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To date, information on victims of crime in the Czech Republic has not been very systematic. The police statistics are still the only statistics available from the crime prevention authorities containing certain data on the victims of crime. These statistics talk in particular of “objects of assault”. The assaulted persons are divided between males, females and groups of persons.17) The police record age, tactical standpoint, social conditions and consequences of a crime.
The following table shows the number of victims taken from police statistics. In view of the aforementioned method of collecting data on victims, only minimum numbers of recorded victims of crimes can be inferred from these statistics.
Year | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
Male | 14,933 | 15,324 | 16,158 | 17,845 | 17,597 | 18,349 | 19,238 | 19,304 | 18,928 | 19,214 |
Female | 9,859 | 9,675 | 13,235 | 15,067 | 15,353 | 16,930 | 18,226 | 15,605 | 16,410 | 16,103 |
Groups | 1,983 | 2,320 | 2,309 | 2,521 | 3,087 | 3,197 | 3,058 | 3,011 | 2,112 | 2,132 |
Victimological research represent one way of obtaining a closer knowledge of the size of the population affected by crime.18) In comparison with 1998, there was a slight decrease in the proportion of citizens directly affected by crime - from 28 % to 19 % of interviewed persons19) (mostly it was just one offence, not repeated victimisation). The most frequently mentioned offences were larger thefts or wilful crimes against property, burglary, car theft and petty street larceny or pickpockets. The proportion probably corresponds to the data contained in the police statistics because citizens notify the police of the larger portion of committed crimes. The research indicates a recent significant shift in the behaviour of the population when three of four victims notified the police of the crime. The former research showed about half of the cases. Young people (up to 25 years) did not reported offences so often. The same applies to people with a lower social status. Half of the people who reported a crime to the police consider the police response to be fair and adequate in the situation. Only each eighth person of this group indicates a negative experience (unwilling or no response). The main reason why people do not report crimes is a doubt about the possibility to catch an offender, or they are not willing to undergo investigation, and only a few persons interviewed mentioned a shame or a low loss.
2. Crime, Development in Individual Kinds of Crime and Security Risks