Tim Lambert (deltoidblog AT gmail.com) is a computer scientist at the University of New South Wales.
John Briggs writes:
Also, the Crime Incident Report that follows the Basic Screen Questionnaire seems to elicit details (including defensive responses) regarding only the most recent of multiple similar reported crime incidents. Questions 2 and 3 ask about the when and where of "this/the first incident" and question 4 asks "Altogether, how many times did this type of incident happen during the last 6 months?" Then, item 5a states "The following questions refer only to the most recent incident" and the rest of the questions in the CIR, including those regarding defensive actions, appear to be constrained by this limitaion. Would this not necessarily undercount DGUs?
No, though it may result in an overcount.
If a respondent had been mugged twice in the six month survey period any DGU in the first incident would be uncounted (because of the 5a limitation) even though both muggings would be counted by question 4.
But any DGU in the second incident would be counted twice. Collecting details on only one incident and letting it stand for all the others will tend to give more accurate answers since the most recent one will probably be recalled more accurately.
However, this could result in an overcount, since a robbery victim may respond to a robbery by deciding to carry a gun, thus making it more likely for them to use a gun for defence in a second robbery within the six month period than in the first one.
