BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics

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Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
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Home | Victims | Victim characteristics | Race/ethnicity
Race/ethnicity
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The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects information on victimization characteristics, including race and ethnicity. Since 2003, two questions on the NCVS obtain information on the respondent's race and Hispanic origin: (1) whether the respondent is of Hispanic origin, and (2) which race or races they identify with. Respondents may choose white; black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander; or other race. Respondents who select other race are asked to specify their race. More than one race may be selected.

Prior to 2003, respondents to the NCVS were asked to identify the racial group they identified with, including white; black; American Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo; Asian or Pacific Islander; or other race. Respondents who selected other race were not able to specify a race for the NCVS. They were also not able to select more than one racial group. After respondents were asked the question on race, they were asked if they were of their Hispanic origin or ethnicity. Caution is warranted when examining race over time because the racial categories were changed in the 2003 NCVS.

Most reports present findings on race and ethnicity separately. Other reports show results for combined racial or ethnic categories (i.e., white, non-Hispanic; black or African American, non-Hispanic; Hispanic or Latino).

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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

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

Race and Hispanic Origin of Victims and Offenders, 2012-15 Presents estimates of violent victimization (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) by the race and Hispanic origin of victims and offenders during the 4-year period from 2012 through 2015.
  Press Release | Summary (PDF 190K) | Full report (PDF 557K) | ASCII file (39K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 25K)

Criminal Victimization, 2015 Presents national rates and levels of criminal victimization in 2015 and annual change from 2014.
  Press Release | Summary (PDF 203K) | Full report (PDF 818K) | ASCII file (47K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 13K)
Part of the Criminal Victimization Series

Criminal Victimization, 2014 Presents 2014 estimates of rates and levels of criminal victimization in the United States.
  Press Release | Full report (PDF 745KB) | ASCII file (42KB) | Comma Separated Values (CSV) (Zip format)
Part of the Criminal Victimization Series

HISPANICS IN NEW HISPANIC AREAS EXPERIENCED HIGHER RATES OF VIOLENT VICTIMIZATION THAN IN OTHER AREAS HISPANICS IN NEW HISPANIC AREAS EXPERIENCED HIGHER RATES OF VIOLENT VICTIMIZATION THAN IN OTHER AREAS
  Press Release (8K)

Violent Victimization in New and Established Hispanic Areas, 2007-2010 Examines violent victimization rates by victim's race and ethnicity within four Hispanic areas from 2007 to 2010.
  Press Release (8K) | Full report (PDF 6M) | ASCII file (35K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 28K)

Criminal Victimization, 2012 Presents 2012 estimates of rates and levels of criminal victimization in the U.S. This bulletin includes violent victimization (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) and property victimization (burglary, motor vehicle theft, and property theft).
  Press Release | Full report (PDF 836K) | ASCII file (38K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 48K)
Part of the Criminal Victimization Series

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Terms & Definitions

Ethnicity A classification based on Hispanic culture and origin, regardless of race. Persons are asked directly if they are Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino before being asked about their racial category.
 
Hispanic A person who describes himself or herself as Mexican American, Chicano, Mexican, Mexicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, South American, or from some other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
 
Non-Hispanic Persons who report their culture or origin as something other than "Hispanic" as defined above. This distinction is made regardless of race.
 
Race For the National Crime Victimization Survey, respondents self identify with one or more racial categories. Racial categories defined by the Office of Management and Budget are American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; black or African American; Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander; and white. The race of the head of household is used in determining the race of the household for computing household crime demographics.
 
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