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Violent crime includes murder, rape and sexual assault, robbery, and assault. Information about murder is obtained on a yearly basis from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports. There are two measures for non-fatal violence—the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). NCVS measures rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault.
The Nation's Two Crime Measures
- BJS's National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)- reported and unreported crime from the victim's perspective.
- FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) - crimes reported by law enforcement
Like many other indicators used to assess conditions in the United States, these two indicators of crime complement each other to produce a more comprehensive portrait of the nation's crime problem.
Some of the differences between UCR and NCVS are –
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UCR |
NCVS |
Geographic coverage |
National & State estimates, local agency reports |
National estimates |
Collection method |
Reports by law enforcement to the FBI on a monthly basis |
Survey of as many as 77,200 households and 134,000 individuals age 12 or older. |
Measures |
Index crimes* reported by law enforcement |
Reported and unreported crime; details about the crimes, victims, and offenders |
*seven serious crimes
For more information about the purposes and advantages of the UCR and the NCVS, see The Nation's Two Crime Measures.
Publications & Products | |
Prevalence of Violent Crime among Households with Children, 1993-2010
Presents data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) on nonfatal violent crime involving members of a household as victims and reports on the annual prevalence of that violent crime among U.S. households with children from 1993 to 2010. |
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Press Release | PDF (1.93) | ASCII file (35K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 43K)
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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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Use of Victim Service Agencies by Victims of Serious Violent Crime, 1993-2009
Presents data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) on trends in the percentage of serious violent crime victims who received help or advice from a victim service agency from 1993 to 2009. |
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Press Release | PDF (1.6M) | ASCII file (19K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 20K)
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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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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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Black Victims of Violent Crime
Presents findings about violent crime experienced by non-Hispanic blacks. |
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Press Release | PDF (216K) | ASCII file (22K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 21K) | To order paper version
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Rape and Sexual Assault: Reporting to Police and Medical Attention, 1992-2000
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. |
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PDF (182K) | ASCII file (10K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 12K) | Codebooks and Datasets
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Terms & Definitions | |
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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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. |
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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.
Completed/property taken - The successful taking of property from a
person by force or threat of force, with or without a weapon, and with or without
injury.
Completed with injury - The successful taking of property from a person,
accompanied by an attack, either with or without a weapon, resulting in injury.
Completed without injury - The successful taking of property from a person by
force or the threat of force, either with or without a weapon, but not resulting in
injury.
Attempted to take property - The attempt to take property from a person by force
or threat of force without success, with or without a weapon, and with or without
injury.
Attempted without injury - The attempt to take property from a person by force
or the threat of force without success, either with or without a weapon, but not
resulting in injury.
Attempted with injury - The attempt to take property from a person without
success, accompanied by an attack, either with or without a weapon, resulting in injury.
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Sexual assault |
A wide range of victimizations, separate from rape or attempted rape. These crimes
include attacks or attempted attacks generally involving unwanted sexual contact
between victim and offender. Sexual assaults may or may not involve force and include
such things as grabbing or fondling. Sexual assault also includes verbal threats. |
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Simple assault |
Attack without a weapon resulting either in no injury, minor injury (for example,
bruises, black eyes, cuts, scratches or swelling) or in undetermined injury requiring
less than 2 days of hospitalization. Also includes attempted assault without a weapon.
With minor injury - An attack without a weapon resulting in such
injuries as bruises, black eyes, cuts or in undetermined injury requiring less than 2
days of hospitalization.
Without injury - An attempted assault without a weapon not resulting in injury.
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