This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Crime survey to revert to personal touch
07/10/2005
The survey used by Ministers to measure people's experience of crime is to revert to a series of face to face interviews rather than relying on questions over the telephone, it was announced today.
The Scottish Crime Survey - last published in December 2004 and usually published every couple of years - had traditionally involved researchers asking questions directly to 5,000 randomly selected adults. A review of its operation led to the trialling of a larger Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey (SCVS) last June, which sought to involve more adults but relied on interviews over the telephone.
However following an exhaustive review of the initial findings by Scottish Executive researchers - and backed by independent analysis - it became evident that a mass telephone survey is not a reliable method of developing a clear picture of the victims of crime.
The next Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey is now expected to be published in summer 2007.
Confirming the move, Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry said:
"When we launched the new SCVS last year we did it because we believed that, alongside the regular recorded crime statistics, it could provide more robust, reliable information on the true picture of crime than we had been able to gather before.
"Unfortunately phone-based interviews - for this exercise - have proven to be of limited use. Levels of those responding have been low. It has also become apparent that exclusion of the increasing number of adults who own only a mobile phone is problematic, and that those households which are set up to screen out cold callers were also being missed. It is simply not tenable to continue with a methodology that excludes so many potential contributors.
"Of course, some cynics will no doubt suggest that when Governments don't like the results of a survey, they change the goal posts. This is nothing to do with politicians looking for the answers they want. This is about an honest attempt to reflect the personal crime experiences of the many and not the few. It is simply not doing that and we are not prepared to put our faith in a survey that narrows rather than broadens the experiences of the public.
"That is why we are reverting to face to face interviews. It does not mean abandoning the existing contract. We are currently negotiating with the survey company about capturing reliable data for 2006. The face to face methodology which will be used is the same as that used for the British Crime Survey. And the lessons learned about telephone surveys will also be shared with other policy areas, and indeed with the research community beyond government.
"Victims' views and experiences will remain at the forefront of our policies to reduce crime - to make people safer, to make people feel safer, and to deliver a safer, stronger Scotland."
The new SCVS was launched on 15 June 2004.
The cost of the SCVS was to be £3.5 million over the three years of the contract. The Executive is negotiating with the survey company to determine how these costs will change following the decision to revert to face to face interviewing. The contract has been, and will continue to be, managed by the Justice Department Analytical Services Division.
The results of the telephone survey were found not to be representative of the experiences and attitudes of the people of Scotland. This is because of a low response rate, the exclusion of mobile only households and an apparent tendency for victims of crime to be much more likely than non-victims to take part.
The next Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey is expected to be published in summer 2007. It will contain data collected for 2006. Results for the 2003 Scottish Crime
Surveys are available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/justice/sccs-00.asp
Today's announcement has no impact at all on the collection and publication of recorded crime statistics. The annual recorded crime in Scotland bulletin for 2004-5 is due to be published later this month.