U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics A National Crime Victimization Survey Report This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all in the series go to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#cv Criminal Victimization 1997: Changes 1996-97 with Trends 1993-97 December 1998, NCJ 173385 Revised 1/13/99 from the 12/27/98 release. Consistent with printed version. th By Michael Rand BJS Statistician Americans age 12 or older experienced fewer violent and property crimes in 1997 than in any other year since the 1973 inception of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). In 1997 as measured by the survey, U.S. residents age 12 or older experienced almost 35 million criminal victimizations, down from about 44 million such crimes experienced in 1973. ***note****Estimates from before 1993 were adjusted following the 1992 NCVS redesign.*** The 1997 estimate was also a decrease from almost 37 million violent and property victimizations in 1996. Of the crimes in 1997, 8.6 million involved the violent crimes of rape, sexual assault, robbery, and assault; 25.8 million involved the property crimes of theft, household burglary, and motor vehicle theft; and 0.4 million involved personal thefts such as purse snatching. **************************************************************** ************************* Highlights ************************* *The NCVS property and violent crime rates are the lowest recorded since the survey's inception in 1973. ***note***After adjusting rates following the 1992 NCVS redesign.*** *The downward trend in violent victimization begun in 1994-95 continued in 1997. *In 1997, violent crime rates were 21% lower than they had been in 1993. Property crime rates were 22% below 1993 property crime rates. *The recent decreasing violent and property crime trends were experienced by most segments of the population. However, in 1997 the violent victimization rates for persons age 50 or older were no lower than they had been in 1993. *The violent and property crime rates each declined by 7% in 1996-97. *The murder rate declined 8% between 1996 and 1997. *In 1997 as in past years, males and younger people were more vulnerable to violent crime victimization than females and older persons, respectively. Blacks experienced higher violent crime rates than whites or persons of other races. *In 1997, as in previous years, males experienced higher victimization rates than females for all violent crimes except rape/sexual assault. *In 1997, 4 of 10 violent and property crimes were reported to police. Females and blacks were more likely to report a violent crime to police than were males and whites. *About half of all violent crimes in 1997 were committed by someone whom the victim knew. *************************end of box ***************************** In 1997 there were 39 violent victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older, down significantly from the 42 per 1,000 in 1996. The 1997 property crime rate of 248 per 1,000 households was lower than the 266 per 1,000 households experienced in 1996. These declines continued a general downward trend in criminal victimization that began in 1995. The trends reported in this Bulletin encompass 1993 through 1997. The initial year was the first in which the redesigned NCVS used a full sample of households. Compared to 1993 rates, the 1997 victimization rates for every type of violent and property crime measured by the NCVS showed a significant decrease. Between 1993 and 1997 the violent crime rate declined by 21%, and the property crime rate fell by 22%. ********************* Criminal victimization, 1996-97 ********************* Violent crime ********************* The NCVS collects data on nonfatal violent crimes against persons age 12 and older, both reported and not reported to police. The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) program of the FBI collects data on murder and non-negligent manslaughter. From 1996 to 1997, the murder rate declined by 8% and the violent crime rate fell by 7%. Of the violent crimes measured by the NCVS, only robbery showed a significant decline from 1996, while simple assault was down slightly (table 1 and figure 1). **************************************************************** Table 1. Criminal victimization, 1996-97 Victimization rates (per 1,000 Number of victimiza-persons age 12 or older or per tions (1,000's) 1,000 households) Percent change, Type of crime 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996-97 All crimes 36796 34788 ... ... Personal crimes 9443 8971 43.5 40.8 -6.2 * Crimes of violence 9125 8615 42.0 39.2 -6.7 * Completed violence 2700 2679 12.4 12.2 -1.6 Attempted/threatened violence 6425 5935 29.6 27.0 -8.8 * Rape/Sexual assault 307 311 1.4 1.4 0.0 Rape/attempted rape 197 194 0.9 0.9 0.0 Rape 98 115 0.4 0.5 25.0 Attempted rape 99 79 0.5 0.4 -20.0 Sexual assault 110 117 0.5 0.5 0.0 Robbery 1134 944 5.2 4.3 -17.3 * Completed/property taken 757 607 3.5 2.8 -20.0 * With injury 250 243 1.1 1.1 0.0 Without injury 508 363 2.3 1.7 -26.1 * Attempted to take property 377 337 1.7 1.5 -11.8 With injury 79 73 0.4 0.3 -25.0 Without injury 298 265 1.4 1.2 -14.3 Assault 7683 7359 35.4 33.5 -5.4 Aggravated 1910 1883 8.8 8.6 -2.3 With injury 513 595 2.4 2.7 12.5 Threatened with weapon 1397 1288 6.4 5.9 -7.8 Simple 5773 5476 26.6 24.9 -6.4 ** With minor injury 1240 1257 5.7 5.7 0.0 Without injury 4533 4218 20.9 19.2 -8.1 ** Personal theft 318 356 1.5 1.6 6.7 Property crimes 27353 25817 266.3 248.3 -6.8 * Household burglary 4845 4635 47.2 44.6 -5.5 Completed 4056 3893 39.5 37.4 -5.3 Forcible entry 1511 1497 14.7 14.4 -2.0 Unlawful entry without force 2545 2396 24.8 23.0 -7.3 Attempted forcible entry 789 742 7.7 7.1 -7.8 Motor vehicle theft 1387 1433 13.5 13.8 2.2 Completed 938 1007 9.1 9.7 6.6 Attempted 449 426 4.4 4.1 -6.8 Theft 21120 19749 205.7 189.9 -7.7 * Completed 20303 18960 197.7 182.3 -7.8 * Less than $50 7580 7218 73.8 69.4 -6.0 ** $50-$249 7374 6680 71.8 64.2 -10.6 * $250 or more 4216 3955 41.1 38.0 -7.5 ** Attempted 818 789 8.0 7.6 -5.0 Note: The number of victimization may differ from those reported previously because the estimates are now based on data collected in each calendar year rather than data about events within a calendar year. (See Survey methodology on page 9.) Completed violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery with or without injury, aggravated assault with injury, and simple assault with minor injury. In 1994 the total population age 12 or older was 213,135,890; in 1995, 215,080,690; in 1996, 217,234,280 and in 1997,219,839,110. The total number of households in 1994 was 100,568,060; in 1995, 101,504,820; 1996,102,697,490; and in 1997,103,988,670. ...Not calculable. *The difference is significant at the 95% confidence level. **The difference is significant at the 90% confidence level. a/The NCVS is based on interviews with victims and therefore cannot measure murder. b/Includes pocket picking, purse snatching, and attempted purse snatching not shown separately. c/Includes thefts with unknown losses. **********************end of table 1********************** For aggravated assault the apparent decline was not statistically significant. ********************* Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter ********************* In 1997 there were 6.8 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. This represents an 8% decline from the previous year. The decrease was apparent across all sizes of cities and regions. (See the box.) ********************* Violent crime measured by the NCVS ********************* While overall violent crime measured by the NCVS declined from 1996 to 1997, the only type of violent crime for which the decrease was statistically significant was robbery. There was also a marginally significant decline in the rate of simple assault victimizations due to a slight decrease in simple assault without injury. For completed rape, an apparent increase was not significant, nor were apparent declines in attempted rape and aggravated assault when threatened with a weapon. The apparent 1996-97 increase in personal theft, comprising pocket picking and purse snatching, was not statistically significant. Among demographic groups examined, only for males, non-Hispanics, and Midwesterners were the 1996-97 declines in violent crime statistically significant, while for whites, the decline was marginally significant. ************************************************ Number of violent crimes per 1,000 persons age 12 or older 1996 1997 Male 49.9 45.8* Female 34.6 33.0 White 40.9 38.3 Black 52.3 49.0** Hispanic 44.0 43.1 Non-Hispanic 41.6 38.3* Northeast 37.7 34.6 Midwest 43.7 36.4 South 37.5 38.1 West 51.5 48.4 Significant 1996-97 difference at *95% or **90% confidence level. ************************************************ For non-Hispanics and Midwest residents, the overall decreases in violent crime were the result of decreases in robbery and simple assault, while whites experienced a decrease in the rate of simple assault. No demographic group examined experienced a decline in aggravated assault. ******************** Property crime ******************** Household burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft make up the property crimes measured by the NCVS. In the aggregate, property crime declined 7% between 1996 and 1997. The 8% decline in thefts included at least slight decreases in thefts at all value levels measured: under $50, $50-$249, and $250 or more. Apparent changes from 1996 to 1997 in the rates of household burglary and motor vehicle theft were not statistically significant. The decrease in property crime from 1996 to 1997 was broadly based. Households in all types of localities and in all regions except the South experienced less property crime in 1997, when compared to the previous year. (See appendix table 1.) In 1997 while white and non-Hispanic households were less victimized, black and Hispanic households were victimized at about the same rate as in 1996. Urban households and those in the Northeast experienced less burglary in 1997 than in 1996. For non-Hispanic households the 1997 rate was slightly lower than in the previous year. For no other identified category of victims was the 1997 burglary rate lower than the 1996 rate. The decline in theft was experienced by most, but not all, demographic groups examined. While white and other-race households and non-Hispanic households were less vulnerable to theft in 1997 than in 1996, the decline for black households and Hispanic households was not great enough to be statistically significant. By region, only in the South did the theft rate not fall from 1996 to 1997. Households in urban, suburban, and rural areas all were less victimized by theft in 1997 than in the previous year. ******************** Characteristics of victims of violent crime, 1997 ******************** While victimization rates for persons in demographic groups fluctuate from year to year, the characteristics of crime victims and victimizations exhibit a large degree of stability over time. The demographic groups that were in 1997 the most vulnerable to specific violent crimes and to overall violent victimization were, in general, also the most vulnerable to victimization in previous years. **************** Sex of victim **************** As in past years, except for rape and sexual assault, males were more likely than females to be victims of violent crime (table 2). Men were twice as likely as women to experience robbery and were also more likely to be victims of aggravated and simple assault. Women sustained rape or sexual assault at a rate about 8 times that of men. ***************************************************************** Table 2. Rates of violent crime and personal theft, by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin, 1997 Victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older Violent crimes All Rape/ Assault Per- Characteristic crimes of Sexual Aggra- sonal of victim Population violence* assault Robbery Total vated Simple theft Sex Male 106,598,660 45.8 0.3 6.1 39.3 10.9 28.4 1.6 Female 113,240,440 33.0 2.5 2.6 28.0 6.4 21.6 1.7 Age 12-15 15,701,280 87.9 2.5 8.2 77.1 15.1 62.0 2.8 16-19 15,244,130 96.2 5.6 10.2 80.4 24.6 55.8 3.5 20-24 17,648,850 67.8 2.4 7.4 57.9 17.0 40.9 1.8 25-34 40,162,600 46.9 2.3 4.7 39.9 9.5 30.4 1.1 35-49 62,604,840 32.2 0.6 3.7 27.8 7.4 20.4 1.6 50-64 36,486,320 14.6 0.2 2.2 12.2 2.8 9.4 1.1 65 or older 31,991,100 4.4 0.2 0.9 3.4 0.6 2.8 1.2 Race White 184,617,470 38.3 1.4 3.8 33.1 8.2 24.9 1.4 Black 26,683,380 49.0 1.6 7.4 39.9 12.2 27.7 3.3 Other 8,538,250 28.0 1.1 5.0 21.9 6.1 15.8 0.8 Hispanic origin Hispanic 21,163,000 43.1 1.5 7.3 34.4 10.4 24.0 2.4 Non-Hispanic 196,323,060 38.3 1.4 3.9 33.0 8.3 24.7 1.5 *The National Crime Victimization Survey includes as violent crime rape/sexual assault, robbery, and assault but not murder and manslaughter. ************************end of table 2*********************** ***************** Race of victim ***************** Blacks were more likely than whites to be victims of violent crime, who in turn were more likely than those of other races (Asians or Native Americans). Blacks had higher rates than whites for robbery and aggravated assault. The apparent difference in simple assault rates was not statistically significant. Blacks were victims of robbery at a rate about double that of whites. ******************** Ethnicity of victim ******************** In 1997 Hispanics were about as likely to be victims of rape/sexual assault, aggravated assault, and simple assault as non-Hispanics. Only for robbery did Hispanics experience a higher rate than non-Hispanics. ********************* Age of victim ********************* The patterns of violent victimization across the age spectrum that existed in 1996 continued to be present in 1997. Persons between ages 12 and 15 and between 16 and 19 had higher violent crime victimization rates than did persons age 25 or older. Persons age 12-19 were about twice as likely as persons age 25-34 and about 3 times as likely as persons age 35-49 to be victims of violent crimes. Persons age 12-19 had a violent crime victimization rate about 20 times that of persons age 65 or older. Persons age 16-19 had a significantly higher rate of aggravated assault than did any other age group. ******************** Household income ******************** In general, violent crime rates are lowest for those in higher income brackets and highest for those in lower income brackets (table 3). Persons in households with an annual income of less than $7,500 experienced significantly more violent crime than persons in households at any other income level, while persons in households with incomes of $75,000 or more experienced significantly less than households with incomes below $50,000. **************************************************************** Table 3. Rates of violent crime and personal theft, by household income, marital status, region, and location of residence of victims, 1997 Victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older Violent crimes All Rape/ Assault Per- Characteristic crimes of Sexual Aggra- sonal of victim Population violence* assault Robbery Total vated Simple theft Household income Less than $7,500 13,085,420 71.0 5.2 10.1 55.6 13.6 42.0 2.7 $7,500 - $14,999 23,275,460 51.2 2.2 7.0 42.1 11.8 30.3 2.0 $15,000 - $24,999 30,729,010 40.1 1.5 4.6 34.0 10.4 23.6 1.7 $25,000 - $34,999 28,817,790 40.2 1.5 4.2 34.6 8.2 26.4 1.5 $35,000 - $49,999 34,712,640 38.7 0.6 2.9 35.2 8.6 26.6 1.4 $50,000 - $74,999 32,446,570 33.9 0.7 3.1 30.0 7.2 22.8 1.6 $75,000 or more 26,864,180 30.7 1.1 3.7 26.1 4.7 21.4 1.4 Marital status Never married 67,650,800 71.5 3.0 8.3 60.1 15.5 44.6 2.4 Married 113,762,150 19.0 0.3 1.7 17.0 4.2 12.8 1.0 Divorced/separated 23,451,480 62.8 2.8 7.3 52.7 13.9 38.8 2.5 Widowed 13,838,230 8.0 0.3 1.0 6.7 1.7 5.0 1.5 Region Northeast 41,935,440 34.6 1.2 4.1 29.3 5.5 23.8 2.4 Midwest 53,268,360 36.4 1.3 3.4 31.7 8.3 23.4 1.5 South 78,232,420 38.1 1.4 4.4 32.3 8.8 23.5 1.8 West 46,402,880 48.4 1.7 5.4 41.3 11.4 29.9 0.9 Residence Urban 64,609,030 51.2 2.0 7.4 41.8 12.4 29.4 2.8 Suburban 108,671,050 36.3 1.2 3.4 31.7 6.9 24.8 1.3 Rural 46,559,030 29.2 1.1 2.1 26.1 7.3 18.8 0.7 *The National Crime Victimization Survey includes as violent crime rape/sexual assault, robbery, and assault but not murder and manslaughter. *************************end of table 3************************* Persons in households in the middle range of income ($15,000- $49,999) had similar rates of victimization in comparison to one another but significantly different rates from the lowest and highest income groups. ********************* Marital status ********************* Never married persons and those who had separated or divorced had higher violent victimization rates than those who were married or had been widowed. For assault, persons who were never married were victimized at rates higher than people in any other marital status. Persons who had been widowed were the least vulnerable to assault. ********************* Region ********************* People residing in the West were more vulnerable to violent crime victimization than people residing in any other region in the country. People living in the Northeast, Midwest, and South had similar victimization rates in 1997. ********************* Urbanization ********************* Urban residents had overall violent victimization rates significantly higher than suburban residents, who in turn had rates higher than rural residents. However, there was no difference in the rate at which suburban and rural residents were victims of rape/sexual assault or aggravated assault. ********************* Victim-offender relationship ********************* About half of all violent crimes in 1997 were committed by someone whom the victim knew. Victims of completed violence were more likely than victims of attempted violence to report that the offender was not a stranger. Among the violent crimes measured by the NCVS, rape/sexual assault was the crime most likely to be committed by a nonstranger, and robbery was the least likely. Victims of simple assault were more likely than victims of aggravated assault to report that the offender was a nonstranger. ************************************************ Percent of violent crime victimizations, 1997 Stranger Nonstranger All victimizations 46.5% 49.8% Attempted 49.2 47.5 Completed 40.4 55.1 Rape/Sexual assault 30.4% 68.3% Robbery 66.1 25.7 Assault 44.6 52.2 Aggravated 52.6 42.1 Simple 41.8 55.7 Note: The National Crime Victimization Survey includes as violent crime rape, robbery, and assault but not murder and manslaughter. ************************************************ **************************************************************** ************************** Murder in the United States, 1997 ************************** **************************************************************** Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, by characteristics of victims and location, 1993-97 Percent of murders and nonnegligent manslaughters Characteristic of victim or location 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Race of victim 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% White 46.0 46.2 48.0 48.3 47.5 Black 50.7 50.8 48.4 48.2 48.4 Other 2.4 2.3 2.7 2.7 3.0 Not reported 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.9 1.2 Sex of victim 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Male 77.1 78.4 76.6 76.9 77.2 Female 22.7 21.5 23.2 22.9 22.7 Not reported 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 Age of victim 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Under 18 11.6 11.4 12.1 12.4 12.2 18 or older 87.0 86.8 86.2 86.3 86.6 Unknown 1.4 1.8 1.7 1.3 1.2 Type of weapon used 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Firearm 69.6 70.0 68.2 67.8 67.8 Knife 12.7 12.7 12.7 13.5 12.8 Blunt object 4.4 4.1 4.5 4.6 4.6 Personal weapon 5.0 5.3 5.9 5.9 6.3 Other 8.2 7.8 8.7 8.2 8.5 Murder rate per 100,000 residents Overall U. S. rate 9.5 9.0 8.2 7.4 6.8 Region Northeast 8.2 7.1 6.2 5.4 4.8 Midwest 7.6 7.5 6.9 6.4 6.1 South 11.3 10.7 9.8 9.0 8.4 West 9.9 9.4 9.0 7.7 6.8 Urban character Metropolitan cities* 10.6 10.0 9.1 8.1 7.4 Smaller cities* 5.3 4.8 4.7 4.5 4.2 Rural counties 5.4 5.0 5.0 4.7 4.6 Number of murders and nonnegligent manslaughter 24,530 23,330 21,610 19,650 18,210 *Metropolitan cities are those in Metropolitan Statistical Ar- eas (MSA's), and smaller cities are those outside an MSA. Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reports. Statistics on murder are compiled from over 16,000 city, county and State law enforcement agencies as part of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). For 1997 the UCR showed 18,210 murders -- a rate of 6.8 murders per 100,000 persons. The number of persons per 100,000 U.S. population in 1997 was 8% lower than in 1996 and 28% lower than in 1993. **************************end of table*************************** The FBI defines murder in its annual Crime in the United States as the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another. The incidence of murder varies across victim characteristics. While the number of homicides has decreased since 1993, the pattern of characteristics of homicide victims has remained relatively unchanged. *Three-fourths of the victims were male. *Whites and blacks each made up about 48% of murder victims. *1 in 8 murder victims were under age 18. *Firearms were used in about 7 in 10 murders. *The homicide rate was highest in the South and lowest in the Northeast. *The homicide rate was higher in metropolitan cities than in smaller cities and rural areas. For more information about U.S. murder trends: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/homtrnd.htm ***********************end of box****************************** ********************* Characteristics of victims of property crime, 1997 ********************* Race/ethnicity of head of household ********************* Black households were more likely than white or households of other races (Asian or Pacific Islanders and American Indians/Alaskan natives grouped together) to be victims of property crimes (table 4). Black households had higher rates of household burglary and theft than did white and other race households. Black and other race households experienced motor vehicle theft at rates about twice that of white households. Hispanic households were more likely than non-Hispanic household to be victims of each of the property crimes measured by the NCVS: burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft. ********************* Region, urbanization, and home ownership ********************* As with violent crime, households in the West were more vulnerable to property crime than households in other regions. The property crime rate was lowest in the Northeast. Overall, urban households had higher property crime rates than suburban households, which in turn had higher rates than rural households. This order also occurred for theft and motor vehicle theft. For burglary, urban households were the most vulnerable, but there was no significant difference between the suburban and rural rates. For each type of property crime, people living in rented homes or apartments had a significantly higher rate of victimization than those living in their own homes. ********************* Household income ********************* In general, households with higher incomes were more susceptible than those with lower incomes to theft and motor vehicle theft. Households with incomes $35,000 or above had the highest theft victimization rates. Conversely, the lower the income, the higher the likelihood of burglary, in general. Households with incomes below $7,500 had burglary rates significantly higher than households with higher annual incomes. There were no differences in the burglary rates of households in the income categories $35,000 and above. ********************* Reporting to the police ********************* About a third of the crimes measured by the NCVS were reported to law enforcement authorities, according to the victims. Motor vehicle thefts were reported to police at the highest rate -- 80%, and thefts were reported at the lowest rate -- 28%. Of violent crimes, 59% of aggravated assaults were reported, compared to 31% of rape or sexual assaults. Among victims of violent crime, females were more likely than males to report the crime to the police. Black victims of violence were somewhat more likely than whites to report to the police. There was no significant difference between Hispanic and non-Hispanic victims in the percentage reporting a violent crime to the police. ************************************************* Percent of crime reported to the police All victimizations 37.4% Violent crime 44.0% Rape/Sexual assault 30.5 Robbery 55.8 Assault 43.7 Simple 38.4 Aggravated 59.1 Household crime 35.1 Burglary 51.8 Motor vehicle theft 79.8 Theft 27.9 ************************************************* Percent of violent Victim victimizations characteristic reported to the police All 44.5% Male 42.3% Female 47.5 White 43.7% Black 48.7 Hispanic 48.4% Non-Hispanic 44.0 ************************************************ ******************** Victimization trends, 1993-97 ******************** The 1993-96 declining trends in violent and property crime continued in 1997 (table 5). While not all year-to-year changes for every category of crime were statistically significant, the overall rates for violent crime and every major type of crime measured--rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault, burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft--showed statistically significant declines between 1993 and 1997. *************************************************************** Table 5. Rates of criminal victimization and percent change, 1993-97 Victimization rates (per 1,000 persons age 12 or older or per 1,000 households) Percent change Type of crime 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1993-97 1994-97 1995-97 1996-97 Personal crimes 52.2 54.1 48.5 43.5 40.8 -21.8 * -24.6 * -15.9 * -6.2 * Crimes of violence 49.9 51.8 46.6 42.0 39.2 -21.4 * -24.3 * -15.9 * -6.7 * Completed violence 15.0 15.4 13.8 12.4 12.2 -18.7 * -20.8 * -11.6 * -1.6 Attempted/threatened violence 34.9 36.4 32.8 29.6 27.0 -22.6 * -25.8 * -17.7 * -8.8 * Rape/Sexual assault 2.5 2.1 1.7 1.4 1.4 -44.0 * -33.3 * -17.6 0.0 Rape/attempted rape 1.6 1.4 1.2 0.9 0.9 -43.8 * -35.7 * -25.0 ** 0.0 Rape 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.5 -50.0 * -28.6 -28.6 25.0 Attempted rape 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.4 -42.9 * -42.9 * -20.0 -20.0 Sexual assault 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 -37.5 ** -16.7 0.0 0.0 Robbery 6.0 6.3 5.4 5.2 4.3 -28.3 * -31.7 * -20.4 * -17.3 * Completed/property taken 3.8 4.0 3.5 3.5 2.8 -26.3 * -30.0 * -20.0 * -20.0 * With injury 1.3 1.4 1.0 1.1 1.1 -15.4 -21.4 10.0 0.0 Without injury 2.5 2.6 2.5 2.3 1.7 -32.0 * -34.6 * -32.0 * -26.1 * Attempted to take property 2.2 2.3 1.9 1.7 1.5 -31.8 * -34.8 * -21.1 ** -11.8 With injury 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3 -25.0 -50.0 * -25.0 -25.0 Without injury 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.4 1.2 -33.3 * -29.4 * -25.0 * -14.3 Assault 41.4 43.3 39.5 35.4 33.5 -19.1 * -22.6 * -15.2 * -5.4 Aggravated 12.0 11.9 9.5 8.8 8.6 -28.3 * -27.7 * -9.5 -2.3 With injury 3.4 3.3 2.5 2.4 2.7 -20.6 ** -18.2 ** 8.0 12.5 Threatened with weapon 8.6 8.6 7.1 6.4 5.9 -31.4 * -31.4 * -16.9 * -7.8 Simple 29.4 31.5 29.9 26.6 24.9 -15.3 * -21.0 * -16.7 * -6.4 ** With minor injury 6.1 6.8 6.6 5.7 5.7 -6.6 -16.2 * -13.6 ** 0.0 Without injury 23.3 24.7 23.3 20.9 19.2 -17.6 * -22.3 * -17.6 * -8.1 ** Personal theft 2.3 2.4 1.9 1.5 1.6 -30.4 * -33.3 * -15.8 6.7 Property crimes 318.9 310.2 290.5 266.3 248.3 -22.1 * -20.0 * -14.5 * -6.8 * Household burglary 58.2 56.3 49.3 47.2 44.6 -23.4 -20.8 * -9.5 * -5.5 Completed 47.2 46.1 41.7 39.5 37.4 -20.8 * -18.9 * -10.3 * -5.3 Forcible entry 18.1 16.9 15.5 14.7 14.4 -20.4 * -14.8 * -7.1 -2.0 Unlawful entry without force 29.1 29.2 26.2 24.7 23.0 -21.0 * -21.2 * -12.2 * -6.9 Attempted forcible entry 10.9 10.2 7.6 7.7 7.1 -34.9 * -30.4 * -6.6 -7.8 Motor vehicle theft 19.0 18.8 16.9 13.5 13.8 -27.4 * -26.6 * -18.3 * 2.2 Completed 12.4 12.5 11.5 9.1 9.7 -21.8 * -22.4 * -15.7 * 6.6 Attempted 6.6 6.3 5.5 4.4 4.1 -37.9 * -34.9 * -25.5 * -6.8 Theft 241.7 235.1 224.3 205.7 189.9 -21.4 * -19.2 * -15.3 * -7.7 * Completed 230.1 224.3 215.3 197.7 182.3 -20.8 * -18.7 * -15.3 * -7.8 * Less than $50 98.7 93.5 85.2 73.8 69.4 -29.7 * -25.8 * -18.5 * -6.0 ** $50-$249 76.1 77.0 76.0 71.8 64.2 -15.6 * -16.6 * -15.5 * -10.6 * $250 or more 41.6 41.8 42.1 41.1 38.0 -8.7 ** -9.1 * -9.7 * -7.5 ** Attempted 11.6 10.8 9.0 8.0 7.6 -34.5 * -29.6 * -15.6 * -5.0 Note: Victimization rates may differ from those reported previously because the estimates are now based on data collected in each calendar year rather than data about events within a calen- dar year. Completed violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery with or without injury, aggravated assault with injury, and simple assault with minor injury. See the note on table 1, for the population counts, 1993-97. *The difference is significant at the 95% confidence level. **The difference is significant at the 90% confidence level. a/The NCVS is based on interviews with victims and therefore cannot measure murder. b/Includes pocket picking, purse snatching, and attempted purse snatching not shown separately. c/Includes thefts with unknown losses. ****************************send of table 5******************** ******************** Murder/nonnegligent manslaughter ******************** The number and rate of murder in all regions of the United States have declined steadily since 1993. (See the box on page 6.) The characteristics of murder victims have remained relatively stable during that time. ******************** Violent crime ******************** The general pattern among violent crimes measured by the NCVS was a nonsignificant increase in both the number and rate of victimization between 1993 and 1994 and then a decline through 1997. While some year-to-year changes in victimization rates for violent crime in the aggregate and for some types of crime were not significant, every type of violent crime declined significantly over the whole period. ********************* Personal theft ********************* Personal theft includes pocket picking and attempted and completed purse snatching. The personal theft rate decreased significantly from 1993 to 1997. ********************* Property crime ********************* The numbers and rates of property crime, both in the aggregate and by type of crime declined throughout the 1993-97 period. However, as was the case with violent offenses, not every year-to-year decrease was significant. ********************* Characteristics of victims ********************* The general downward trend in criminal victimization can be seen across demographic characteristics such as victim sex, race, and income. Males and females, blacks and whites, and those at different income levels all experienced declines from 1993-97 for overall violent and property crime victimizations. (See appendix figure tables.) Between 1993 and 1997 urban households did experience greater declines in property crime rates than did suburban or rural households. ********************* Survey methodology ********************* Except for homicide data obtained from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program, this report presents data from the NCVS. The NCVS obtains information about crimes from an ongoing, nationally representative sample of households in the United States. NCVS data include both those incidents reported and those not reported to the police. In 1997 approximately 43,000 households and 80,000 people age 12 and older were inter- viewed. For the 1997 NCVS data presented here, the response rates were 95% of eligible households and 89% of eligible individuals. The data in this report are based upon interviews conducted during the calendar year being estimated. Because of the retrospective nature of the survey, the estimates include some incidents that actually occurred during the previous year. Analyses comparing the victimization information collected in a calendar year (denoted here as a collection year) to that obtained about victimizations experienced in the same calendar year (called a data year) show only a small difference between the two methods. For example, for 1995, the violent crime rate based on data year victimizations was 44.5 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older, compared to 46.6 based on the collection year method. The differences will be greater during periods of changing crime rates and less during periods of stable rates. ******************** Computation of standard errors ******************** The comparisons made in this report were tested to determine whether the observed differences were statistically significant. Comparisons mentioned in the report passed a hypothesis test at the .05 level of statistical significance (or the 95% confidence level). This means that the estimated difference between comparisons was greater than twice the standard error of that difference. For comparisons that were found to be statistically significant at the 90% confidence level, the terms "somewhat different" or "slight difference" are used. Caution should be used when comparing estimates not discussed in the text. Seemingly large differences may not be statistically significant at the 95% or even the 90% confidence level. Calculations were conducted with statistical programs developed specifically for the NCVS by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. These programs take into account the complex NCVS sample design when calculating generalized variance estimates. **************************************************************** Appendix figures and tables: This file does not present figure 1 and appendix figure 1 because both contain graphical expressions of estimates from a sample and both require visual formats. *************************************** Appendix table 1. Property victimization rates of selected household categories, 1996 and 1997 Number of property crimes per 1,000 households 1996 1997 Property crime rate White 259.9 242.3 * Black 310.0 292.0 Other 268.4 237.4 Hispanic 328.1 329.4 Non-Hispanic 261.2 240.8 * Urban 334.5 309.9 Suburban 250.5 235.4 * Rural 206.0 187.7 * Northeast 215.2 195.6 * Midwest 249.6 219.9 * South 259.9 253.8 West 345.6 322.2 * Burglary Hispanic 56.2 60.9 Non-Hispanic 46.4 43.2 ** Urban 64.2 56.5 * Suburban 37.8 38.9 Rural 43.7 40.1 Northeast 35.5 28.5 * Midwest 44.4 41.8 South 51.0 48.7 West 55.0 55.7 Theft White 203.5 188.1 * Black 218.5 205.3 Other 212.5 177.9 * Hispanic 247.3 238.9 Non-Hispanic 202.3 185.2 * Urban 250.0 233.3 * Suburban 199.8 183.6 * Rural 156.9 140.5 * Northeast 167.8 155.9 ** Midwest 195.1 169.4 * South 195.7 189.8 West 271.0 246.8 * *Significant at the 95% confidence level. **Significant at the 90% confidence level. *************************************** *************************************** Appendix table 2. Violent and property victimization rates, by annual household income, 1993-97 Number of victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older or 1,000 households Annual household income 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Violent victimizations Less than 7500 84.7 86.0 77.8 65.3 71.0 7500-14999 56.4 60.7 49.8 52.1 51.2 15000-24999 49.0 50.7 48.9 44.1 40.1 25000-34999 51.0 47.3 47.1 43.0 40.2 35000-49999 45.6 47.0 45.8 43.0 38.7 50000-74999 44.0 48.0 44.6 37.5 33.9 75000 or more 41.0 39.5 37.3 30.5 30.7 Property victimizations Less than 7500 305.9 299.6 304.3 282.7 258.8 7500-14999 285.9 299.1 267.1 247.5 236.3 15000-24999 307.0 308.1 289.8 273.1 242.4 25000-34999 336.7 305.2 294.8 285.1 260.3 35000-49999 342.7 326.9 301.5 287.6 271.7 50000-74999 374.4 364.1 333.2 284.0 270.9 75000 or more 400.3 356.0 350.4 304.6 292.8 *************************************** *************************************** Appendix figure 2 Rate of violent crime per 1,000 persons age 12 or older 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Male 59.8 61.1 55.7 49.9 45.8 Female 40.7 43.0 38.1 34.6 33.0 *************************************** *************************************** Appendix figure 3 Rate of violent crime per 1,000 persons age 12 or older 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 White 47.9 50.5 44.7 40.9 38.3 Black 67.4 61.3 61.1 52.3 49.0 Other 39.8 49.9 41.9 33.2 28.0 *************************************** *************************************** Appendix figure 4 Rate of property crime per 1,000 households 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 White 309.7 304.8 283.4 259.9 242.3 Black 376.6 347.8 328.8 310.0 292.0 Other 349.6 313.1 337.4 268.4 237.4 *************************************** *************************************** Appendix figure 5 Rate of property crime per 1,000 households 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Urban 404.8 384.7 358.3 334.5 309.9 Suburban 305.1 297.2 280.6 250.5 235.4 Rural 246.4 245.2 228.4 206.0 187.7 *************************************** **************************************************************** The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D., is director. This report continues the BJS Bulletin series of Criminal Victimization. BJS Bulletins present the first release of findings from permanent data collection programs such as the National Crime Victimization Survey. Michael Rand, BJS Statistician, wrote this report. Marianne Zawitz, BJS Statistician, and Michael Maltz, BJS Fellow, produced figure 1 and the appendix figure. Cathy Maston provided statistical review. Tom Hester produced and edited the report. Marilyn Marbrook, assisted by Jayne Robinson and Yvonne Boston, administered final production. December 1998, NCJ 173385 *****************************end of box************************* **************************************************************** Data presented in this report can be obtained from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the University of Michigan, 1-800-999-0960. The archive can also be accessed through the BJS Web site. When at the archive site, search for dataset ICPSR 6406. **************************************************************** th 12/23/98