The report uses a crime victimization survey as an alternative analytical tool to make an independent assessment of the crime situation in Bulgaria for the period 2001–2004. The crime victimization survey polls people’s experiences with crime. Unlike official government crime statistics, the regular crime victimization surveys help the police and government authorities, as well as the public to understand:
• whether the official police crime data reflect the real crime rate and crime trends;
• the volume of the unreported crime;
• the reasons victims do not report crimes to the police;
• whether the police avoids registering reported crimes;
• the profile of the social groups that are most at risk of falling victims to crime.
