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Crime & Victims Statistics --
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· Victim characteristics
> Crime characteristics
· Incident-based statistics


Crime facts
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Crime characteristics

Summary findings | BJS publications | Selected statistics |
Also by BJS staff | Related sites


Summary findings

Violent Crime
Trends | Victim/offender relationship | Intimate violence
Time | Place | Weapon use | Role of alcohol

Property Crime
Trends | Homeownership| Region | Urban, suburban, rural
Violent Crime
   Violent crime includes murder, rape and sexual assault, robbery, and assault.

Trends

Since 1994, violent crime rates have declined, reaching the lowest level ever recorded in 2005.
Violent crime trend chart - Links to full size version

Trends in violent victimizations, 1973 to 2006


See trends for Murder, Rape, Robbery, Assault

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Victim/offender relationship

Males were more likely to be violently victimized by a stranger than a nonstranger, and females were more likely to be victimized by a friend, an acquaintance, or an intimate.

During 2005 --

  • About seven in ten female rape or sexual assault victims stated the offender was an intimate, other relative, a friend or an acquaintance.

  • Seventy-four percent of males and 48% of females stated the individual(s) who robbed them was a stranger.

Intimates were identified by the victims of workplace violence as the perpetrator in about 1% of all workplace violent crime. About 40% of the victims of nonfatal violence in the workplace reported that they knew their offender.

For murder victims, 43% were related to or acquainted with their assailants; 14% of victims were murdered by strangers, while 43% of victims had an unknown relationship to their murderer in 2002.

Two thirds of murders of children under the age of 5 were committed by a parent or other family member.

Intimate violence

  • About 1 in 320 households were affected by intimate partner violence.

  • Female victims are more likely to be victimized by intimates than male victims. In 2005, of offenders victimizing females, 18% were described as intimates and 34% as strangers. By contrast, of offenders victimizing males, 3% were described as intimates and 54% as strangers.

  • The rate of nonfatal intimate violence against females declined by nearly half between 1993 and 2001.

  • Between 1976 and 2002, about 11% of murder victims were determined to have been killed by an intimate.

  • The sharpest decrease in number of intimate murders has been for black male victims. An 81% percent decrease in the number of black men murdered by intimates occurred between 1976 and 2002.

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Time of occurrence

In 2005 -

  • 53% of incidents of violent crime occurred during the day between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

  • Almost two-thirds of the rapes/sexual assaults occurred at night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

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Place of occurrence
Workplace | School | Region | Urban, suburban, rural

In 2005 -

  • The location of about a quarter of incidents of violent crime was at or near the victim's home. Among common locales for violent crimes were on streets other than those near the victim's home (19%), at school (12%), or at a commercial establishment (8%).

  • For violent crime, about half occurred within a mile from home and 76% within five miles. Only 4% of victims of violent crime reported that the crime took place more than fifty miles from their home.

  • Of victims of violent crime, 22% were involved in some form of leisure activity away from home at the time of their victimization, 22% said they were at home, and another 20% mentioned they were at work or traveling to or from work when the crime occurred.

Workplace violence

Of selected occupations examined from 1993 to 1999, police officers were the most vulnerable to be victims of workplace violence, as well as correctional officers, taxicab drivers, private security workers, and bartenders.

While working or on duty, U.S. residents experienced 1.7 million violent victimizations annually from 1993 to 1999 including 1.3 million simple assaults, 325,000 aggravated assaults, 36,500 rapes and sexual assaults, 70,000 robberies, and 900 homicides. Workplace violence accounted for 18% of all violent crime between 1993 to 1999.

Police officers were victims of a nonfatal violent crime while they were working or on duty between 1993 to 1999 at a rate of 261 per 1,000 officers.

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School violence

  • Between 1992 and 2005, crime in the Nation's schools for students ages 12-18 fell, a pattern consistent with the decline in the national crime rate.

  • In every year from 1992 to 2005, students ages 12-18 were more likely to experience a serious violent crime away from school than at school.

  • In 2005, about 28% of public and private school students ages 12-18 reported that they have been bullied at school within the past six months.

  • Among high school students in grades 9-12, about 14% said they got into a fight on school property in 2005.

  • In 2005, 10% of male students and 6% of female student reported experiencing a threat or injury with a weapon on school property.
Region

Western and Midwestern residents were victims of violent crime overall at similar rates, 2005.

In 2005 --

  • 25 Westerners, 23 Midwesterners, 19 Southerners and 19 Northeasterners per 1,000 were violent crime victims.

See also Homicide Trends in the United States and Data Online for characteristics of homicide victims by State and large locality.

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Urban, suburban and rural

Urban residents had the highest violent victimization rates, followed by suburban resident rates. Rural residents had the lowest rates.

In 2005--
  • Six urban residents, four suburban residents and four rural residents per 1,000 were victims of an aggravated assault.

  • Suburban and rural residents were victims of violence other than rape/sexual assault at similar rates during 2005.
See also Homicide Trends in the United States and Data Online for characteristics of homicide victims by State and large locality.

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Weapon use

In 2005, 24% of the incidents of violent crime, a weapon was present.

Offenders had or used a weapon in 48% of all robberies, compared with 22% of all aggravated assaults and 7% of all rapes/sexual assaults in 2005.

Homicides are most often committed with guns, especially handguns. In 2005, 55% of homicides were committed with handguns, 16% with other guns, 14% with knives, 5% with blunt objects, and 11% with other weapons.

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The role of alcohol in crime victimization

About 1 million violent crimes occurred in 2002 in which victims perceived the offender to have been drinking at the time of the offense. Among those victims who provided information about the offender's use of alcohol, about 30% of the victimizations involved an offender who had been drinking.

Two-thirds of victims who suffered violence by an intimate (a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend) reported that alcohol had been a factor. Among spouse victims, 3 out of 4 incidents were reported to have involved an offender who had been drinking. By contrast, an estimated 31% of stranger victimizations where the victim could determine the absence or presence of alcohol were perceived to be alcohol-related.

For about 1 in 5 violent victimizations involving perceived alcohol use by the offender, victims also reported they believed the offender to have been using drugs as well.

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Property crime
   Property crimes include burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft.

Trends

Property crime rates continue to decline.
Property crime trend chart - Links to full size version

Trends in property crime victimizations, 1973 to 2006

 

See trends in burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft.

Property crime makes up slightly more than three-quarters of all crime in the United States.

Overall, in about 84% of all burglaries, the offender gained entry into the victims residence or other building on the property.

In about 79% of all motor vehicle thefts, the vehicle was stolen.

Of the 13 million completed thefts of property in 2005, there were 4.1 million property thefts of less than $50, 4.7 million between $50 and $249, and 3.2 million of $250 or more.
Home ownership

Property crime, regardless of the type, occurred more often to those living in rented property.

In 2005--
  • Households in rented property experienced 192 property crimes per 1,000 households, while those that own their homes experienced 137 property crimes per 1,000 households.

  • Households in rented property had more than twice the rate of motor vehicle theft than those in owned property.

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Region

The Western portion of the nation experiences the highest rates of property crime overall in the nation.

In 2005--
  • Western households had higher rate motor vehicle theft of all regions.

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Urban, suburban and rural

Urban households have historically been and continue to be the most vulnerable to property crime, burglary, motor vehicle theft and theft in the United States.

In 2005--

  • Urban households experienced overall property crime at rates higher than those for suburban or rural households.

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BJS publications

This list is in order of the most recent publication first. Additional titles are listed on other topical pages and a comprehensive list is contained on the BJS publications page. To see a full abstract of a publication with links to electronic versions of the publication, click on the title below.

Cybercrime against Businesses, 2005, 9/08. Presents the nature and prevalence of computer security incidents among 7,818 businesses in 2005. This is the first report to provide data on monetary loss and system downtime resulting from cyber incidents. NCJ 221943

Cybercrime against Businesses: Pilot Testing Results, 2001 Computer Security Survey, 3/04. NCJ 200639

Criminal Victimization in the United States, Presents 110 tables with detailed data on major variables measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

In electronic only formats:
Statistical Tables

2006, 8/08. NCJ 223436
2005, 12/06. NCJ 215244
2004, 6/06. NCJ 213257
2003, 7/05. NCJ 207811
2002, 12/03. NCJ 200561
2001, 1/03. NCJ 197064
2000, 8/02. NCJ 188290
1999, 1/01. NCJ 184938
1998, 5/00. NCJ 181585
1997, 9/00. NCJ 174446
1996, 9/00. NCJ 174445
See the Table index to find the right table in the electronic only collection.

In printed and electronic formats:
Criminal Victimization in the United States 1995, 5/00. NCJ 171129
Criminal Victimization in the United States 1994, 5/97. NCJ 162126
Criminal Victimization in the United States 1993, 5/96. NCJ 151657
Criminal Victimization in the United States 1992, 5/95. NCJ 145125

Intimate Partner Violence in the United States, 12/07. This webpage examines fatal and non-fatal violence by intimates (current or former spouses, girlfriends, or boyfriends) since the redesign of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) in 1993. Data from 1993 to 2005 are examined in addition to aggregated data from 2001 to 2005. NCJ 210675

In print and electronic formats:
Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, 2/03. NCJ 197838
Intimate Partner Violence, 5/00. NCJ 178247

Criminal Victimization, 2006, 12/07. Presents estimates of rates and levels of personal and property victimization for 2006. National estimates are not comparable with those of previous years because of methodological changes to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) in 2006. NCJ 219413

Criminal Victimization, 2005, 9/06. NCJ 214644
Criminal Victimization, 2004, 9/05. NCJ 210674
Criminal Victimization, 2003, 9/04. NCJ 205455
Criminal Victimization, 2002, 8/03. NCJ 199994
Criminal Victimization, 2001: Changes 2000-2001 with Trends 1993-2001, 9/02. NCJ 194610
Criminal Victimization, 2000: Changes 1999-2000 with Trends 1993-2000, 6/01. NCJ 187007
Criminal Victimization, 1999: Changes 1998-99 with Trends 1993-99, 8/00. NCJ 182734
Criminal Victimization, 1998: Changes 1997-98 with Trends 1993-98, 7/99. NCJ 176353
Criminal Victimization, 1997: Changes 1996-97 with Trends 1993-97, 12/98. NCJ 173385
Criminal Victimization, 1996: Changes 1995-96 with Trends 1993-96, 11/97. NCJ 165812

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2007, 12/07. Presents data on crime and safety at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, principals, and the general population. A joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, this annual report examines crime occurring in school as well as on the way to and from school. NCJ 219553

Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2006, 12/06. NCJ 214262
Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2005, 11/05. NCJ 210697
Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2004, 11/04. NCJ 205290
Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2003, 10/03. NCJ 201257
Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2002, 11/02. NCJ 196753
Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2001, 10/01. NCJ 190075
Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2000, 10/00. NCJ 184176
Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 1999, 9/99. NCJ 178906
Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 1998, 10/98. NCJ 172215

Identity Theft, 2005, 11/07. Presents data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) on identity theft victimization and its consequences. NCJ 219411

Identity Theft, 2004, 04/06. NCJ 212213

Black Victims of Violent Crime, 8/07. Presents findings about violent crime experienced by non-Hispanic blacks. NCJ 214258

Crime and the Nation's Households, 2005, 4/07. Presents national estimates of the percentage of households that experienced one or more violent or property crimes in 2005 as measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey. NCJ 217198

Crime and the Nation's Households, 2004, 04/06. NCJ 211511
Crime and the Nation's Households, 2003, 10/04. NCJ 206348
Crime and the Nation's Households, 2002, 2/04. NCJ 201797
Crime and the Nation's Households, 2000 with Trends 1994-2000, 09/02. NCJ 194107
Crime and the Nation's Households, 1992, 9/93 . NCJ 143288

Hate Crimes Reported by Victims and Police, 11/05. Provides information on the number of hate crimes reported to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and their characteristics. NCJ 209911

Violence by Gang Members, 1993-2003 06/05. Provides estimates of the number and rate of violent crimes committed by offenders that victims perceived to be members of gangs based on National Crime Victimization Survey data. NCJ 208875

Family Violence Statistics: Including Statistics on Strangers and Acquaintances, 6/05. Compares family and nonfamily violence statistics from victimization through the different stages of the justice system. NCJ 207846

Violent Victimization of College Students, 1995-2002, 1/05. Examines the incidence of college student victimization and compares the findings to persons of similar ages in the general population. NCJ 206836

Violent Victimization of College Students, 12/03. NCJ 196143

Homicide Trends in the United States: 2002 Update, 11/04. Outlines the primary findings from the section of the BJS website about homicide patterns and trends since 1976 (www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/homtrnd.htm). NCJ 204885

In print and electronic formats:

Homicide Trends in the United States: 2000 Update, 1/03 . NCJ 197471
Homicide Trends in the United States: 1998 Update, 3/00. NCJ 179767

Homicide Trends in the United States, 1/99. NCJ 173956

Carjacking, 1993-2002, 07/04. Presents data for carjackings that occurred in the United States between 1993 and 2002. NCJ 205123

Carjackings in the United States, 1992-96, 3/99. NCJ 171145
Carjacking, 3/94. NCJ 147002

Weapon Use and Violent Crime, 1993-2001, 9/03. Discusses the nature and prevalence of violent crime by armed offenders, and the consequences to the victims, age 12 or older, from 1993 through 2001. NCJ 194820

Reporting Crime to the Police, 03/03. Presents National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data from 1992 to 2000 on non-lethal crimes against persons age 12 or older that were reported to police. NCJ 195710

Third-Party Involvement in Violent Crime, 1993-99, 7/02. Presents detailed information about third-party involvement in violent crime, using the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). NCJ 189100

Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99, 12/01. Presents data for 1993 through 1999 from the National Crime Victimization Survey estimating the extent of workplace crime in the United States. NCJ 190076

Other publications on this topic:
Workplace Violence, 1992-96, 7/98. NCJ 168634
Violence and Theft in the Workplace, 7/94. NCJ 148199
Intimate Partner Violence and Age of Victim, 10/01. Provides estimates of violence by intimates (current or former spouses, girlfriends, and boyfriends) with an emphasis on the victim's age using the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 1993-99. NCJ 187635

Hate Crimes Reported in NIBRS, 1997-99, 9/01. Utilizes data from the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting Program (NIBRS) to describe hate crimes reported to law enforcement in NIBRS-participating jurisdictions, between 1997 and 1999. NCJ 186765

Injuries from Violent Crime, 1992-98, 6/01. Presents data from the redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey, examining injuries as a result of violent victimizations. NCJ 168633

Policing and Homicide, 1976-98: Justifiable Homicide of Felons by Police and Murder of Police by Felons, 03/01. Presents annual trends from 1976 to 1998 in two types of homicide: justifiable homicides of felons by police, and murders of police officers by felons. NCJ 180987

Violent Victimization and Race, 1993-98, 3/01. Presents incidence estimates and per capita rates of violent victimization of whites, blacks, American Indians and Asians in 1998, and includes victimization trends, 1993-98. NCJ 176354

Sexual Victimization of College Women, 1/01. A joint report from BJS and the National Institute of Justice which explores the prevalence and nature of sexual assault occurring at colleges throughout the nation. NCJ 182369

Urban, Suburban, and Rural Victimization, 1993-98, 10/00 Examines the extent of criminal victimization in urban, suburban, and rural areas using 1993 to 1998 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data. NCJ 182031

Firearm Injury and Death from Crime, 1993-97 10/00 Reports on the incidence of fatal and nonfatal firearm injuries that result from crime. Most of the data presented are from the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vital Statistics and the Firearms Injury Surveillance Study which collects data on injuries treated in hospital emergency departments. NCJ 182993

Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics 7/00. Presents findings from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) regarding sexual assault, especially of young children. NCJ 182990

Criminal Victimization and Perceptions of Community Safety in 12 Cities, 1998, 6/99. Presents survey data from 12 cities regarding criminal victimization and residents' attitudes toward their neighborhood, their city, and the local policing services. NCJ 173940

Perceptions of Neighborhood Crime, 1995, 5/98. Presents data from the American Housing Survey (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) and the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) about how residents perceive crime in their neighborhoods and their relative likelihood of victimization. NCJ 165811

Students' Report of School Crime: 1989 and 1995, 4/98. Compares findings from the 1989 and 1995 School Crime Supplements to the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey, discussing student reports of victimization, drug availability, street gang presence, and gun presence at school. NCJ 169607

Alcohol and Crime, 4/98. Provides an overview of national information on the role of alcohol in violent victimization and its use among those convicted of crimes, including victim perceptions of alcohol use by offenders at the time of the crime. NCJ 168632

Violence by Intimates, 3/98. Reports findings about violence between people who have an intimate relationship -- spouses, exspouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, and former boyfriends and girlfriends from statistical data maintained by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. NCJ 167237

Sex Differences in Violent Victimization, 1994, 9/97. Contains detailed information about specific violent crime types and contextual characteristics of violence against both women and men and their relationship to those who victimize them. NCJ 164508

Violence-Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments, 8/97. Presents findings from a study of violence related-injuries treated in hospital emergency departments in 1994. The study was conducted using the Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) program. NCJ 156921

Sex Offenses and Offenders 2/97. Reports on more than two dozen statistical datasets maintained by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and on data from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program of the FBI to provide a comprehensive overview of current knowledge about the incidence and prevalence of violent victimization by sexual assault, the response of the criminal justice system to such crimes, and the characteristics of those who commit sexual assault or rape. NCJ 163392

Domestic and Sexual Violence Data Collection: A Report to Congress Under the Violence Against Women Act, 7/96. Reports how States and the Federal government collect data on the incidence of sexual and domestic violence offenses. NCJ 161405

Violence between Intimates, 11/94. Using data from a variety of sources, this report examines murders, rapes, robberies, and assaults committed by spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends. NCJ 149259

Murder in Families, 7/94. This BJS Special Report is a survey of murder cases disposed in 1988 in the courts of large urban counties. NCJ 143498

Crime and Neighborhoods , 7/94. Compares victimization levels and perceptions of neighborhood crime for the Nation's households using data from a variety of sources. NCJ 147005

Guns and Crime: Handgun Victimization, Firearm Self-Defense, and Firearm Theft, 5/94. Provides estimates of the extent of handgun crime in the United States through 1992, as well as estimates from the National Crime Victimization Survey of thefts of firearms and the extent of firearm use for self-defense. NCJ 147003

Violent Crime, 4/94. Summarizes 1973-92 trends in rape, robbery, and assault from the National Crime Victimization Survey; homicide data from Vital Statistics of the United States, National Center for Health Statistics; and 1992 murder data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports. NCJ 147486

The Costs of Crime to Victims, 2/94. Provides information on both the overall and the average cost of crime to victims. NCJ 145865

School Crime 1991, 9/91. Analyzes the experiences of U.S. students in grades 6-12 regarding crime victimization at school, the availability of illicit substances, gang presence, fear of crime, and school security measures. NCJ 131645

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Selected statistics

Criminal Victimization in the United States - Statistical Tables
in spreadsheet and portable document format files. Subjects include:

  • Demography of victims
  • Victims and offenders
  • Geography
  • The crime event
  • Victims and the criminal justice system
  • Series victimization

1996-2006 data are currently available, 8/08

To find tables using keywords, see the Table index.

See Data Online for State and local data on crime trends and homicide trends and victim characteristics

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Also by BJS Staff

Greenfeld, Lawrence A., and Maureen A. Henneberg, "Victim and Offender Self-Reports of Alcohol Involvement in Crime," (pdf file), Alcohol Research and Health, Journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Volume 25, Number 1, 2001


Related sites

From BJS

Other relevant sites
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Page last revised on September 17, 2008