Victim study

A victim study (or victimization survey or victimization study) is a survey, such as the British Crime Survey, that asks a sample of people which crimes have been committed against them over a fixed period of time and whether or not they have been reported to the police. Victim studies may be carried out at a national or local level.
Victim studies are canvasses of the public which request them to report any crimes which they have experienced, whether or not they have reported them. This is one of the main ways in which the dark figure of crime is exposed particularly in cases of abuse. Such surveys usually show the level of criminal activity is at least double that which appears in the official crime statistics.
Victimisation surveys are usually of two types:
There is a third type of survey: "The International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS)" is a programme of standardised sample surveys to look at householders’ experience with crime, policing, crime prevention and feelings of unsafety in a large number of countries. International comparison is the main aim for this project.
A criticism of victim surveys is that there is no way of verifying information given by respondents.