What Do We Know About the Effects of Crime on Victims?

In order to create an economic measure of the direct and indirect effects of crime, it is necessary to consider the effects of crime on victims. The article reviews the state of research into the effects of crime on individuals, in respect of personal and household victimisation, and the effects of crime on businesses. General population surveys have concentrated upon the common property offences and minor violence and have tended to ignore the dimension of the course of victimisation over time. Longitudinal studies are rare and have concentrated upon serious violent crime. Because of the element of clinical judgment, much work on PTSD is unsuitable for creating an economic measure of effects over all types of crime. There needs to be a marriage of survey methodology with time measures, possibly using a panel design.