Improving the Concept and Measurement of Violent Crime: Taking Repetition Seriously Shows Violent Crime is Increasing

• In Event: Violent Victimization in the United States and Great Britain: New Findings from Victimization Surveys

Abstract

The concept and measurement of violent crime needs improvement in how repetition is addressed. Repetition is poorly measured, with serious consequences for the perceived scale and distribution of violent crime, including its gender distribution. Further, even when collected, data on repetition is not always included in official estimates. This has led to an underestimate of the extent to which violent crime is committed against women (as compared with men) and of the extent to which violent crime is perpetrated by people known to the victim (domestic relations or acquaintances) rather than by strangers. This paper demonstrates the implications of different forms of conceptualising and measuring repetition using data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales. When all repetitions are included in the estimates, new conclusions are uncovered: violent crime has been increasing since the economic crisis of 2008/9; almost half of violent crimes are committed against women; and the rate of violent crime committed against women is increasing. The paper concludes with a recommendation for a new measurement framework for violence against women and men.

Authors

• Sylvia Walby, Lancaster University , UK

• Jude Towers, Lancaster University

• Brian Francis, Lancaster University, UK