The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey
Beth MacmasterJustice Analytical Services
24th January 2008, Scottish Social Survey Network
About the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey
• Face to face household survey• Random sample (some stratification,
clustering)• Up to 2006:
– Every 2 to 3 years– Sample of 5,000
• 2008 onwards– Continuous– Sample of 16,000
Rationale and limitations
• Helping fill the gap in official statistics on crime– Victim focus– Unreported crime
BUT
• Private households only
• 16+ only
• Language and disability may be barriers
Counting crime
• How much crime?• What type of crime?• How many victims?
Prevalence of victimisation 1992 to 2005/06
0
5
10
15
20
25
1995 1999 2002 2003/4 2005/6
Year
Per
cen
t of p
opul
atio
n
Household crimes Personal crimes All SCVS crimes
Measuring attitudes
• Once secondary; becoming just as important?
• Keeping policy makers in tune with people’s perceptions
• Measuring performance
Perceptions of change to the local crime rate
Less crime than 2
years ago, 8% More crime
than 2 years ago,
33%
About the same, 59%
SCVS 2006
Crime surveys in Scotland
1982 1988 • Lowland Scotland covered in the ‘British’ Crime Survey • Face to face, pen and paper1993 1996 2000 2003 • Scottish Crime Survey• Face to face, pen and paper• 5,000
REVIEW in 20032004 2006• Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey• Telephone interviewing (CATI) in 2004 discontinued• Back to face to face, CAPI/CASI in 2006• 3,000 (2004) and 5,000 (2006)2008• Scottish Crime and Justice Survey
The ‘new’ Scottish Crime and Justice Survey
• A balance – meeting stakeholder needs, but affordable and using gold standard survey method
• Continuous – data every year• 16,000 per year – data at police force area level• Bigger sample – more modules means more
space for questions• Face to face household interviews using
CAPI/CASI• In the field in April 2008
SCJS today
Cognitive testing of new sections Small scale pilot to test script and systems
o Main pilot due for completion in late January/early February:o Stage 1 (800 quota)o Stage 2 (200 RPS)
• Next steps….into the field!
• Data?