Series Victimisation
Definition
A pattern in which a victim experiences multiple similar incidents so frequently that they cannot recall each one individually. Domestic abuse is the most common example. Survey researchers apply a cap rule or treat the series as a single bounded event to avoid inflating crime totals.
- Definition core
- Repeated similar incidents too frequent to recall individually
- Common example
- Domestic abuse
- Survey handling
- Cap rule or single bounded-event treatment
- Risk without correction
- Inflated crime-count totals
Common questions
Why do surveys cap the count instead of recording every incident?+
When a victim cannot separate individual episodes, recording an estimated or uncapped number would let a handful of high-frequency victims dominate aggregate crime statistics, distorting trend comparisons across areas or years.
Does capping under-report the true harm to the victim?+
For statistical totals, yes, the recorded count is lower than the lived experience. This is a known trade-off; case-level investigation and support services still document the full pattern even though the survey figure is bounded.
Related terms
- Boost Theory
- The explanation that repeat victimisation arises because the original offender returns, having gained operational knowledge of the target, its routines, and its...
- Flag Theory
- The explanation that repeat victimisation arises because a target has stable characteristics, such as poor natural surveillance or weak security, that make...
- Hot Spot
- A small geographic area, sometimes as small as a single address or street segment, where crime concentrates at a rate substantially above...
- Lifestyle-Routine Activity Theory
- A framework that links individual victimisation risk to the daily routines and lifestyle choices that bring potential victims into proximity with motivated...
- Repeat Victimisation
- The empirical pattern in which a small proportion of people or locations experience a disproportionate share of violent incidents. Domestic violence shows...