entire U.S. is needed.