Once a Victim,Always A Victim? A Study of How Victimisation Patterns may Change over Time

The evaluation of the Small Business and Crime Initiative in Leicester involved before and after victimisation surveys of all businesses in the two target areas. The second was conducted exactly two years after the first. Each sweep achieved a response rate of 65%. A panel sample of 483 businesses took part in both surveys. The results afford an opportunity to track crime experience over time. This paper reports findings about the patterns of continuity and change in victimisation amongst members of the panel sample. Four groups are distinguished: those with low crime levels in both sweeps, those with high crime levels in both sweeps, those going from relatively high to relatively low levels, and those going from relatively low to relatively high levels. Identifying triggers leading from low to high rates of victimisation and from high to low ones clearly has implications for prevention. There may be scope usefully also to track victimisation careers of non-business victims of crime.