1. Update on BCS developments Crime Surveys User Group - 7 December 2009 philip.hall@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk john.flatley@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

2. Overview –Brief background to the BCS –Update on extending the BCS to under 16s –Changes in 2008/09 survey –2009/10-2010/11 surveys –Other developments –Latest on data archiving

3. Background to the BCS –Face-to-face interviews with residents aged 16 and over in households in England and Wales –First survey in 1982 –Run at roughly two year intervals until 2001, when it became a continuous survey –Sample size now around 45,000 –Results published annually in Crime in England and Wales: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1109vol1.pdf

4. Update on under-16s extension –Interviewing of under-16s began in January 2009 –Experimental statistics are due to be published in June 2010 –This will include several approaches to counting crimes experienced by children

5. Changes in 2008/09 survey (1) –OAC variables added to dataset –New questions and derived variables on newspaper readership –New questions on perceptions of change in types of crime locally and nationally –New questions expanding on 3 strands of ASB: –Teenagers hanging around –Drug use or dealing –Drunk or rowdy behaviour –Analysis published in Supplementary Volume in November: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1709.pdf http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1709.pdf

6. Changes in 2008/09 survey (2) –New sample design –Simple random sample in areas of high population density –Semi-clustered in areas of medium population density –Clustered in areas of low population density –Change in PSU identifier variable (used to calculate CSEs) –AREA: This previously represented the primary sampling unit (PSU), now it just reflects an interviewers assignment –PSUID: This is a new variable used to identify the PSU

7. 2009/10-2010/11 surveys –2008/09 BCS was last year of the youth boost –Now have under-16s survey from 2009/10 onwards –Questionnaire review currently underway (subject to change) –New questions on trust in official statistics –ID fraud questions to be replaced with module on e-crime –Some new ASB questions looking in more detail at drug use or dealing –Possible split-sample experiment comparing more general questions on intimate violence to current questions

8. Other developments –Methodology review project –Examine whether changes to BCS sample design in the last 10 years have affected the reliability of trend estimates –Consider whether the BCS might under-report crimes committed against those aged 16-24 living in areas with high levels of crime and social deprivation –Examine the implications for crime trends of reporting on data collected during a financial year compared to reporting on prevalence or incidence of crime experienced during a financial year. –UKSA Barriers to Trust –Review of trust in crime statistics –Interim report due around Christmas/early next year –Open meeting due to be held in London January 18 (provisional)

9. Update on data archiving (1) –Reviews across government on the protection of data collected and held by departments –New GSS policy has been released covering government surveys microdata which attempts to balance the risk of disclosure with the usefulness of data for researchers

10. Update on data archiving (2) –Variables now deemed disclosive include –Country of birth/nationality –Occupation/industry coding –Urban/rural area classification –ACORN/OAC code –PFA –These variables have been removed or grouped in the main EUL dataset on the UKDA –We have created a new special license dataset containing low-level geographic information

11. Update on data archiving (3) –New special license datasets that can be requested in addition to main EUL datasets –Four special license datasets available –Drug use –Drinking behaviour –IPV and sexual victimisation –Low-level geographic data –Only one request needs to be made per project for one or more special license datasets.

12. Update on data archiving (4) –Also available through UKDA –Questionnaire –2008/09 Technical Guide –2008/09 User Guide –Crime in England and Wales 2008/09 was published as two volumes. Volume 2 contains information for interpreting BCS and police recorded crime data http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1109vol2.pdf

13. Update on data archiving (5) –Previously, OCJS cross-sectional datasets have been added to the archive –Two OCJS datasets are also being added to the archive used in the recent publication of Longitudinal Analysis of the OCJS 2003-2006: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/horr19c.pdfhttp://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/horr19c.pdf.

14. Update on data archiving (6) –Four-year panel dataset comprising 2,539 respondents who participated in all four waves of the OCJS. –Includes derived offending, ASB and drug use variables, derived risk factor variables and original survey variables. Also five cluster variables derived as a result of latent class analysis. –Paired transitions dataset used in the analysis of 12- month transitions between consecutive OCJS interviews. –Contains 11,449 cases. Each case is a respondent who was interviewed at two consecutive waves of OCJS. Hence, respondents who had taken part in all waves appear three times.

15. Questions ? Comments?