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Documentation Centre - PublicationsIssues and ReportsIssues & Reports No 11. VICTIMS OF CRIME INTRODUCTION The advent of 1989 in the former socialist states of Eastern and Central Europe generated a process of political, economic and social change oriented towards the promotion of market economy, pluralistic democracy and transparency and accountability in public management. This is not only a matter of desiderata for good governance but also of a public role in, and support for, accountable management of the public sphere. Promoting legal certainty and concern for community needs and victims' rights are as important as creating opportunities for economic and social well-being. Crime concerns and human rights centered criminal justice are important instruments and measures of political and social transformation. Providing accountable, efficient, effective and equitable administration of criminal justice requires instruments for the development, management and evaluation of criminal policies and crime prevention programmes and initiatives. This cannot be achieved in the absence of comprehensive, reliable and timely information to allow for informed decision-making, monitoring, evaluation and forecasting of future developments and needs. Therefore, information on crime and criminal justice operations is of paramount importance in promoting legal certainty, security and the overall well-being of the citizenry. The two most important sources of this information are the official statistics on the operation of the criminal justice process and agencies thereof and data on citizens' experiences of criminal victimisation and contacts with agencies involved in security and prevention. Both were either lacking or not made available to the public in the former socialist states, thus depriving citizens from participation in public management of conflicts, on the one hand, and the criminal justice system from serving the community, on the other. From 1991 onwards, the International Crime Victim Survey became a joint endeavour of UNICRI and the Ministry of Justice of the Netherlands with the substantial financial support of the Dutch Government as well as country-specific support from UK, Canada and Italy. Among the sixty countries participating in the ICVS there are 18 Eastern and Central European countries, including five Balkan countries, namely Albania (Tirana), Bulgaria (Sofia), the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Skopje), Romania (Bucharest) and Yugoslavia (Belgrade). The survey was carried out in these countries in 1996-97, thanks to the financial support of the Dutch Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs and the UK Home Office. Upon the completion of the surveys, a policy-oriented round table on Victims of Crime in the Balkan Region was held in Tsigov Chark, Bulgaria, on 20-21 February 1998. It discussed the results of the ICVS and their relevance for policy analysis and development of strategies and programmes with a view to enhancing the role of crime prevention and criminal justice in the process of democratisation. The meeting was organised jointly by UNICRI and the General Prosecutor's Office of Bulgaria, with the participation of international experts as well as experts from Bulgaria. The output of the seminar in terms of recommendations and policy suggestions as well as its proceedings will be forwarded to the International Conference on Surveying Crime: A Global Perspective, jointly organised by UNICRI, the Ministry of Justice of the Netherlands, the Council of Europe and the Italian Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), to be held in Rome in November 1998. Recommendations
The participants expressed their gratitude to the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Council for Criminological Research for hosting this meeting, and to the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands as well as UNICRI for their support. It was strongly recommended that similar meetings be organised on a periodical basis and on specific topics in the Balkan countries. Overview of discussions The reports which present the results of the country surveys and discussions on them highlight several main points:
The International Crime Victim Survey in the Balkan Countries The ICVS was carried out in 1996-97 in five countries in the Balkan region: Albania (Tirana), Bulgaria (Sofia), the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Skopje), Romania (Bucharest) and Yugoslavia (Belgrade). Within the ICVS, these countries belong to the regional group of the countries in transition, which includes 18 Eastern-Central European countries as well as Kyrgyzstan (a member of the CIS) and Mongolia. In general, one-year victimisation rates observed in the Balkan countries were slightly lower than the average for the group of countries in transition. This holds true for burglary, theft of car, contact crimes (an aggregate rate composed of robbery, assault with force and sexual assault) and consumer fraud. On the other hand, corruption in the Balkan region was slightly higher than the average for countries in transition. Bulgaria and Yugoslavia were the countries in which consumer fraud and corruption of public officials and police were more frequently reported to the ICVS. The respondents mentioned having been victims of consumer fraud in more than 50% of cases (against a global average of 25%), while episodes of corruption affected 19% and 17% respectively (against a 11% global average). Burglary rates counted 3%. This is below the average for countries in transition and the New World which leveled at 4%, Latin America (5%) and Africa (8%). The only Balkan country with a higher burglary rate than the sub-regional average was Bulgaria (6%). Theft of car (less than 1%) was approximately half the global average and, in fact, the Balkan region ranked second lowest after Asia. Small differences were observed among the five participating countries, the lowest rates being recorded in Albania, Romania and Macedonia. As regards theft from car, the average in the Balkan countries (8%, the same as Western Europe and countries in transition) was higher than the global average (7%), but still lower than in the New World (i.e. North America, Australia and New Zealand) and Latin America (9%). Theft from car was particularly frequent in Bulgaria (13%) and Yugoslavia (9%). Contact crime (2%, the same as Western Europe, the New World and countries in transition), was lower than the global average (3%). The observed rates for the three types of contact crime were consistent across the Balkan countries. The exceptions, with higher rates of assault with force compared to the rest of the region, were Romania (4%) and Yugoslavia (3%), while sexual assault was particularly frequent in Albania (3%). Survey respondents from the Balkan region were not very concerned with crime prevention devices and measures for their household, a pattern consistently observed in all countries in transition. Burglar alarms were installed only in 3% of the households (against a 10% global average), while 12% of the respondents mentioned other crime prevention devices such as window grills, door locks or high fences (27% on average). Yet, the perceived likelihood of burglary in the next twelve months (49%) ranks second to Latin America only (57%). Finally, opinions on sentencing also present an important measure of citizens' reactions to crime which might be related to victimisation experience. The question referred to five types of sentences considered most appropriate for a recidivist burglar (a 21-year-old man who has stolen a colour TV), imprisonment being the most severe sanction among those proposed. Imprisonment was indeed the preferred sentence by 49% of the respondents in the Balkan countries, a less punitive attitude than the global average (52%). The countries where imprisonment was less frequently chosen were Bulgaria (40%), Macedonia (41%) and Yugoslavia (42%). Victims and Police in the Balkan Region The relationship between citizens and the State is one of the most critical signposts for the assessment of the level of democratisation. In this context, confidence between citizens/victims and the police is of particular importance. Changes in policy and attitudes towards the police in countries in transition are explored on the basis of the ICVS carried out in five Balkan countries, from the group of twenty countries in transition in which the survey was conducted between 1996 and 1997. While not exclusively an indicator of confidence, propensity to report crimes to the police represents a rather fair assessment of the relationship. This is particularly important in countries in transition undergoing changes in the organisation and role of policing in which critical or negative attitudes towards the police impact on reporting no less than the crime type in question. On average, the reporting levels in countries in transition are lower than in the industrialised countries and there was no significant change in the 1991-1996 period between the two "sweeps" of the ICVS. In terms of crime prevention and control, the ICVS confirms that public safety is still very much police business, and that citizens across the world expect more police presence and more police efficiency, as a minimum. Seeking safety, less crime and less fear of crime is a process in which all parties have a role to play. There appears to be a strong relationship between satisfaction with police performance, crime reporting and frequency of patrolling. These findings strongly support the idea that an elementary requirement for good policing in crime prevention consists in a systematic police presence which both increases the feeling of safety among the citizens and satisfaction with the police. Needless to say, both are in turn important for public security. An increased feeling of safety which has to do with police presence increases public satisfaction with, and confidence in, the police. This is not a matter of more investment in the number of personnel and/or equipment, or rather not only that. It is much more a matter of a more rational policy of the allocation of resources, and it is very much a matter of a general democratisation of public institutions and services to be made sensitive to the needs of the clients and accountable to the public. It is then a matter of changes in the culture of police-citizen relationships. Such a change requires, at the same time, more and less than conventional skill-related training, better equipment and other types of assistance are able to provide for. There is still a lot of dissatisfaction with the police, particularly in terms of the ways in which the police deal with reported cases and control residential areas. The fear that a burglary will happen in the near future is widely diffused. Despite investments in police reform, the overall results as evaluated by citizens and victims are far from satisfactory. Citizens are concerned with outcomes, everyday police behaviour and police culture in general. All these take place in a wider context of the socio-economic and political changes and the development of service orientation and practice of public administration, police included. Corruption of public servants and in particular of the police is high in countries in transition which indicates that reforms are needed both in terms of providing an adequate remuneration for police work as well as promoting ethical standards of behaviour. Along these lines further efforts are needed to change both the police culture as well as citizens' cultural images of the police from that of guardian of the state interest to servant of the citizens and guardian of the rule of law. In some countries it was noted that social esteem of the police force somewhat declined following the period of independence in which the police were seen as protectors of the national interest. The ICVS results also suggest that the social esteem of the police needs to be contextualised within the newly emerging scale of institutional values in which institutions that more typically representative the market economy, such as banks and alike, enjoy a higher reputation. In some countries police managers and mass media portray the crime situation as characterised by organised crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, etc., and show less concern with every day crime and public order issues. In addition, in countries in which the process of economic and political change has not progressed much, policing is still seen as the repression of political dissent rather than effective crime prevention and reduction for the service of citizens. Therefore, appreciation of policing cannot be merely
reduced to clearance rates, but also encompasses service orientation and sensitivity to community needs as well as to victims' and human rights. The police must match new institutional and citizens'
individual values and expectations. COUNTRY REPORTS Victimisation problems in Albania during its transition Albania's period of transition has been accompanied by an increase in crime rates as well as by the presence of new forms of crime. The most evident of these are organised crime, homicide, kidnapping for profit, business crime, the cultivation of and trafficking in narcotics, trafficking in prostitution, and car theft. Lack of information on the so-called "dark figures" of crime, and the need for more information on crime, crime victims, public attitudes towards the police and reported crime rates, led to Albania's participation in the International Crime Victim Survey in 1996. The aims of the survey corresponded to most of the needs of Albania, both during the period of the study and still today. The data collected during the survey show that Albania's period of transition was, and continues to be characterised by an increase in the risk of victimisation, particularly in 1995 and the first months of 1996, not to consider the year 1997. This explains why the topic of crime arose in conversation in 69% of the interviewed households. Most of the respondents had been victims of property crime. Although violent crime rates are low, they registered an increase in 1995. Like all other countries in transition, corruption is a very frequent crime in Albania. It is considered normal to pay a bribe in order to have something done quickly and efficiently. On the other hand, people themselves have encouraged corruption by offering to pay for illegal acts. The growth in crime has increased people's fear of crime and sense of insecurity. Fear of crime is closely linked with the political, economic and social problems that arise in periods of transition and the weakness of state organs in preventing crime. The incapacity of the police in dealing with crime and corruption among its own ranks, together with other factors, have made it easier to commit crime. Nevertheless, most of the respondents (74%) had not taken any measures to protect their homes. Only a small number of respondents reported crimes to the police (55%). The reasons for not reporting varied: some respondents did not consider the crime serious enough, others solved the problems themselves, had no confidence in the police or felt that the police could not do anything. The respondents had different opinions on the seriousness of crimes and these were connected with the amount and value of the property damaged as well as the psychological stress caused. The victims tended to give more importance to the psychological rather than material consequences of the victimisation. As far as attitudes towards the police are concerned, police presence does not seem to reflect their efficiency in doing their work. Only 44% of the respondents thought the police were doing a good job. Lack of confidence in the police led to lack of co-operation with them and an increase in the fear of crime. Fear of crime, lack of protection and insufficient crime prevention policies have made people adopt more severe attitudes towards punishment. When requested which punishment was most appropriate for a recidivist burglar, 63% of the respondents preferred imprisonment to other measures. The data collected during the survey show that very few of the victims had received any assistance from victim support agencies. This can be explained by the fact that such agencies have only just started to operate in Albania. During 1995-1996, the phenomenon of pyramid schemes was widespread in Albania. The majority of Albanians did not work at all and secured their existence with the money invested in these schemes. Their collapse therefore caused a strong reaction among the Albanians, which culminated in an uprising against government policy. In 1997 the state institutions ceased to exist and the state itself collapsed within a few hours. Buildings in which courts, the prosecutor's office and local power were located were destroyed, followed by the storming of prisons and the release of all prisoners. The police were faced with enormous problems during this period of chaos and suffered huge material and human loss. Official data point to 61 police officers being killed and 154 seriously injured. According to unofficial data, in 1997 more than 2,000 persons were killed by firearms, over 200 drowned while crossing the sea in an attempt to migrate to other countries, some 100 people were victims of traffic accidents, and more than 50 girls were kidnapped and hired as prostitutes in neighbouring countries. Most of the conclusions of the survey were confirmed, although some of them had unpredicted developments. For example, robbery and assault/threat are at their highest levels, as is the use of arms by criminals. Theft of car and homicide are also at very high levels. The tragic period that Albania went through as well as the increase in crime point to some policy implications:
Crime victims in Bulgaria (1997): a summary The 1997 International Crime Victim Survey in Sofia confirmed the trend of intensive victimisation of Bulgarian society, which began to take shape after 1990. The results of the survey carried out on 1,079 households point to several main conclusions. First, the real number of victims is larger than that shown in official statistics. In the period between 1992-1996 and in the first half of 1997, 11% of households were victims of car theft (corresponding to 0.3 per 100,000 population); 57% were victims of theft (12.5 per 100,000 population); 33% of car vandalism; and 22% were victims of burglary. 79% of the burglary victims (11.5 per 100,000 population) reported that money or other property had been stolen. Burglaries were attempted in 14% of the households, and 8% of Sofia's residents aged over 16 had been victims of robbery (3.1 per 100,000 population). Furthermore, 13% of the respondents were attacked and 7% (1 per 100,000 population) reported sexual offences against women. A rather large proportion of the respondents were victims of unconventional offences: 55% were victims of consumer fraud and 18% were pressed to give a bribe. The ratio of fraud victims was 55 per 100,000 population while that of victims of corruption was 19.1 per 100,000 population. Second, there was an increase in victimisation at the end of the period under review. A rise in all types of crime was reported in the first half of 1997. 57% of theft of car occurred in 1996-97, of which 15% of car theft and 26% of theft from car in the first half of 1997 alone. The last years of the reference period also saw more burglaries (14% in the first half of 1997 compared to an annual average of 18%) and attempted burglaries (19% in the first half of 1997), as well as violent crimes: 18% of robbery victims said the incident occurred in 1997, 33% in 1996, and 49% between 1992 and 1995. Third, an average of 60-70% of conventional crimes are latent. The dark figure is surprisingly high for thefts from cars (69% of the victims did not report the incident to the police), car vandalism (74%), attempted burglary (80%) and robbery (61%). The extremely high dark figure for sexual offences (90%) distorts the picture of these crimes. Victimisation in the area of economic crime, which has traditionally high dark figures, is increasing with the disarray of the state. Victimisation heightens people's sense of insecurity. Personal experience and the media teach people to live in constant fear for their own life as well as for their family and property. There is a growing sense that everyone must take care of himself (60%) and social solidarity has been undermined. In this situation of high victimisation rates, people do not have much confidence in the police and are dissatisfied with police effectiveness. The victims that had reported an incident claimed that the police did not do enough in 44% of thefts from cars, 46% of burglaries and 44% of robberies; and that the police did not show any interest in 32% of thefts from cars, 26% of burglaries and 44% of robberies. This explains people's reluctance to report incidents to the police. The view that the police can do nothing, held by an average of 23% of victims of property crimes, or that the police won't do anything, shared by 20% of victims of property crimes, accounts for the high rate of latent victimisation. The results of the survey highlight the need for a modern anti-victimogenic policy. However, although it is generally acknowledged that Bulgaria has no such policy, the country's serious economic and financial difficulties make it impossible to finance new crime prevention strategies. The crime situation in Bulgaria is becoming increasingly complicated. Instability in the Balkans and the Black Sea region leads to higher crime rates, which increases the risk of victimisation. Although in absolute and relative terms victimisation rates in Bulgaria are below the level of developed Western countries, there is concern over the shift from the relatively low crime rates and uncomplicated crimes of the not-so-distant past to a new and unpredictable pattern of crime. Citizens' confidence in the police in the Republic of Macedonia The following is an analysis of the people's propensity to report criminal offences to the police and its relationship with citizens' confidence in the police. It is based on the results of the International Crime Victim Survey in Macedonia, a project conducted on the basis of a standard questionnaire and methodology. Only the results of the survey concerning a sample of 700 respondents in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, are reviewed in this analysis. Only 31% of the criminal offences suffered by the respondents in the past five years were reported to the police. The rate is higher (42%) when conventional crime only is taken into account. An important element of the analysis were the reasons given by the victims for not reporting the offence to the police. According to the survey results, only 2% of the interviewed persons manifested a negative attitude towards the police as a reason for not reporting the criminal offence. More of them, i.e. 16%, believed that the police could not do anything. This answer was very general however and could hide other reasons such as lack of confidence in police effectiveness. The most frequent reason given by victimised respondents for not reporting an offence to the police was that they did not consider it serious enough, and as many as 52% of them cited this reason. This response requires further analysis, however, for two reasons. First of all, the crimes covered by the survey (with the sole exception of theft from cars involving the removal of objects of little value) cannot objectively be considered as acts which are not serious. Second, the victims' subjective assessment of the seriousness of crimes does not correspond to their statement that the offence was not serious enough to be reported to the police. In fact, 82% of the victims of burglary and 71% of the victims of robbery considered the offences very serious or serious, and 56% of the victims of sexual offences and 67% of the victims of assault/threats thought the offence was serious. It can be assumed therefore that there are other reasons, and not the non-serious nature of the offence, for not reporting. Victims might consider it useless, given the low damage caused, to report the offence, or they might want to avoid giving a public negative assessment of the police. When asked to assess police performance, most of the respondents (39%) stated that the police were not doing a good job while 35% thought they were doing a good job. However, it is interesting to note that one out of every four interviewed persons (26%) did not reply. In fact, this question received the highest percentage of refusals to reply from among the questions posed in the questionnaire. This leads one to the conclusion that there are certain reasons behind citizens' reluctance to assess the results of police work. This could be explained by comparing the questions on the assessment of police performance with those relating to feelings of personal security. The comparison shows that the respondents providing a positive assessment of police work also expressed a higher degree of personal security than those with negative assessments. It is interesting to note that the answers of those citizens who failed to assess the work of the police were similar to those of the citizens giving a negative assessment. The best way to obtain a precise impression of the police is through direct personal experience and contact with them. This is very important because personal experience determines the behaviour of citizens in relation to the police. According to the results of the survey, 54% of the interviewed persons that reported an offence to the police expressed satisfaction with the way the police dealt with the case. The above information points to a certain degree of mistrust of the police on the part of citizens, which is often not explicitly expressed. Further research is therefore necessary to identify more precise causes for this state of affairs, i.e. whether it is due to lack of interest in, or incapacity of, the police or whether it is due to resistance towards the police resulting from personal experiences or stereotypical beliefs. This information would be useful for police training courses, as well as for crime prevention and control programmes. It could also be useful in heightening the public's awareness of the problem and to improve police-community relationships. The International Crime Victim Survey in Romania (1996) Between 19 February and 23 March 1996, the Juridical Research Institute of the Romanian Academy carried out the International Crime Victim Survey in Bucharest. The survey, using a standard questionnaire translated into Romanian, was conducted on a stratified random sample of 1,091 persons (1,000 in Bucharest and 91 from two rural areas) aged over 16. The main criterion used was the residential status area. The data were collected by face-to-face interviews in the household of the respondents, generally in the afternoon or early evening. No major problems were encountered. The overall prevalence victimisation rate for 5 years was 53% and 27% for one year (1995). The highest rates from among the single offences surveyed were for theft from car (35% of the owners reported such incidents, i.e. 14% of the total sample) and for personal theft (28%), which was mostly pickpocketing (79%). Assaults/threats also had a high rate (12%), and in the majority of cases (56% of the total assaults/threats) force was used. Car theft (7 cases) was reported by households in the higher and middle status areas, while half of the assault/threat victims lived in lower status areas and were predominantly men. The sexual incidents reported by the female respondents consisted mainly of offensive behaviour (61% of the total), although two of the reported incidents were considered as rape by the respondents. Consumer fraud had the highest prevalence rate at 38% and usually occurred in shops and marketplaces. The respondents tended to consider these frauds as part of everyday life and unavoidable. Five of the respondents even asked the interviewers not to mention that they had been victims of such frauds, because "everyday we are cheated in some way in a shop or at the market". One explanation for the high rate for this offence is the chronic lack of goods during the communist regime. The highest rates for reporting an incident to the police were for burglary (82%), car theft and theft from car while sexual incidents were the least reported offences (only 8%). Particular mention should be made of bribery (only 1 of the 123 victims of bribery reported the incident). Most of the respondents said they accepted to pay a bribe because they had no other way to solve the problem. The most frequently cited reasons for not reporting the incident to the police were that the police could do nothing to solve the case and that the incident was not serious enough. The feeling that the police cannot solve the case was more frequent among victims of robbery and sexual incidents. With respect to sexual incidents and violence committed by known persons, lack of legal provisions make the police very reluctant to get involved with family conflicts. Lack of legal provisions regarding the confidentiality and protection of victims of sexual offences also prevent them from reporting such incidents. The most frequent reasons for reporting the incident to the police was that the victim wanted the offender to be caught and/or punished, especially the victims of burglary and robbery. Insurance was not cited as a reason for reporting. This is because the insurance system is not well developed in Romania and, with the exception of obligatory insurance such as for cars, it is expensive and unpopular. Victims' satisfaction with the way the police dealt with their problem was relatively low. With the exception of victims of assaults/threats (almost 50% of whom were satisfied with the police), one third of the respondents expressed satisfaction. The most frequently cited reasons for dissatisfaction were that the police did little to solve the case and that they were not interested. The two women who had reported sexual incidents to the police had found them rude, although it is not evident whether this was due to certain behaviour of the police or to a certain sensitivity of the women. A large number of the respondents did not reply to the questions concerning attitudes towards the police. Police activity in controlling crime was regarded as satisfactory by only 31% of the respondents while some 50% thought the police were not doing a good job. Approximately one third of the respondents did not take any measure to prevent a burglary. The most favoured measures were the installation of door locks and (especially in lower and middle status areas) the maintenance of watchdogs (32%), probably because they are the least expensive. No one participated in a neighbourhood watch scheme because they are unknown in Romania. Generally speaking, the majority of the respondents had punitive attitudes. When asked for the most appropriate punishment for a young recidivist offender, 62% favoured imprisonment, the most frequent period of detention chosen being 1 to 5 years. Other physical forms of punishment were also proposed (1.5% cited cutting off a hand, and 1% suggested other mutilations). Only 2% proposed the use of re-educational measures. The results of the survey show that the 1,091 respondents were victims of 583 criminal events in the last 5 years (of which 293 in 1995). Although, at present, there are no means to compare these data with official data, the results show that a significant part of criminal events are not known by the police. The results also point to a certain lack of confidence in the police, especially for more delicate matters such as sexual incidents or corruption. They also point to a request for increased police presence at the local community level. A large majority of the respondents who had been victims thought the creation of victim assistance agencies would be very useful. The authors of this report also believe that this should become a current priority. Victimisation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) Belgrade is the commercial, traffic and cultural centre of Serbia and the FRY. It is an important crossroad linking Europe to Asia. Although the FRY did not officially participate in the war in former Yugoslavia, Belgrade was heavily influenced by it. The proximity of the war zone, the great number of individuals from the FRY that participated in the war and illegally retained the weapons in their possession upon their return, the considerable part of the state budget spent to help Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia, and the huge influx of refugees produced by the war, all produced a strong economic crisis and contributed to a rise in crime. Moreover, the economic situation produced by the war was worsened by the UN sanctions introduced on 31 May 1992. A large number of people lost their jobs, although they remained officially employed, or were deprived of the most elementary living conditions. The shortage of petrol and other necessities on the market produced a huge shadow economy, which became the principal source of revenue of a large number of inhabitants of Belgrade and Serbia. Belgrade, once one of the most secure capitals of Europe, became a Mecca for very colourful illegality (especially violent and property crime), which turned the city into a very unsafe place to live in. Thus, differently to other Balkan countries, the rise of criminal victimisation was connected to the war rather than to the process of social transformation, which is at its earliest phase. Also, contrary to other Balkan countries whose borders were recently opened, those of the FRY are more closed than ever. Nevertheless, they are still open for crime and criminal organisations so that the FRY has seen an increase in all forms of organised crime, including illegal trade of weapons, drugs and women. At the same time, changes within the police have made them less efficient and less interested in preventing increased crime. While the number of police officers has increased enormously in the last 6 years, their efficiency and attitude toward citizens has worsened. The police are comprised of young people who have not received proper training and who do not have even a basic knowledge of respect for human rights. At the same time, they are strongly militarised and trained more to be used as riot police squads to protect the ruling elite against citizens, rather than to protect citizens and help victims of crime. This change in the role of the police has shaped their public image as well as people's confidence in them and willingness to report crimes. Official statistical data show that 53,724 crimes were reported in Belgrade in 1994, a 29% rise compared to 1990. The biggest crime increase occurred in 1993, i.e. in the middle of war in the former Yugoslavia and was for serious property crime, violent crime and illegal possession of arms. After 1994, the number of reported offenders decreased to 42,721 and 40,478 in 1995 and 1996 respectively. In 1996, for the first time after six years, the number of reported offenders in Belgrade was less than in 1990, i.e. before the war. The ICVS was carried out in Belgrade in 1996 on a random sample of 1,094 respondents taken on the basis of voting lists. The sample design assured the equal representation of respondents according to gender and number of inhabitants of particular communes. ICVS data on prevalence victimisation rates in Belgrade over the five-year period covered by the survey show extremely high levels of criminal victimisation. 85% of respondents, including both victims of conventional crimes and victims of consumer fraud and corruption said they had been victims of crime during the past five years, and 41% in 1995. When asked about their victimisation in 1995, respondents stated most frequently that they were victims of consumer fraud (50%) and corruption (17%). A high percentage of respondents who reported being victimised in 1995 also reported theft from car (9%), personal theft (8%), car vandalism (7%) and assault/threat (6%). Among the female respondents who were victimised in 1995, 2% reported being victims of sexual incidents. 3% of the respondents reported burglary, 3% reported attempted burglary and 1% reported robbery. The majority of victims considered the crime(s) they suffered as very serious or somewhat serious. When asked how safe they felt when walking alone in their neighbourhood at night, 21% replied that they felt very safe, 31% felt rather safe, 33% were somewhat insecure, and 14% felt very unsafe. If these findings are compared with research on fear of crime carried out in Belgrade in 1988 on a sample of 400 respondents, the results of the 1996 ICVS show an increase in fear of crime in Belgrade. It seems, however, that respondents feel even less secure than the above answers might suggest. As many as 49%, or half of the respondents, replied that they avoided certain places and people for security reasons, while 6% never went out at night. Moreover, male respondents tended to hide personal feelings of insecurity and offer an exaggerated picture of personal security. The feeling of insecurity was also confirmed by the replies to the question on the possibility of burglary within the next 12 months: only 22% of respondents thought the event was improbable, 14% thought it was very probable, and as many as 37% thought it was probable. The majority of respondents (33%) replied that their apartments had no protection against burglary. Those whose apartments were protected most frequently mentioned the interphone (19%), special door locks (17%), a neighbourhood watch scheme (10%) and a watchdog (9%). Only 33% of the crimes experienced by respondents were reported to the police. The most frequently cited reasons for not reporting were: that the crime was not serious enough; the police could do nothing anyway; the police usually don't want to handle such cases; the victims solved the problem themselves; and that they did not dare to report the crime for fear of retaliation. A closer look at the police related reasons show that they are the most frequently cited (almost half for some crimes) reasons for non-reporting given by the respondents. As in other developing and transitional countries, reasons indicating lack of effectiveness and unwillingness of the police figure prominently among reasons for not reporting in general and comprise the largest part of police related reasons. The majority of victims who reported crimes to the police were dissatisfied with the way the police reacted. The most frequently cited reasons for dissatisfaction were that the police: a) didn't do enough; b) were not interested; c) did not find or arrest the criminal(s); and d) did not recover the lost property. As in other countries in transition and unlike the developed world, incorrect treatment by police and lack of information were among the less frequently mentioned reasons. It is evident that, contrary to developed countries, dissatisfaction with the police is more linked with economic interests and social expectations than to police culture, approach and procedure. This may partly be because people in countries in transition, rather than expecting the police to respect citizens' rights, are afraid of them. This is especially true in FRY where, as mentioned above, the police are organised and trained to control citizens rather than to protect them. However, the poor economic situation and lack of insurance force people to rely on the effectiveness of police investigation. This explains why their satisfaction is so closely related to police effectiveness in finding the offender and recovering property. Despite the increase in crime and fear of crime, no efforts have been made to improve the legal protection of crime victims. However, in November 1997, the Victimology Society of Serbia was established with the main aim of initiating law reforms and training police, prosecutors and judges in order to improve the position of crime victims in FRY.
PROGRAMME 20 FEBRUARY 1998 Opening of the Seminar
Presentation of UNICRI Research Programme on countries in the Balkan region Report of the ICVS in Albania Discussion Afternoon Report of the ICVS in FYR of Macedonia Report of the ICVS in Romania Discussion 21 FEBRUARY 1998 Report of the ICVS in FR of Yugoslavia Report of the ICVS in Bulgaria Discussion Concluding remarks.
General conclusions
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