BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics

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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

Similar to 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—

  UCR NCVS
Geographic coverage National and state estimates, local agency reports National estimates
Collection method Reports by law enforcement to the FBI on a monthly basis Survey data obtained from a nationally representative sample of about 240,000 interviews, which involves 160,000 unique persons in about 95,000 households.
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.

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Data Collections & Surveys

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Publications & Products


Violent Victimization by Race or Ethnicity, 2005-2019 This report provides official estimates of criminal victimizations from BJS's National Crime Victimization Survey. It provides the rate and number of violent victimizations from 2005 to 2019 by victim race or ethnicity.
  Full report (PDF 310K) | Data tables (Zip format 5K)

Criminal Victimization, 2019 This report is the 47th in a series that began in 1973. It provides official estimates of criminal victimizations reported and not reported to police from BJS's National Crime Victimization Survey.
  Press Release (30K) | Summary (PDF 197K) | Full report (PDF 1.4K) | Data tables (Zip format 78K)
Part of the Criminal Victimization Series

Selected Findings from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program This report presents statistics on crimes known to law enforcement that were voluntarily reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
  Full report (PDF 523K) | Data tables (Zip format 12K)

Criminal Victimization, 2018 This report is the 46th in a series that began in 1973. It provides official estimates of criminal victimizations reported and not reported to police from BJS's National Crime Victimization Survey.
  Press Release (199K) | Summary (PDF 480K) | Full report (PDF 730K) | Data tables (Zip format 49K) | Supplemental Tables (PDF 100K)
Part of the Criminal Victimization Series

Criminal Victimization, 2017 Provides 2017 National Crime Victimization Survey data on violent and property crime victimizations reported and not reported to police and the annual change in criminal victimization from 2016.
  Press Release (198K) | Summary (PDF 193K) | Full report (PDF 620K) | Data tables (Zip format 39K)
Part of the Criminal Victimization Series

Criminal Victimization, 2016: Revised Provides revised official estimates, which replace previously released 2016 estimates that did not permit year-to-year-comparisons.
  Press Release (297K) | Summary (PDF 208K) | Full Report (PDF 478K) | Data Tables (Zip format 28K)
Part of the Criminal Victimization Series

State and Local White Collar Crime Program: State Regulatory Agency Statutes for Selected Offenses (Volume I and II) Examines how all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories handled regulatory functions in four offense categories: banking and finance, environmental, worker safety, and Medicaid fraud.
  Volume I (PDF 1M) | Volume II (PDF 1.41M)

Crime Against Persons with Disabilities, 2009-2015 - Statistical Tables Presents estimates of nonfatal violent crime (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) against persons age 12 or older with disabilities.
  Summary (PDF 197K) | Full report (PDF 1M) | ASCII file (27K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 46K)
Part of the Crime Against People with Disabilities Series

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2016 This annual report, a joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, presents data on crime and safety at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, and principals.
  Full report (PDF 14M)
Part of the Indicators of School Crime and Safety Series

Crime Against Persons with Disabilities, 2009-2014 - Statistical Tables Presents estimates of nonfatal violent crime (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) against persons age 12 or older with disabilities.
  Summary (PDF 138K) | Full report (PDF 662K) | ASCII file (46K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 25K)
Part of the Crime Against People with Disabilities Series

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Terms & Definitions

Age category The appropriate age category is determined by the respondent's age on the last day of the month preceding the interview.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Burglary/trespassing Includes unlawful or forcible entry or attempted entry of places, including a permanent residence, other residence (e.g., a hotel room or vacation residence), or other structure (e.g., a garage or shed). Includes victimizations where the offender stole, attempted to steal, or did not attempt to steal. Does not include trespassing on land.
Burglary - Includes only crimes where the offender committed or attempted a theft.

Trespassing - Includes crimes where the offender did not commit or attempt a theft. Does not include trespassing on land.

 
Collection year The set of victimizations reported to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) in interviews conducted during the same calendar year. This set may include victimizations that occurred in the previous calendar year, due to the retrospective nature of the NCVS interview. Collection year data are used in tables beginning in 1996. See "Data year."
 
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Related Links

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