Catherine Millington Scottish Crime and Justice Survey,

Overview Survey methodology Estimating victimisation –National Indicator 30: Reduce overall crime victimisation rates by 2 percentage points by 2011 Perceptions of crime –National Indicator 35: Increase positive public perception of the general crime rate in the local area Police and criminal justice system

Survey Methodology Large-scale continuous survey measuring people’s experience & perceptions of crime in Scotland 16,003 face-to-face interviews with Scottish adults (aged 16+) in private households

Large sample size: More accurate measurement of less prevalent crimes e.g. serious assault Sub-national estimates at police force area (PFA) & community justice authority area (CJAA) Combining 2009/10 & 2010/11 will give LA results Allowed questionnaire to be split into modules, extending topic coverage while retaining reliable reporting at national level

SCJS 2008/09 - QUESTIONNAIRE STRUCTURE Full sample module (16,000 respondents) Main screener Victim form Community sentencing Scottish criminal justice system Split sample modules (4,000 respondents each) Fear of crime Workplace abuse Criminal justice system Insulted, pestered, intimidated Card and Identity fraud Civil justice Safety cameras Self completion section (asked of 16,000 respondents, completed by 10,974) Drugs Partner abuse and sexual victimisation

Limitations of the SCJS Coverage - excludes businesses, those under 16yrs, those living in institutions, e.g. student accommodation, ‘victimless’ crimes, e.g. speeding Respondent recall error Sampling error – to indicate the extent, key results presented with their calculated confidence intervals. These are bands within which there is confidence that the ‘true’ value lies 95 % of the time.

Estimating victimisation - the extent of crime 1.04 million crimes in Scotland from SCJS 08/09 The same as in 2005/ million property crimes (70% of crime) involving theft or damage to personal or household property; 0.32 million violent crimes of assault or robbery (30% of crime).

Estimating victimisation - the extent of crime

Estimating victimisation - the extent of crime over time

Estimating victimisation National Indicator 30: Reduce overall crime victimisation rates by 2 percentage points by 2011 The proportion of Scottish adults who were the victim of one or more crime is 20.4% –this compares with 21.3% in 2005/06 (decrease 0.9%) –performance is “maintaining” Although the last year on year change was not statistically significant it was part of a steady downward trend in the victimisation rate since the early 90s.

Varying risk of crime – population characteristics % of adults who were the victim of one or more crime

Varying risk of crime -Crime types % of adults/households who were the victim of one or more crime

Comparison with England & Wales The risk of being a victim of crime: –Scotland: 20.4% (SCJS 2008/09) –E&W: 23% (BCS 2008/09) The risk of being a victim of violent crime: –Scotland: 4.1% –E&W: 3.2% The proportion of crime –Scotland: 30% of crime is violent crime –E&W: 20% of crime is violent crime

Violent crime, alcohol & weapons In 58% of violent crime the victim thought the perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol In 29% of violent crime the victim was under the influence of alcohol A weapon was used (or threatened to be used) in 28% of violent crimes 1/3 of these weapons were knives 1/4 were bottles

Was what happened a crime? % of crime

Reported to the police? An estimated 38% of crime is reported to the police Most common reasons for unreported crime: –41% too trivial / not worth reporting –29% police could not have done anything –16% police would not have bothered or been interested

National Indicator 35: Increase positive public perception of the general crime rate in the local area 69% of adults perceived the general crime rate in their local area to have stayed the same or reduced in the past 2 years –this compares with 65% in 2005/06 –performance is “improving” Fewer adults (28%) thought that the crime rate in their area had increased over the last two years –this compares with 32% in 2005/06 Perceptions of crime

How common are crimes in your local area?

How are these impressions formed?

Perceived risk ‘vs’ actual risk

Do the police in your area do a good job? % of adults Confidence in the police:

Other topics from the survey Injuries sustained through violent crime Attitudes to sentencing Monetary impacts of crime Civil justice Workplace abuse Emotional responses to crime Safety cameras Card and identity fraud Community sentencing

To view SCJS Reports, including - First findings, Partner abuse, Sexual victimisation, Illegal drug use & Technical report SCJS Data tables and regional results Please see the following website: topic/crime-and-justice/crime-and-justice- survey/publications topic/crime-and-justice/crime-and-justice- survey/publications Full data sets are available to download on the UK Data Archive:

Thank you, Questions?