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The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) asks a series of screening questions of all household members to determine if they had any crime incidents. The household respondent, an adult household member with knowledge about the household, is asked about both personal and property crimes. Other household members are asked about personal crimes. If a respondent indicates that an incident(s) occurred, an incident form(s) is administered to obtained detailed information about the characteristics of each incident. Neither victims nor interviewers classify crimes. Classification is based on the information provided on the incident form. If an event can be classified as more than one type of crime, a hierarchy is used that classifies the crime according to the most serious event that occurred. The hierarchy from highest to lowest is: rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft or theft. All data from the incident form is retained on public use data tapes. It is possible to analyze incidents that include more than one crime such as a violent crime which included a burglary.
The two measures of crime
The U.S. Department of Justice administers two statistical programs to measure the magnitude, nature, and impact of crime in the nation: the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Each of these programs produces valuable information about aspects of the nation's crime problem. Because the UCR and NCVS programs are conducted for different purposes, use different methods, and focus on somewhat different aspects of crime, the information they produce together provides a more comprehensive panorama of the nation's crime problem than either could produce alone. See Nation's Two Crime Measures.
Violent crime -
- Homicide
- Rape - Forced sexual intercourse including both psychological coercion as well as physical force. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, anal, or oral penetration by the offender(s). This category also includes incidents where the penetration is from a foreign object such as a bottle. Includes attempted rapes, male as well as female victims, and both heterosexual and homosexual rape. Attempted rape includes verbal threats of rape.
- Robbery - Completed or attempted theft, directly from a person, of property or cash, by force or threat of force, with or without a weapon, and with or without injury.
- Assault
- Aggravated assault: Attack or attempted attack with a weapon, regardless of whether or not an injury occurred and attack without a weapon when serious injury resulted.
- Simple assault - Attack without a weapon resulting either in no injury, minor injury (for example, bruises, black eyes, cuts, scratches or swelling) or an undetermined injury requiring less than 2 days of hospitalization. Also includes attempted assault without a weapon.
- Purse snatching and pocket picking - Theft or attempted theft of property or cash directly from the victim by stealth, without force or threat of force.
Property crime -
- Burglary - Unlawful or forcible entry or attempted entry of a residence. This crime usually, but not always, involves theft. The illegal entry may be by force, such as breaking a window or slashing a screen, or may be without force by entering through an unlocked door or an open window. As long as the person entering has no legal right to be present in the structure a burglary has occurred. Furthermore, the structure need not be the house itself for a burglary to take place; illegal entry of a garage, shed, or any other structure on the premises constitutes household burglary. If breaking and entering occurs in a hotel or vacation residence, it is classified as a burglary for the household whose member or members were staying there at the time the entry occurred.
- Theft - Completed or attempted theft of property or cash without personal contact. Incidents involving theft of property from within the sample household would classify as theft if the offender has a legal right to be in the house (such as a maid, delivery person, or guest). If the offender has no legal right to be in the house, the incident would be classified as a burglary.
- Motor vehicle theft - Stealing or unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, including attempted thefts.
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Publications & Products | ![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120913075530im_/http://www.bjs.gov/images/tab_bl_rt.gif) |
Violent Crime against the Elderly Reported by Law Enforcement in Michigan, 2005-2009
Presents statistics about violent victimization of persons age 65 or older reported by law enforcement agencies into the FBI's National Incident Based Reporting System from 2005 to 2009. |
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Press Release | PDF (1.3M) | ASCII file (38K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 46K)
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Methods for Counting High-Frequency Repeat Victimizations in the National Crime Victimization Survey
Examines the nature and extent of series victimization in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). |
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PDF (2.39M) | ASCII file (101K) | Spreadsheets (Zip format 40K)
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Criminal Victimization, 2010
Presents 2010 estimates of rates and levels of criminal victimization in the U.S., including violent victimization (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault), property victimization (burglary, motor vehicle theft, and property theft), and personal theft (pocket picking and purse snatching). |
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Press Release | PDF (1.9M) | ASCII file (32K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 26K)
Part of the Criminal Victimization Series
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Hate Crime, 2003-2009
Presents annual counts and rates of hate crime victimizations that occurred between 2003 and 2009, using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). |
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Press Release | PDF (796K) | ASCII file (35K) | Spreadsheets (Zip format 55K)
Part of the Hate Crime Series
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Crime Against People with Disabilities, 2008
Presents findings about nonfatal violent and property crime experienced in 2008 by persons with disabilities, based on the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). |
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Press Release | PDF (292K) | ASCII file (26K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 25K)
Part of the Crime Against People with Disabilities Series
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Criminal Victimization, 2009
Presents the annual estimates of rates and levels of violent crime (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault), property crime (burglary, motor vehicle theft, and property theft), and personal theft (pocket picking and purse snatching). |
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Press Release | PDF (420K) | ASCII file (24K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 23K)
Part of the Criminal Victimization Series
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Victimization During Household Burglary
Presents findings from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) on the characteristics of burglary, with comparisons between households where members were present and not present. |
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Press Release | Acrobat file (PDF 352K) | ASCII file (31K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 25K)
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Identity Theft Reported by Households, 2007 - Statistical Tables
Presents data on identity theft victimization reported by households from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). |
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PDF (210K) | ASCII file (8K) | Spreadsheets (Zip format 10K)
Part of the Identity Theft Series
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Crime Against People with Disabilities, 2007
Presents the first findings about nonfatal violent and property crime experienced by persons with disabilities, based on the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). |
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Press Release | PDF (474) | ASCII file (39K) | Spreadsheet (13K)
Part of the Crime Against People with Disabilities Series
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Criminal Victimization, 2008
Presents the annual estimates of rates and levels of personal and property victimization and describes the year-to-year change from 2007 as well as trends for the ten-year period from 1999 through 2008. |
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Press Release | PDF (444K) | ASCII file (24K) | Spreadsheet (13K)
Part of the Criminal Victimization Series
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Terms & Definitions | ![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120913075530im_/http://www.bjs.gov/images/tab_bl_rt.gif) |
Aggravated assault |
An attack or attempted attack with a weapon, regardless of whether an injury occurred,
and an attack without a weapon when serious injury results.
With injury - An attack without a weapon when serious injury
results or an attack with a weapon involving any injury. Serious injury includes
broken bones, lost teeth, internal injuries, loss of consciousness, and any
unspecified injury requiring two or more days of hospitalization.
Threatened with a weapon - Threat or attempted attack by an offender armed with
a gun, knife, or other object used as a weapon that does not result in victim
injury. |
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Assault |
An unlawful physical attack or threat of attack. Assaults may be classified as
aggravated or simple. Rape, attempted rape, and sexual assaults are excluded from this
category, as well as robbery and attempted robbery. The severity of assaults ranges
from minor threats to nearly fatal incidents. |
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Burglary |
Unlawful or forcible entry or attempted entry of a residence. This crime usually, but
not always, involves theft. The illegal entry may be by force, such as breaking a
window or slashing a screen, or may be without force by entering through an unlocked
door or an open window. As long as the person entering has no legal right to be
present in the structure a burglary has occurred. Furthermore, the structure need not
be the house itself for a burglary to take place; illegal entry of a garage, shed, or
any other structure on the premises also constitutes household burglary. If breaking
and entering occurs in a hotel or vacation residence, it is still classified as a
burglary for the household whose member or members were staying there at the time the
entry occurred.
Attempted forcible entry-A form of burglary in which force is used
in an attempt to gain entry.
Completed burglary - A form of burglary in which a person who has no legal
right
to be present in the structure successfully gains entry to a residence, by use of
force, or without force.
Forcible entry - A form of completed burglary in which force is used to gain
entry to a residence. Some examples include breaking a window or slashing a screen.
Unlawful entry without force -A form of completed burglary committed by someone
having no legal right to be on the
premises, even though no force is used.
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Larceny |
The unlawful taking of property other than a motor vehicle from the possession of
another, by stealth, without force or deceit. Includes pocketpicking, nonforcible
purse
snatching, shoplifting, and thefts from motor vehicles. Excludes receiving and/or
reselling stolen property (fencing), and thefts through fraud or deceit. |
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Motor vehicle theft |
Stealing or unauthorized taking of a motor vehicle, including attempted thefts.
Completed motor vehicle theft - The successful taking of a vehicle
by an unauthorized person.
Attempted motor vehicle theft - The unsuccessful attempt by an unauthorized
person to take a vehicle.
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