... time, the BCS results have been important in demonstrating the discrepancy between official crime statistics and peoples actual experiences of crime. By asking respondents if they had been the victims of any crime during previous year, the survey revealed that a much higher percentage of the population had been the victims of crime that previously thought. While valuable indicators, the data from victimization studies should be treated with great caution. In certain instances such as domestic violence, the methodology of the study itself may result in significant underreporting. For example, the BCS is conducted through interviews in respondent's homes. It is quite likely that a victim of domestic violence would not report violent incidents in the presence of the abuser. Nevertheless, there is an awareness of this problem therefore some areas are using electronic questionnaires where the researcher is unable to access the respondents questions they are automatically sent to ...

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