NCJ Number
230341
Date Published
March 2010
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This scoping study examined the feasibility of developing a new survey to measure business crime.
Abstract
Commissioned by the Home Office, a scoping exercise to examine the feasibility of developing a new survey was undertaken to measure business crime. The Home Office was interested in extending previous surveys to cover other sectors and larger enterprises and establishments. This study reviewed Home Office and stakeholder requirements for a new survey and to present survey design options and recommendations aimed at meeting these. Following a literature review and a consultation of stakeholders it was recommended that a telephone survey of business premises should be conducted biennially and that a supplementary survey of head offices should also be considered. Data should be collected by telephone because this represents the most cost-effective method for obtaining data of reasonably high quality. The surveys could cover retail, manufacturing service, and transport and distribution sectors. The premises interview should be focused on victimization, crime prevention measures, insurance, local policing, and background information about the business. The head office interview should be focused on cost data. If all four sectors are included, as recommended, the core premises survey should cover 8,000 premises in total, with 2,000 interviews per sector. Two national surveys of Commercial Victimization (CVS) have previously been carried out by the Home Office, in 1994 and 2002. A review of crime statistics showed the need for regular surveys of commercial and industrial victimization as a supplement, leading to the scoping of a new survey of business crime. Appendixes A-I