Discuss the problems associated with the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) as indicated in the text. Do you think this is a valid survey, why or why not?
What will be an ideal response?
• The NCVS finds that fewer than half of violent crimes, less than one-third of personal theft crimes, and fewer than half of household thefts are reported to the police.
• Victims seem to report to the police only crimes that involve considerable loss or injury. I
• While it contains many under-reported incidents, the NCVS may also suffer from some methodological problems. As a result, its findings must be interpreted with caution. Among the potential problems are the following:
• Over-reporting due to victims' misinterpretation of events. A lost wallet may be reported as stolen, or an open door may be viewed as a burglary attempt.
• Under-reporting due to the embarrassment of reporting crime to interviewers, fear of getting in trouble, or simply forgetting an incident.
• Inability to record the personal criminal activity of those interviewed, such as drug use or gambling; murder is also not included.
• Sampling errors, which produce a group of respondents who do not represent the nation as a whole.
• Inadequate question format that invalidates responses. Some groups, such as adolescents, may be particularly susceptible to error because of question format and wording.
• Student views will vary.
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a. True b. False
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