Personal feelings of insecurity in the four largest cities

This article is based upon the Integral Safety Monitor (IVM) of 2008 and 2009, a survey conducted by Statistics Netherlands, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) and the Ministry of Justice. The survey is conducted among people aged 15 years and older and is held annually since 2008 in the last three months of the year. People living in homes and institutions are not included in the survey. The percentages presented in the article are based on a sample survey and therefore subject to a margin of error.

The calculations in this article are based on the following questions in the IVM:

• Do you occasionally feel unsafe in your own neighbourhood?
(possible answers: yes, no, do not know)

• Do you frequently, sometimes or rarely feel unsafe in your own neighbourhood?
(possible answers: frequently, sometimes, seldom, do not know)

• Do you occasionally feel unsafe, when you are walking the streets at night in your own neighbourhood?
(possible answers: frequently, sometimes, hardly ever, do not know/no opinion, not applicable)

Focussing on your own municipality, can you tell in which of the following situations/locations, you feel occasionally insecure? If you never visit these locations, the question is not applicable.
      
• In and around entertainment district(s)    
• In the city centre  
• In public transport     
• In and around railway stations     
(possible answers frequently, sometimes, hardly ever, never, not applicable)

The answers sometimes, seldom, never, do not know/no opinion and not applicable are included in the category ‘not often unsafe’. Respondents who never use public transport and railway stations (and answer ’not applicable’ ) are not counted.