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Title:
British Crime Survey, 2007-2008
(BCS)

Series: (British Crime Survey Series)

Subject Categories:
British Crime Survey - Major studies
Social attitudes and behaviour - Society and culture
Crime and law enforcement - Law, crime and legal systems

Depositor(s):
Home Office. Research, Development and Statistics Directorate

Principal Investigator(s):
Home Office. Research, Development and Statistics Directorate
BMRB. Social Research

Abstract:
Background:
The British Crime Survey (BCS) provides an important source of information about levels of crime, public attitudes to crime and other related issues. The results play an important role in informing Home Office policy. The BCS measures the amount of crime in England and Wales by asking people about crimes they have experienced in the last year. This includes crimes not reported to the police, so it is an important alternative to police records. Victims do not report crime for various reasons, and without the BCS there would be no official source of information on these unreported crimes. Because members of the public are asked directly about their experiences, the survey also provides a consistent measure of crime that is unaffected by the extent to which crimes are reported to the police, or by changes in the criteria used by the police when recording crime. The survey also helps to identify those most at risk of different types of crime, and this helps in the planning of crime prevention programmes. The BCS also examines people's attitudes to crime, such as how much they fear crime and what measures they take to avoid it. The survey also covers attitudes to the Criminal Justice System (CJS), including the police and the courts, and has also 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.

History:
Up to 2001, the BCS was conducted biennially, and in 2001 moved to an annual basis. Since April 2001, interviewing has been carried out continually and reported on in financial year cycles. The reference period has been altered to accommodate this change. The core sample size has increased from around 11,000 in the earlier cycles to over 40,000. The BCS has a high response rate (76%) and the survey is weighted to adjust for possible non-response bias and ensure the sample reflects the profile of the general population. In addition to this ‘core’ sample, the survey interviews a 'boost' sample of young adults aged 16-24 through screening at the core addresses. Since January 2009, following the 'Smith Review', 'Crime statistics: an independent review', the BCS also includes children aged 10-15, again through screening at sampled addresses, though these are not included on the 2008-2009 dataset. The BCS has also previously included an ethnic boost sample, although this is no longer used. For more details of changes in the BCS sample over time, see documentation. Further information about the BCS, including links to publications, may be found on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics directorate BCS web pages.

Scottish data:
The 1982 and 1988 BCS waves were also conducted in Scotland. The England and Wales data for 1982 and 1988 are held at the UKDA under SNs 1869 and 2706, but the Scottish data for these studies are held separately under SNs 4368 and 4599. Since 1993, separate Scottish Crime and Justice Surveys have been conducted, and these are held under GN 33330.

Related survey series:
The Offending, Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS), also conducted by the Home Office, began in 2003. The OCJS (held under GN 33360) has the overall objective of providing a solid base for measuring prevalence of offending and drug use in the general population of England and Wales, and covers persons aged 10-25 years.
The Citizenship Survey, which began in 2001, was originally conducted by the Home Office, but has now moved to Communities and Local Government (formerly the Department for Communities and Local Government). It covers issues such as community cohesion, community engagement, race and faith, volunteering and civil renewal.


For the fourth edition (May 2009), a new version of the interpersonal violence (IPV) data file was deposited, with variables PV3a to PV3o corrected. The IPV file is subject to conditional access. For a full edition history, see READ file (link below).


Main Topics:
The dataset includes information from two sections of the survey, the non-victim form questionnaire and the victim form questionnaire.

The non-victim form questionnaire gathers respondent-level data: topics covered include fear of crime; perception of local area; local crime rates; victimisation screener questions; mobile phone theft; experiences of the police; attitudes to the CJS; crime prevention and security; witnessing crime; technology crime; the night-time economy and alcohol disorder; identity fraud; experiences of antisocial behaviour; crime and disorder in town centres and high streets; crime and disorder on public transport; demographic information.

The victim form contains offence-level data. Up to six different incidents are asked about for each respondent. Each of these constitutes a separate victim form and can be matched back to the respondent-level data through the variable ROWLABEL. Topics covered include the nature and circumstances of the incident, details of offenders, security measures, costs, emotional reactions, contact with the CJS and outcomes where known.

Self-completion modules were also fielded in the 2007-2008 survey, covering drug use, drinking behaviour, stolen goods and interpersonal violence (IPV - comprises data from the domestic violence and sexual victimisation modules). These modules are subject to conditional access (see Access section below).

Coverage:
Time Period Covered: The survey covers experiences of crime in the 12 months prior to interview.
Dates of Fieldwork: April 2007-March 2008
Country: England and Wales
Spatial Units: Government Office Regions (GORs); Police Force Areas
Observation Units: Individuals
Kind of Data: Numeric data; Individual (micro) level

Universe Sampled:
Location of Units of Observation:National
Population:Adults aged 16 and over in private households in England and Wales during 2007-2008. Analysis of the representative individual or household population of England and Wales is possible.

Methodology:
Time Dimensions: Repeated cross-sectional study
From 2001, the BCS moved from a biennial to an annual cycle.
Sampling Procedures: Multi-stage stratified random sample
Number of Units: 46,983 cases (non-victim form); 16,189 cases (victim form)
Method of Data Collection: Self-completion; Face-to-face interview
Weighting: Weighting used. See documentation for details

Language(s) of Written Materials:
Study Description: English
Study Documentation: English

Access:
Access Conditions: The depositor has specified that registration is required and standard conditions of use apply. The depositor may be informed about usage.
Additional special conditions of use also apply. See terms and conditions for further information.
Availability: ESDS Government, UK Data Archive
Contact: Help desk: govsurveys@esds.ac.uk
Recommendations: Users are recommended to contact the Home Office before beginning their research for advice on the suitability of the data for their intended research. Please contact: Andrew Britton, Crime Surveys Programme, Home Office Statistics, 5th Floor, Peel Building, Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF. Email: Andrew.Britton@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. Tel: 020 7035 0316.
Please Note:
Ordering self-completion module data
The self-completion modules contained within the BCS contain sensitive data, and so are not available for End User Licence (standard access) download alongside the non-victim and victim form data. Express permission has to be sought from the Home Office before the files may be released to users. For the BCS 2008-2009 (SN 6367) onwards, a Special Licence system has been introduced for self-completion and low-level geographic data. However, for BCS 2007-2008 (SN 6066) and earlier years, the previous conditional access system is still in place. Therefore, users should follow the instructions below depending on the year of data required.

BCS 1982 to 2007-2008
Users who require BCS self-completion modules should order the data online. To order the data, registered users should use the relevant Download/order link(s), select a previously registered usage or register a new use of data, tick the box(es) in the 'Other media' column and proceed from there. Users should specify in the 'Notes' section which BCS self-completion module(s) they require. Upon receipt of the order the UKDA will contact the Home Office to request permission to supply the data for the purpose outlined in the registered usage. Therefore, users are advised to provide a reasonably detailed description of their intended use. If further information is required, email the ESDS HelpDesk on help@esds.ac.uk. This applies to the following modules:

• drugs data from the 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 surveys (SNs 3832, 4081, 4463, 4786, 4787, 5059, 5324, 5347, 5543, 5755 and 6066)
• domestic violence data from 1996 (SN 3832)
• stalking data from 1998 (SN 4081)
• drinking behaviour data from 2002-2003 (SN 5059), 2003-2004 (SN 5324), 2004-2005 (SN 5347), 2005-2006 (SN 5543), 2006-2007 (SN 5755) and 2007-2008 (SN 6066)
• interpersonal violence (IPV) data from 2004-2005 (SN 5347), 2005-2006 (SN 5543), 2006-2007 (SN 5755) and 2007-2008 (SN 6066 - includes data from the 2007-2008 domestic violence and sexual victimisation modules)
• sexual victimisation/assault data from 2000 (SN 4463), 2005-2006 (SN 5543) and 2006-2007 (SN 5755)
• stolen goods data from 2002-2003 (SN 5059), 2003-2004 (SN 5324), 2005-2006 (SN 5543), 2006-2007 (SN 5755) and 2007-2008 (SN 6066)

BCS 2008-2009 (SN 6367)
The self-completion modules for 2008-2009, alongside a new dataset containing low-level geographic variables, have been deposited as separate Special Licence Access datasets, requiring the prospective user to order them separately from the main BCS, and to complete a Special Licence application form. Access is subject to approval by the Home Office. Users should note that the system for ordering these data is currently being finalised; in the meantime users should contact the ESDS HelpDesk in the first instance. The BCS 2008-2009 Special Licence datasets are:

• SN 6368 British Crime Survey, 2008-2009: Special Licence Access, Low-Level Geographic Data
• SN 6369 British Crime Survey, 2008-2009: Special Licence Access, Drinking Behaviour Module
• SN 6370 British Crime Survey, 2008-2009: Special Licence Access, Drug Use Module
• SN 6371 British Crime Survey, 2008-2009: Special Licence Access, Interpersonal Violence Module

Date of Release:
First Edition: 12 November 2008
Latest Edition: 24 March 2009 ( 3rd Edition )

Copyright:
Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland

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