Canada’s National Survey on Criminal Victimization: Survey Content

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Canadas National Survey on Criminal
Victimization Survey Content

• Presented by Karen Mihorean, Statistics Canada
• UNECE-UNODC meeting on Crime Statistics, January
  2006
• Vienna, Austria

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Objectives of the General Social Survey Program

• To gather data on trends in Canadian society over
  time.
• To provide information on specific policy issues
  of current or emerging interest.
• Annual survey with rotating topics
• Education social support family time use
  criminal victimization

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Survey Content

• Core content
• Used to monitor long term social trends.
• Focus content
• Used to provide information on current or
  emerging issues or social problems.
• Classification
• Allows one to examine how certain segments of the
  population are affected by the social trend being
  measured.

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Survey content

• Fear
• Perceptions of the justice system
• Precautionary measures
• Criminal victimization
• Spousal violence
• Stalking
• Hate-motivated crime

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Perceptions of crime

• Two general questions
• Comparing crime levels in their neighbourhood to
  others in their area.
• Has changed in their neighbourhood.
• How safe/worried you feel from crime
• Walking alone in your area after dark.
• Waiting for or using public transportation alone
  after dark.
• Home alone in the evening or at night.

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Perceptions of crime

• Ask how often they partake in the activity.
• If they never or seldom do these activities, they
  are asked
• If you felt safer from crime, would you walk
  alone/use public transportation (more often)?
• Question that measures evening activities.

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Perceptions of the justice system

• Do you think your local police force does a good
  job, an average job or a poor job of
• Enforcing the laws
• Promptly responding to calls
• Being approachable and easy to talk to
• Supplying information to the public
• Ensuring the safety of citizens
• Treating people fairly
• Contact with the police

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Perceptions of the justice system

• Now I would like to ask you a similar question
  about the Canadian Criminal courts. Are they
  doing a good job, an average job or a poor job
  of
• Providing justice quickly
• Helping the victim
• Determining quilt
• Ensuring a fair trial.
• Perception of the sentences handed down in court.
• Contact with Canadian criminal courts.

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Perceptions of the justice system

• Do you think that the prison system does a good
  job, an average job or a poor job of
• Supervising and controlling prisoners
• Helping prisoners become law-abiding citizens.
• Do you think that the parole system does a good
  job, an average job or a poor job of
• Releasing offenders who are not likely to commit
  another offence
• Supervising offenders.

10
Protection measures used ever and past 12 months

• Have you ever done any of the following things to
  protect yourself or your property from crime?
  Have you ever
• changed your routine, activities, or avoided
  certain places?
• installed new locks or security bars?
• installed burglar alarms or motion detector
  lights?
• taken a self-defense course?
• changed your phone number?
• obtained a dog?
• obtained a gun?
• changed residence or moved?

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Protection measures routinely taken

• Do you do any of the following things to make
  yourself safer from crime?
• carry something to defend yourself or to alert
  other people?
• lock the car doors for your personal safety when
  alone in a car?
• when alone and returning to a parked car, check
  the back seat for intruders before getting into
  the car?
• plan your route with safety in mind?
• stay at home at night?
• In general, how satisfied are you with your
  personal safety?

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Criminal victimization screening questions

• Eight types of criminal victimization measured.
• Vandalism
• Theft of household property
• Motor vehicle/parts theft
• Break and enter
• Theft of personal property
• Physical assault
• Robbery
• Sexual assault
• Past 12 months
• Includes incidents committed by family and
  non-family members.

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Criminal victimization concepts and definitions

• Vandalism
• During the past 12 months did anyone
  deliberately damage or destroy any property
  belonging to you or anyone in your household,
  such as a window or a fence?
• Definition Wilful damage of personal or
  household property.

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Criminal victimization concepts and definitions

• Robbery
• During the past 12 months, did anyone take or
  try to take something from you by force or threat
  of force?
• Definition Theft or attempted theft in which the
  perpetrator had a weapon or there was violence or
  the threat of violence against the victim.

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Criminal victimization concepts and definitions

• Break and enter
• During the past 12 months, did anyone illegally
  break into or attempt to break into your
  residence or any other building on your
  property?
• Definition Illegal entry or attempted entry into
  a residence or other building on the victims
  property.

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Criminal victimization concepts and definitions

• Household theft
• Was anything of yours stolen during the past 12
  months from the things usually kept outside your
  home, such as yard furniture?
• Definition theft or attempted theft of household
  property such as liquor, bicycles, electronic
  equipment, tools or appliances.

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Criminal victimization concepts and definitions

• Personal property theft
• Was anything of yours stolen during the past 12
  months from your place of work, from school or
  from a public place, such as a restaurant?
• Definition theft or attempted theft of personal
  property such as money, credit cards, clothing,
  jewellery, a purse or a wallet.

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Criminal victimization concepts and definitions

• Motor vehicle/parts theft
• Screening question on car ownership.
• Did anyone steal or try to steal one of these
  vehicles or a part of one of them, such as a
  battery, hubcap or radio?
• Definition theft or attempted theft of a car,
  truck, van, motorcycle, moped or other vehicle or
  part of a motor vehicle.

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Criminal victimization concepts and definitions

• Physical assaults
• Now I'm going to ask you about being attacked in
  the past 12 months. An attack can be anything
  from being hit, slapped, pushed or grabbed, to
  being shot or beaten.
• Excluding acts committed by current or previous
  spouses or common-law partners, were you attacked
  by anyone in the past 12 months?
• Did anyone threaten to hit or attack you, or
  threaten you with a weapon?
• Definition An attack, a face-to-face threat of
  physical harm, or an incident with a weapon
  present.

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Criminal victimization concepts and definitions

• Sexual assaults
• Has anyone forced you or attempted to force you
  into any unwanted sexual activity, by threatening
  you, holding you down or hurting you in some
  way?
• Has anyone ever touched you against your will in
  any sexual way? By this I mean anything from
  unwanted touching or grabbing, to kissing or
  fondling.
• Definition Forced sexual activity, an attempt at
  forced sexual activity, or unwanted sexual
  touching, grabbing, kissing, or fondling.

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Criminal victimization incident report

• Location of incident
• Workplace improved
• Weapon
• How assaulted
• How threatened
• Injury
• Medical attention
• Take time off
• Alcohol/Drug related
• Number of offenders

• Sex age of offender
• Relationship to offender
• Hate motivated
• Anything stolen/damaged
• Compensation
• Difficulty carrying out activities
• Police why/why not
• Formal/informal supports
• Victim-offender mediation
• How affected

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Spousal violence

• Since 1999 part of the core content.
• Emotional and financial abuse
• Limits contact with family and friends
• Puts you down or calls you names to make you feel
  bad
• Jealous and doesnt want you to talk to other
  men/women
• Harms, or threatens to harm, someone close to
  you
• Demands to know who you are with and where you
  are at all times.
• Damages or destroys your possessions or property
• Prevents you from knowing about or having access
  to family income, even when you ask.

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Spousal violence

• During the past 5 years has your current/previous
  spouse/partner
• Threatened to hit you with his/her fist or
  anything else that could have hurt you?
• Thrown anything at you that could have hurt you?
• Pushed, grabbed, or shoved you in a way that
  could have hurt you?
• Slapped you?
• Kicked you, bit you, or hit you with his/her
  fist?
• Hit you with something that could have hurt you?
• Beaten you?
• Choked you?
• Used or threatened to use a gun or knife on you?
• Forced you into any unwanted sexual activity , by
  threatening you, holding you down, or hurting you
  in some way?

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Abuse report

• Physical injury by type of injury
• Sought medical attention, hospitalization
• Stay in bed/Take time off
• Partners alcohol use
• Anyone else harmed or threatened, including kids
• Children witnessed violence
• Fear for life

• Compensation
• Police intervention - why reported or not,
  satisfaction with actions
• Restraining orders
• Use of informal and formal supports (reason not
  used)
• Victim-offender mediation
• Emotional impact of violence

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Stalking

• Phoned you repeatedly or made silent or obscene
  phone calls?
• Followed you or spied on you?
• Waited outside your home?
• Waited outside your place of work or school or
  other places you were, when they had no business
  being there?
• Sent you unwanted e-mail messages?
• Sent you unwanted gifts, letters, or cards?
• Persistently asked you for a date and refused to
  take no for an answer?
• Tried to communicate with you against your will
  in any other way?
• Did you fear for your safety or the safety of
  someone known to you?

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Stalking continued

• Has anyone attempted to intimidate or threaten
  you by threatening or intimidating someone else?
• Has anyone attempted to intimidate or threaten
  you by hurting your pet(s) or damaging your
  property?
• Details
• Length, physical attack, sex of perpetrator,
  relationship to victim, changed behavior, fear,
  support, police contact (why/why not),
  restraining orders, satisfaction with justice
  system.

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Conclusion

• Since 1988 the GSS on Victimization has undergone
  major transformation.
• Improving existing measures.
• Adding new survey content.
• 80 response rate.
• Data widely disseminated through a number of
  reports.
• Gaps
• Fraud
• Frequency of the survey.