This full length study provides a basic account of the rationale and content of victimization surveys; it examines the value of crime/victim surveys and deals with the shortcomings of official statistics gathered by the police. Unlike police figures, victimization surveys are able to study the effects of crime and the social variables which are associated with a high risk of victimization. Crime patterns, repoorting trends, the use and abuse of statistics, attitudes towards the police, fear of crime, and lessons for crime prevention are all examined within this text. Both nationwide and regional surveys are analysed.