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FILE STRUCTURE

The 2011-12 MPHS asked 26,382 respondents across Australia about a range of crimes to determine whether they had been a victim in the 12 months before enumeration in the survey. Victims were asked a series of questions about certain aspects of the crimes committed against them and their household such as the location of the incident; their relationship, if any, to the offender; and whether the crime had been reported to police. Questions were also asked about respondents' perceptions of the justice system.

Responses to each of these questions, along with a range of socio-demographic data are included on the TableBuilder file. This microdata has been allocated to one of two levels:
1. Socio-demographic and Personal Crime Level Data Items
2. Household Crime Level Data Items

The 'Socio-demographic and Personal Crime Level' contains characteristic data about each respondent including their age, sex, marital status, employment, education and personal income. This level also has some information about the households in which they live including the number of children present aged less than 15 and the overall household income. In addition, the 'Socio-demographic and Personal Crime Level' includes broad locational data items such as the respondent's state or territory of usual residence. Crimes that have been committed against the respondent (not members of their household) such as assaults and identity theft and perceptions of the justice system are also part of this level.

The 'Household Crime Level' contains data on crimes committed against any member of the household. Specifically, these crimes relate to break-ins, theft and property damage. Often the items stolen or the property damaged are jointly owned by members of a household so cannot be allocated to an individual. Consequently, for the purpose of this survey these are considered household crimes.

The following image depicts the levels including the sub–categories under which the individual data items have been grouped. A complete data item list can be accessed from the Downloads page.