Security from crime Bratislava, 5-7 May 2003 Stein Terje Vikan Statistical Division UNECE

NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Summary Why count crimes? Where get the data Presentation of indicators Alternative sources of crime statistics

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Security from crime Violent crimes recorded per population White-collar crimes recorded per population % of recorded crimes in which the offender is convicted Drug related crimes per population

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May possible units Criminal acts/crimes –Good picture of criminal activities –Not all crimes have clear victims (e.g. corruption) Offenders –Demographic characteristics of criminals Victims –Demographic characteristics of victims

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Why count crimes? It is the most common used and most available Statistics on victims would be very useful to map personal security, but… Very few countries have good data on this Therefore: focus on crimes Because this gives a good picture of the magnitude of criminal activities

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Crimes recorded by the police Collected by: National Statistical Offices Ministry of Justice Some problems: Underreporting Bias Inside the police Among victims and witnesses

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Violent Crimes recorded per population Should include: - Homicide - Attempted murder - Robbery - Kidnapping - Sexual assault - Sexual abuse - Major assault - Abduction - Common assault

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 White collar crimes recorded per population No authoritative definition Closest grouping in the UN manual is Property crimes, including: Fraud, possession of stolen property and mischief, but also theft Definition should include: corruption, bribes, forged documents, fraud, embezzlement

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 % of recorded crimes in which the offender is convicted Need to ensure consistent way of counting To highlight prioritisations in the justice system – differentiate between different types of crime

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Drug related crimes per population Should include both trafficking in and possession of drugs The most available of the 4 indicators

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Other sources of crime statistics Interpol United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems The International Crime Victim Survey The International Violence Against Women Survey The International Crimes Against Business Survey

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Interpol Additional potential source Refers to police records Collected via country reporting Not corresponding categories, but alternative indicators are possible

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Interpol Coverage: All countries in the region covered Most years from (Most countries at least up to 2000 Continuously updated

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems Additional potential source Refers to police records Collected via country reporting Not corresponding categories, but alternative indicators are possible More detailed than Interpol Gives also information on prosecutions and convictions

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems Coverage: Countries participating: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Only benchmark years: 1989, 1992, 1996/7, 2000/01

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 The International Crime Victim Survey or Focus on victims, not crimes!! Not corresponding categories, but many similar Same methodology for all countries Includes crimes not reported to the police Can give a picture of proportion of crimes that get reported to the police Has some data on corruption

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 The International Crime Victim Survey or Coverage: Covers only capital city in our region!! Therefore cannot give picture for the whole country Participating countries: Albania (Tirana), Bulgaria (Sofia), Croatia (Zagreb), Macedonia (Skopje), Romania (Bucharest), Slovakia (Bratislava), Serbia and Montenegro (Belgrade) Benchmark years: 1992, 1996/97, 2000/01

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 The International Violence Against Women Survey Problem with underreporting Currently data collection is going on, no results clear yet Coverage: Currently only Serbia and Montenegro (Belgrade)

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 The International Crimes Against Business Survey In the making Few countries participate But potential useful source in the future on White-collar crimes