Jamaica is ready for its National Crime Victimization Survey (JNCVS 2019) data collection

From July 29 to 31, the Center of Excellence staff visited the facilities of the National Statistics Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) in the city of Kingston. The purpose of the visit was to attend the training of trainers for the Jamaica National Crime Victimization Survey (JNCVS 2019), whose information will begin to be collected at the end of August of this year.

The JNCVS 2019 is the fifth edition of the series of Victimization Surveys carried out in the country (the previous editions were in 2006, 2009, 2012/2013 and 2016). With the 2019 edition, for the first time Jamaica adopts the methodology of the Latin America and the Caribbean Crime Victimization Survey Initiative (LACSI) that follows the United Nations international standards generated and promoted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS, 2015) and the Manual on Victimization Surveys (2010). The JNCVS will focus on measuring the perception of security of Jamaicans and also their victimization regarding 14 crimes.

During the training days, the Center of Excellence staff supported different representatives of STATIN and the Ministry of National Security (MNS) in the review of the Interviewer Manual that will be used for the national data collection. As the JNCVS will be using a Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI), a tablet test was also conducted: tablets use a free software developed by the World Bank data group: Survey Solutions.

Jamaica is the first country in the Caribbean to adopt the LACSI Initiative for its victimization survey. UNODC applauds the efforts of this country to join international standards for the measurement of crime statistics and the generation of relevant information for the report of 4 indicators of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.