GUIDE TO TABLES

‘No answers’ (missing values) All BCS analysis excludes don’t know/refusals unless otherwise specified.

Percentages may not add to 100 per cent due to rounding.

Weighting All BCS percentages and rates presented in the tables are based on data weighted to compensate for differential non response. Tables show the unweighted base which represents the number of people/households interviewed in the specified group.

‘0’        indicates less than 0.5 per cent (this does not apply when percentages are presented to one decimal point) or no response in that particular category.

‘n/a’     indicates that the BCS question was not applicable or not asked in that particular year.

‘..’        indicates that data are not reported because the unweighted base is less than 100, unless otherwise stated.

Reference periods
Prior to 2001/02, BCS respondents were asked about crime-related experiences in the previous calendar year but when the BCS changed to a continuous survey, respondents were asked about crime in the 12 months prior to interview. As respondents are now interviewed on a rolling basis over the course of a year, the data cover a 23-month reference period, not directly comparable with the calendar year. Therefore tables including trends over time differentiate between the year in which the crime took place for interviews prior to 2001/02 (e.g. 1995), and the year in which the survey interviews took place for interviews since 2001/02 (e.g. 2007/08 ints).

‘ints’    used as an abbreviation for ‘interviews’ and refers to BCS interviews conducted in the specified year.

Other questions on the BCS (e.g. attitudes to policing, confidence in the criminal justice system) ask the respondent their current views or attitudes, and thus the data are referenced as the year in which the respondent was interviewed (e.g. 1996, 2007/08).