BJS home page

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

Crime facts at a glance

Victim characteristics

Summary findings | BJS publications | Selected statistics | Related sites

Summary findings

Violent crime victims

Age | Race | Ethnicity | Gender |
Annual household income | Marital status

Property crime victims (characteristics of head of household)

Age | Race | Ethnicity | Annual household income

Violent crime victims
    Violent crime includes murder, rape and sexual assault, robbery, and assault.

Age

Teens and young adults experience the highest rates of violent crime.

Trends in violent victimization by age, 1973 to 2006

In 2005 --

• Persons in older age groups experienced lower rates of violent victimization than person in younger age groups.

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reports show that in 2006, 87% of murder victims were age 18 or older. Of all murder victims, 44% were 20 to 34 years old.

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

The elderly, persons age 65 or older, experienced less violence and fewer property crimes than younger persons between 1993-2002.

• Property crime, not violence, provided the highest percentage of crime against persons age 65 or older.
  
  
• About 1 in 5 of personal crimes against the elderly were thefts compared to about 1 in 33 for persons age 12-49.
  

To the top

Race

Serious violent crime rates declined in recent years for both blacks and whites.

Trends in violent victimization by race, 1973 to 2006

In 2006 —-

• Per every 1,000 persons in that racial group, 32 blacks, 23 whites and 18 persons of other races sustained a violent crime.
  
  
• Black, white, and other races experienced one per 1,000 person rates of rape/sexual assault.

According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, in 2006 about 50% off murder victims were black, 47% were white, and 3% were Asians, Pacific Islander, and Native Americans.

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

Blacks were more likely than whites to be victimized by a carjacking (3 versus 1 per 10,000 respectively) 1993-2002.

Between 2001 and 2005, American Indians experienced violence at rates more than twice that of blacks, 2 1/2 times that of whites, and more than 5 times that of Asians.

To the top

Ethnicity

During 2006 —

• 863,640 Hispanic persons age 12 or older were victims of rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault.
  
  
• Violence against Hispanics age 12 or older most often took the form of simple assault (57%).
  
  
• Hispanic persons age 12 or older experienced 14% of all violent crime and made up 13% of the population.
  
  
• Hispanic and non-Hispanics experienced one per 1,000 persons for purse snatching /pocket picking and rape/sexual assault.
  
  
• Hispanic robbery rates were 5 per 1,000 persons and non-Hispanic were 3 per 1,000.

To the top

Gender

Violent crime rates declined for both males and females since 1994.

Trends in violent victimization by gender, 1973 to 2006

• Males experienced higher victimization rates than females for all types of violent crime except rape/sexual assault.

According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, most murder victims were male, 79% in 2006.

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

Men were more likely than women to be the victim of a carjacking (2 men and 1 women per 10,000 persons).

To the top

Annual household income

Some differences were found between household income levels as to whether persons were more or less vulnerable to violent crimes in 2006.

In 2006 —

• Household income less than $7,500, robbery rate were 7 per 1,000 households and $75,000 or more were 2 per 1,000.
  
  
• Aggravated assault rates were 13 per 1,000 households for income less than $7,500 and 3 per 1,000 for income $75,000 or more.

To the top

Marital status

In 2006 divorced or separated persons experienced somewhat higher rates of overall violence than persons of other marital status categories.

• Persons who married or widowed were equally likely to experience rape or sexual assault.
  
  
• Robbery rates were 6 per 1,000 persons for never married and 1 per 1,000 for married.
  
  
• For persons never married, simple assault rates were 25, married 7, widowed 1, and divorced or separaed was 32 per 1,000 persons.

Property crime victims
    Property crime includes burglary, motor vehicle theft and property theft.

Age

When compared with other age groups, persons age 65 or older were disproportionately affected by property crimes.

Between 1993 and 2002—

• More than nine in ten crimes against the elderly and about four in ten crimes against persons age 12 to 24 were property crimes.

To the top

Race

In 2006 —

• Property crimes were experienced by 186 of 1,000 black households and 157 of 1,000 white households.
  
  
• Burglaries were experienced by 42 of 1,000 black households and 29 of 1,000 white households.
  
  
• For motor vehicle theft, the rates were 15 per 1,000 black households and 7 per 1,000 white households.
  
  
• The theft rate was 128 per 1,000 black households and 121 per 1,000 white households.

To the top

Ethnicity

In 2006 —

• Property crime rates for Hispanics were 212 per 1,000 households, and non-Hispanics were 155 per 1,000 households.
  
  
• Hispanic households had motor vehicle theft rates at 13 per 1,000 compared to 8 per 1,000 for non-Hispanics.

To the top

Annual household income

During 2006 —

• Burglary rates for household annual income less than $7,500 were 56 per 1,000 households and $75,00 or more were 22 per 1,000.
  
  
• For motor vehicle theft, income less than $7,500 were 11 per 1,000 households 6 per 1,000 for income $75,000 or more.

To the top

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.

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

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

Juvenile Victimization and Offending, 1993-2003 8/05. Presents findings about violent crime committed against or by juveniles from 1993 to 2003. NCJ 164265

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

Crimes against Persons Age 65 or Older, 1993-2002, 1/05. Presents data from the National Crime Victimization Survey and the Uniform Crime Reports comparing crimes against persons age 65 or older with those in younger age groups. NCJ 206154

Crimes against Persons Age 65 or Older, 1992-97, 1/00. NCJ 176352

American Indians and Crime: A BJS Statistical Profile, 1992-2002, 12/04. Reports the rates and characteristics of violent crimes experienced by American Indians and summarizes data on American Indians in the criminal justice system. NCJ 203097

American Indians and Crime, 2/99. NCJ 173386

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

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

Rape and Sexual Assault: Reporting to Police and Medical Attention, 1992-2000, 8/02. Presents information on the consequences of rape and sexual assault for female victims. The study provides the percentages of completed rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault of females that were reported to the police in 1992-2000. NCJ 194530

Hispanic Victims of Violent Crime, 1993-2000/Víctimas Hispanas de Crímenes Violentos, 1993-2000, 04/02. Examines violent crimes committed against Hispanic victims including rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault. Crime victimizations of Hispanics are compared with those of four non-Hispanic groups: whites, blacks, American Indians, and Asians. NCJ 191208

Age Patterns of Violent Victimization, 1976-2000, 02/02. Examines data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports on trends in violent crime by age in the United States. NCJ 190104

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

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

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

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

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

Trends in Juvenile Violence and the 1997 Update, 11/97 This report and its update were produced under a Bureau of Justice Statistics grant to Dr. James A. Fox, School of Criminal Justice Northeastern University. the original report is based on Dr. Fox's briefing of the Attorney General in 1995 and discusses demographic trends and their impact on crime. It concludes that the growth in juvenile population in the next decade will cause a dramatic increase in the level of juvenile violence. NCJ 170379 and 170377

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

Age Patterns of Victims of Serious Violent Crime, 9/97. Presents data from the redesigned NCVS that examines violent crime across the general population, ages 12 or older. NCJ 162031

Female Victims of Violent Crime, 12/96. Summarizes data collected from the National Crime Victimization Survey and the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports on the number of violent incidents involving female victims. NCJ 162602

Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims 3/96. This study presents findings on violence against children from two sources: a nationally representative sample of State prison inmates serving time for violent crimes against children in 1991 and law enforcement records of nearly 37,000 child murder victims between 1976 and 1994.
Executive Summary: NCJ 158625
Full report: NCJ 153258

Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey, 8/16/95. The first release of the 1992-93 estimates of violence against women after an extended effort to improve the victimization survey's ability to measure violence against women. NCJ 154348

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

Child Rape Victims, 1992, 6/94. Provides information on the ages of female rape victims in the 15 States that compile such detailed data. NCJ 147001

Elderly Crime Victims, 3/94. Summarizes levels and rates of violent and nonviolent crimes against persons 65 or older using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey. NCJ 147186

To the top

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

To the top

Related sites

From BJS

• For domestic violence, see Crime characteristics

Other relevant sites

• Juvenile Victims of Property Crimes, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• FBI's Uniform Crime Reports
• Office for Victims of Crime
• Violence Against Women Office
• "Changing America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being by Race and Hispanic Origin", a Council of Economic Advisors chartbook from the Government Printing Office
• Childstats.gov, the website of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
• Agingstats.gov, the website of the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging Related Statistics

Bureau of Justice Statistics
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
Send comments to askbjs@usdoj.gov

OJP Freedom of Information Act page
Legal Policies and Disclaimers
Page last revised on August 29, 2008