The role and importance of victim surveys in criminal research

Authors

  • Ahmet Polat Rüştü Ünsal Polis Vocational High School
  • Serdar Kenan Gül Turkish National Police Academy

Keywords:

Victim survey, crime measurement, statistics of crime, techniques of crime measurement, dark figures of crime

Abstract

Due to increasing crime rates, insufficient policies and the limitations of the official statistics, victim surveys are being used as an alternative crime measurement technique. These types of surveys are inspired most of the criminological theories and regarded as a data source especially in shaping the crime policies of the Anglo-Saxon countries. Even though they have developed over time, victim surveys have limitations which create an obstacle in measuring crime. However, these surveys could be used as a useful data source in analyzing victims, their needs and behaviors. The recent victim surveys, which were conducted in Turkey, revealed significant findings. In the future, it is inevitable to use victim surveys as a management instrument in the field of security policies in Turkey. This study first examines the birth and development of the victim surveys, then it discusses the theoretical and methodological problems and the victim surveys conducted in Turkey. In conclusion section, this article provides recommendations related to the topic.

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Author Biographies

Ahmet Polat, Rüştü Ünsal Polis Vocational High School

Ahmet POLAT, Ph.D., married with one child, born 16.09.1974 in Kırıkkale, 1996 B.S. Turkish National Police Academy, 2000 Ecole Nationale Superieure de Police, Saint-Cyr Au Mont d’Or, Lyon, France, 2001 M.A. Faculty of Law, Criminology, Université Jean Moulin Lyon-3 in France, 2006 Ph.D. Faculty of Law, Criminology, Université Jean Moulin Lyon-3 in France. Regarding professional experience1996-1998  Chief Inspector, Chief of Department Foreigners (City-Ankara), 1998-1999  Chief Inspector, Chief of Police station of Aydinlikevler (City-Ankara), 1999-2000  Chief Inspector, Chief of Police station of Kayaş (City-Ankara), 2000-2006  Education (M.A.-Ph.D. in France), 2006-2008    Police Major, Chief of Çayırlı Police District (City-Erzincan) and 2008-present Police Major and trainer in law, Rüştü Ünsal Police Vocational School of Higher Education. He speaks English and French and he has several publications; articles, book, report reviews on Criminology & Policing.

Serdar Kenan Gül, Turkish National Police Academy

Dr. Gul earned his B.A. degree in policing from the College of Security Sciences at Turkish National Police Academy (TNPA) in 1996. He received a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in public management from Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey in 2001 and a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in criminal justice from the Department of Justice Studies at Kent State University, Ohio in 2003. Kenan earned his Ph.D. degree in 2007 from the Department of Political Science at Kent State University, majoring in justice politics and policy and policy analysis and administration.

His research interests include police management, performance appraisal, comparative justice, and quantitative research methods. Kenan has co-authored two books titled: “Performance Management in Public Sector”, 2008, and “Security Management”, 2009, by Seckin Publishing, Ankara. Besides, he also has published several book chapters and articles.

Kenan is currently a researcher at the Center for Police Management and a faculty member at the Collage of Security Sciences at TNPA. He teaches research methods, public administration, and police management courses. He is the Managing Editor for the Turkish Journal of Police Studies.

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Published

2010-05-20

How to Cite

Polat, A., & Gül, S. K. (2010). The role and importance of victim surveys in criminal research. Journal of Human Sciences, 7(1), 1290–1310. Retrieved from https://www.j-humansciences.com/ojs/index.php/IJHS/article/view/1002

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2010)

Section

Sociology

License

Uluslararası İnsan Bilimleri Dergisi ISSN:1303-5134
International Journal of Human Sciences ISSN:2458-9489
 
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