The British Crime Survey (BCS)

The British Crime Survey (BCS) is an important source of information about levels of crime and public attitudes to crime as well as other criminal justice issues. The results play an important role in informing Government policy.The BCS measures the amount of crime in England and Wales (the first survey covered Scotland as well, but now Scotland and Northern Ireland carry out their own crime surveys) by asking people about crimes they have experienced in the last year. The BCS includes crimes which are not reported to the police, so it is an important alternative to police records. The survey collects information about:
the victims of crime
the circumstances in which incidents occur
the behaviour of offenders in committing crimes
In this way, the survey provides information to inform crime reduction measures and to gauge their effectiveness.The BCS is also an important source of information about other topics, such as people’s perceptions of anti-social behaviour and attitudes towards the criminal justice system, including the police and the courts. The survey also looks at people’s attitudes to crime, such as how much they fear crime and what measures they take to avoid it.