British Crime Survey
The British Crime Survey (BCS) is
one of the largest social surveys conducted in Britain. It is currently carried
out by the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB).
The BCS is primarily a 'victimisation'
survey, in which respondents are asked about the experiences of property crimes
of the household (e.g. burglary) and personal crimes (e.g. theft from the person)
which they themselves have experienced. The reference period to which these
questions relate is from the first of January in the calendar year preceding
the BCS, up to the date of interview. The reference period and indeed the wording
of the series of questions, which are asked to elicit victimisation experiences,
have been held constant throughout the series of BCS surveys.
Because members of the public are
asked directly about victimisation, the BCS provides a record of the experience
of crime which is unaffected by variations in the behaviour of victims about
reporting the incident to the police and variations over time and between places
in the police practices about recording crime. The scope of the BCS goes well
beyond the counting of criminal incidents, although it is for this estimate
that it has become established as a definitive source of information. In order
to classify incidents, the BCS collects extensive information about the victims
of crime, the circumstances in which incidents occur and the behaviour of offenders
in committing crimes. In this way, the survey provides information to inform
crime reduction measures and to gauge their effectiveness. The BCS has been
successful at developing special measures to estimate the extent of domestic
violence, stalking and sexual victimisation, which are probably the least-reported
to the police but among the most serious of crimes in their impact on victims.
Up to 2001, eight waves of the BCS
were carried out in England and Wales: 1982, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998
and 2000. From 2001, the series became annual instead of biennial.
The Home Office web site contains some detailed information about the survey.
Recent data
- BCS, 2010-2011: Special Licence Access, Drinking Behaviour Module published 31 January 2012.
- BCS, 2010-2011 published 31 January 2012.
- BCS, 2010-2011: Special Licence Access, Low-Level Geographic Data published 31 January 2012.
- BCS, 2010-2011: Special Licence Access, Interpersonal Violence Module published 31 January 2012.
- BCS, 2010-2011: Special Licence Access, Drug Use Module published 31 January 2012.
- BCS, 2009-2010: Special Licence Access, Low-Level Geographic Data published 20 January 2012.
- Receive email notification of data updates.
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