The Islington Crime Survey: Thirty Years On

This research aims to provide an overview of the trends in crime and victimisation in an inner city area over the last thirty years. In this period it is widely recognised that the inner city has undergone major changes involving significant population shifts. The London borough of Islington is taken as a point of reference because it exhibits significant changes in the composition of its population over the last thirty years as well as experiencing major changes in its leisure and consumer activities. At the same time it includes an interesting mix of gentrified areas combined with pockets of poverty and deprivation.

The principal aim of the research is to examine changes in the distribution of crime and victimisation in this particular context. In 1986 a landmark study of crime and victimisation was carried out and published in the form of The Islington Crime Survey (Jones, McLean and Young 1986). This study sought to both extend and qualify the findings of the then British Crime Survey (currently referred to as the Crime Survey for England and Wales) which collected national data. It was recognised that the form and level of crime varies significantly by area and that if victimisation surveys are going to inform policy then they have to be detailed and localised. For example, local crime surveys like The Islington Crime Survey (ICS) are able to identify specific streets and areas where people feel unsafe and can provide policy makers with the information that allows them to make such areas safer. They also allow assessments by residents of police performance and the opportunity for residents to express their priorities and concerns.

Nationally, there has been a significant decrease in most forms of recorded crime over the last two decades. This research provides an investigation of this decrease in an inner city area and aim to identify which groups, if any, have benefited from this decrease. The survey will also look at repeat victimisation since it is know that some of the most victimised groups tend to be repeatedly victimised and the aim will be to see if these levels of repeat victimisation have increased or decreased over time.

One of the main aims of the survey is to gain information of the experiences of victimisation amongst different ethnic groups and also to examine their relation with the police. There will also be a focus on domestic violence, fear of crime, as well as forms of commercial crime. The research will also draw on other data sources that provide information on crime in the borough that have been produced over the past thirty years in order to identify trends. The identification of these trends will in turn be linked to an analysis of the changing economic and social context in which they are taking place. In this way the research will examine changes in the distribution of victimisation in relation to the changing social composition and economic activity in the borough. This form of analysis should be able to say something significant about the changing nature of urban life and about people's concerns and experiences, which should provide some useful insights into the changing dynamics of urban culture.

There is considerable debate by academic researchers about the nature and direction of urban change and in particular how these changes relate to crime. There are also debates about the degree to which various crime prevention measures have been effective in reducing crime. By identifying urban trends in conjunction with changing patterns of crime this research provides a unique opportunity to increase our understanding of some of the most significant developments that are taking place in contemporary society.

This project is designed to have a number of levels of impact:

1. The provision of detailed victimisation data will allow the police, community safety team and policy makers to change policy and practice in line with the findings from the survey.

2. Provide detailed information about the publics' assessment of police performance.

3. Better identify the residents concerns and priorities in the borough.

4. Contribute to the criminological debate on the 'crime drop' by identifying the beneficiaries from any decrease in the nature of crime.

5. Gain a deeper understanding of the types of victimisation experienced by different ethnic minority groups in the borough and their relation to the police.

6. To contribute to the academic debate about crime trends.

7. To conntribute to our understanding of the relation between urban change and the distribution and impact of different forms of victimisation.

8. Contribute to debates about changing urban relations and their effects.

The most immediate beneficiaries of the research will be the the various community safety and law enforcement groups in Islington. This in turn will benefit residents in the borough, particularly the more vulnerable and victimised sections of the population. This information gathered will in itself will be an important resource for these groups and will supplement and refine existing data. The information gathered in this survey will also benefit policy makers in the borough who can use the information gathered to fashion policy and gain a better sense of the effectiveness of crime reduction strategies that have been adopted. It is for these reasons that Islington Council has agreed to contribute £20,000 to the cost of this survey. Local counsellors, members of the Community Safety Group and police department will also be involved in the advisory group for the research.

One of the main impacts of the research will be that residents of Islington will have the opportunity to express their concerns and expectation regarding crime control. Also, to the extent that the research informs crime control strategies the level of victimisation should decrease.

On a broader front the analysis of the changing urban landscape of Islington will be of interest not only to those living and working in the borough but also to those located in other London boroughs. For example, the Metropolitan Police regularly conducts public attitudes surveys and they will be able to qualify their findings using our data.