§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what comparative studies his Department has(a) undertaken and (b) commissioned on an international scale in connection with anti-social behaviour with particular reference to (i) its causation, (ii) its rate of occurrence, (iii) its prevention and (iv) the rehabilitation of perpetrators. [136694]
§ Ms BlearsThe Home Department has not undertaken or commissioned specific comparative research on the causes of anti-social behaviour, its prevention, rate of occurrence, or rehabilitation of perpetrators. However, it takes part in the International Crime Victims Survey (ICVS), which provides two relevant indicators: car vandalism, and feelings of unsafety on the streets. The ICVS is a fully standardised survey that has been conducted most recently in 2000. It provided comparable data for 17 industrialised countries. Results are in "Criminal Victimisation in Seventeen Countries", by Kesteren J V, Mayhew P and Nieuwbeerta P, The Hague: Ministry of Justice (2000). A copy is in the Library.
231WThe 2000 ICVS showed that 11 per cent. of vehicle owners in England and Wales were victims of car vandalism, compared to an average rate of victimisation of 7.8 per cent. for all 17 countries participating in the survey. England and Wales had the third highest rate of victimisation of car vandalism of the 17 countries. On feelings of safety after dark, the 2000 ICVS showed that 27 per cent. of those in England and Wales felt 'a bit or very unsafe', compared to the average of 23 per cent.
A module is to be included in the Home Office Crime and Justice Survey in 2004 on gang membership. The data collected will be comparable with results from surveys in other European countries, although these are independently conducted.