Ghana - Crime Victimization Survey (CVS) 2009

v2.0

2012-07-11

No changes have been made to the version. This is the first time that the survey is been documented

Background

The 2009 Crime Victimization Survey in Ghana was a household survey carried out in four Metropolitan Areas - Sekondi-Takoradi, Accra, Kumasi and Tamale Metropolitan Areas. It was a pilot study designed to facilitate a broader understanding of crime and its burden on the citizenry. While in the past only police and criminal justice data were used to measure crime, it is now widely accepted that such information alone is not sufficient and should be complemented with victimization survey results.

During the survey, interviews were conducted among a representative sample of the population in the four areas. People were asked whether or not they have been victims of crime in the past five years. Different crime areas were considered in the survey.

Objective

The main objective of the study is to collect information on citizens' first hand experiences in crime and criminal justice. The specific objectives are:

Promoting community and victim centered crime prevention strategies

Providing accurate and reliable information as the basis for the development of national policies as well as internationally

comparable crime and criminal justice data databases

Improve police-community relations by:

(a) Revealing the propensity to report crimes

(b) Exploring the level of satisfaction with the patrolling activities upon report

(c) Increasing the use of individual and household crime prevention measures

Building the capacity of Ghana Statistical Service in conducting crime victimization survey.

Sample design

The population in individual households that dwell in living quarters in each of the four Metropolitan Assemblies constituted the sampling frame. The sample design was a clustered, multi-stage probability sample. The updated list of enumeration areas (EAs) that were used for the 2000 Population and Housing Census constitute the sampling frame for the four Metropolitan Assemblies.

Selection of the sample was in two stages. At the first stage of sampling, 120 EAs (PSUs) were selected with Probability Proportional to Size (PPS). That is determination of the sample size uses proportional allocation based on each Metropolitan Assembly's share of the total population of the four metropolitan areas. At the second stage, 13 households were selected systematically with a random start and interval separately for each EA to produce a total of 1,560 households for the four metropolitan areas.

Content

The questionnaire used in the survey to collect information on household members, included the following crimes:

Motor vehicle theft (car, motor cycle and bicycle)

Car hijacking/attempted car hijacking

Burglary/attempted burglary (break and enter)

Robbery/attempted robbery

Personal theft

Sexual offences

Kidnapping

Consumer fraud

Corruption

The questions related to crimes that either the respondent or any member of his/her household has experienced over the past five years (i.e. since January 1, 2004).

Sample survey data [ssd]

Individuals