Whilst the area of young people and crime has been the focus of much academic research, the specific issue of the victimisation of university students has remained relatively under-examined. Based on a survey of 1,215 undergraduate students studying in UK higher education institutions, this paper examines the levels and nature of student victimisation alongside students' rationalisations for falling victim to crime whilst at university. These data reflect a sense that crime is an underlying feature of undergraduate student life in the UK, with just under a third of the surveyed students reporting being a victim of crime during their previous three-month term at university. Moreover, the qualitative data from the survey showed victimisation to be an often accepted element of student life. Whilst the data highlight some obvious practical opportunities for university and crime reduction organisations to address these patterns of victimisation, any significant amelioration will not be achieved without fundamentally changing undergraduates' expectations and understandings of the student lifestyle as well as the prevailing routine activities and ‘student cultures’ which underpin their often submissive responses to being victims of crime.
AbbeyA. (2002). Alcohol-related Sexual Assault: A Common Problem among College Students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, supplement no. 14, 118–128.
2.
BarberetR.FisherB.TaylorH. (2004). University Student Safety in the East Midlands. Home Office Report 61/04. Stationery Office; London.
3.
BauseilR.BauseilC.SiegelD. (1992). The Links among Alcohol, Drugs and Crime on American College Campuses: A National Follow-up Study. Business Publishers; Silver Spring, MD.
4.
BuddT.SharpG.WeirG.WilsonD.OwenN. (2005). Young People and Crime: Findings from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey. Home Office Statistical Bulletin 20/05. Home Office; London.
5.
ClappJ.SegarsL.VoasR. (2002). A Conceptual Model of the Alcohol Environment of College Students. Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment, 5, 1, 73–90.
6.
ClarkG.DurkinK.WolfeT. (1999). Social Bond Theory and Binge Drinking among College Students: A Multivariate Analysis. College Student Journal, 33, 450–462.
7.
CohenL.FelsonM. (1979). Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Activity Approach. American Sociological Review, 44, 588–608.
8.
CohenL.FelsonM.LandK. (1980). Property Crime Rates in the United States: A Macro Dynamic Analysis. American Journal of Sociology, 86, 90–118.
9.
FarrellG.PeaseK. (1993). Once Bitten, Twice Bitten: Repeat Victimisation and its Implications for Crime Prevention. Police Research Group, Crime Prevention Unit Paper 46. Home Office; London.
10.
FisherB.CullenF.TurnerM. (2000). The Sexual Victimization of College Women. U.S. Department of Justice Research Report.
11.
FisherB.SloanJ.CullenF.LuC. (1998). Crime in the Ivory Tower: The Level and Sources of Student Victimization. Criminology, 36 (3), 671–710.
12.
FisherB.WilkesA. (2003). A Tale of Two Ivory Towers: A Comparative Analysis of Victimisation Rates and Risks between the US and England. British Journal of Criminology, 43, 526–545.
13.
GlaserB.StraussL. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Aldine; Chicago.
14.
GrossmanM.MarkowitzS. (1999). Alcohol Regulation and Violence on College Campuses. NBER Working Paper No. 7129. National Bureau of Economic Research; Cambridge, MA.
15.
HartT. (2004). Violent Victimization of College Students: National Crime Victimization Survey 1995–2000. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs; Washington DC.
HindelangM.GottfredsonM.GarofaloJ. (1978). Victims of Personal Crime. Ballinger; Cambridge MA.
18.
JarrellS.HowsenR. (1990). Transient Crowding and Crime. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 49 (4), 483–493.
19.
JohnsonS.BowersK.HirschfieldA. (1997). New Insights into the Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Repeat Victimisation. British Journal of Criminology, 37 (2), 224–241.
20.
KearonT.LeachR. (2000). Invasion of the ‘Body Snatchers’: Burglary Reconsidered. Theoretical Criminology, 4 (4), 451–472.
21.
LoganT.LeukefeldC.WalkerB. (2000). Stalking as a Variant of Intimate Violence: Implications from a Young Adult Sample. Violence Vict., 15 (1), 91–111.
22.
MeierR.MietheT. (1993). Understanding Theories of Criminal Victimization. Crime and Justice, 17, 459–499.
23.
MietheT.McDowallD. (1993). Contextual Effects in Models of Criminal Victimization. Social Forces, 71 (3), 741–759.
24.
MillieA. (2008). Vulnerability and Risk: Some Lessons from the UK Reducing Burglary Initiative. Police Practice and Research, 9 (3), 183–198.
25.
Newbury-BirchD.LowryR.KamaliF. (2002). The Changing Patterns of Drinking, Illicit Drug Use, Stress, Anxiety and Depression in Dental Students in a UK Dental School: A Longitudinal Study. British Dental Journal, 192 (1), 646–649.
Recker-RayburnN.EarleywineM.DavisonG. (2003). Base Rates of Hate Crime Victimization among College Students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18 (10), 1209–1221.
28.
ReitzR. (1999). Factors Contributing to Fear of Crime for Male and Female University Students. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 1 (8A), 3171.
29.
StraussA. (1987). Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge.
30.
TewksburyR.Ehrhardt MustaineE. (2003). College Students' Lifestyles and Self-protective Behaviours. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 30 (3) 302–327.
31.
WalklateS. (1996). Can there be a Feminist Victimisation? In Understanding Victimisation (DaviesP.FrancisP.JuppV., eds). University of Northumbria Press; Newcastle.
32.
WechslerH.NelsonT.LeeJ.SeibringM.LewisC.KeelingR. (2003). Perception and Reality: A National Evaluation of Social Norms Marketing Interventions to Reduce College Students' Heavy Alcohol Use. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 64, 484–494.
