| 9. Further information : Scottish Crime
Survey |
|
| 9.1. The preceding sections of this bulletin
described in detail the volume and types of crime recorded and cleared up by the eight
police forces in Scotland during 1998. The recorded crime series is a useful indicator of
trends in recorded crime. However, not all crimes are reported to the police and, of those
crimes that are, not all are subsequently recorded (if the police are of the opinion that
a crime has not taken place). The propensity of the public to report crime to the police
also changes over time. Thus, statistics recorded by the police may not accurately reflect
the underlying trend in all crime. |
|
| 9.2. Crime surveys can be a useful source of
information by providing a fuller picture of the extent of and trends in most types of
household and personal victimisation. The information provided by such surveys complements
the information compiled by the police forces and provides another useful indicator as
well as exploring other issues such as the impact of crime on victims, public anxieties
and reactions to crime and attitudes towards the police. |
|
| 9.3. Since the publication of the 1996
statistical bulletin in the recorded crime series, the main findings from the 1996
Scottish Crime Survey (SCS) have been published. The Scottish Crime Survey is a large
scale household survey of public experiences and perceptions of crime, based on interviews
with over 5,000 adults across Scotland. The 1996 SCS relates to crimes reported to have
occurred during the calendar year 1995. |
|
| 9.4. A summary of some of the main findings
from the 1996 SCS (and earlier sweeps of the survey) are detailed below. Like the recorded
crime series, the SCS cannot provide a complete picture of crime in Scotland. The SCS does
not, for example, collect information about crimes committed against public or corporate
bodies and individuals not resident in households. Information on those aged under 16 is
limited to the age range 12 to 15 and is not as comprehensive as the information for those
aged 16 or over. Furthermore, the SCS is dependent on the willingness of respondents to
take part in the survey and to remember incidents and report them accurately. Finally, the
SCS results, like those from any sample survey, are also subject to sampling error. |
|
| 9.5. Findings from the 1996 SCS are
summarised in bullet form below. Further details can be found in Crime and Criminal
Justice Research Findings No. 16 "The 1996 Scottish Crime Survey : First
Results", which was published in September 1997 and in the report " Main
Findings from the 1996 Scottish Crime Survey ", CRU 1998. |
- Estimates derived from the 1996 SCS suggest that in 1995
just under 1 million crimes were committed against individuals and private
households in Scotland. This was 8 per cent less than the number of crimes estimated in
the 1993 SCS.
- For each crime group in 1995 the estimated number of crimes
returned to a level close to, or below, 1981 estimates. Approximately 1 in 4 people had
been the victim of at least one crime covered by the survey during 1995. Approximately 70
per cent of these were crimes against property and, of these, about half involved motor
vehicle offences.
- Only certain categories of crime are directly comparable
between the SCS figures and the police statistics. For the sub-set of comparable crimes
which can be compared with the police recorded crime statistics, namely vandalism,
housebreaking, theft of a motor vehicle, theft of a bicycle, robbery and assault, the
number of comparable crimes recorded by the police in 1995 was 37 per cent of the total
number of crimes estimated by the SCS. This proportion was similar to that recorded for
1992.
- Victims of crime were asked whether the incident had been
reported to the police, The earlier surveys showed a sizeable increase in reporting
between 1981 and 1992; from 38 per cent in 1981 to 44 per cent in 1987 and 52 per cent in
1992. The results of the 1996 SCS show that this steady increase has tailed off, with 49
per cent of all crimes being reported to the police in 1995.
- Reporting rates differ depending on the type of crime. The
crimes most commonly reported to the police in 1995 were theft of a motor vehicle (100 per
cent) and housebreaking (71 per cent), compared with only 39 per cent of assaults. The
higher the reporting rate, the closer the SCS results will be to the recorded crime
statistics.
|
|
| Further information |
|
- Crime and Criminal Justice Research Findings No. 16 "The
1996 Scottish Crime Survey : First Results" is available on the internet :
www.scotland.gov.uk
- CRU report " Main Findings from the 1996 Scottish
Crime Survey " can be obtained from:
The Stationery Office Bookshop, 71 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9AZ, priced £7.00.
- For more information about the Scottish Crime Survey, please
contact Fiona Fraser on 0131-244 -8275
or e- mail : fiona.fraser @scotland. gov. uk
|
|
