Glossary

Outcomes of investigations

Substantiated allegation means the event was investigated and determined to have occurred, based on a preponderance of the evidence (28 C.F.R. §115.72).

Unfounded allegation means the investigation determined that the event did not occur.

Unsubstantiated allegation means the investigation concluded that evidence was insufficient to determine whether or not the event occurred.

Parole

Parole refers to criminal offenders who are conditionally released from prison to serve the remaining portion of their sentence in the community. Prisoners may be released to parole by a parole board decision (discretionary release/discretionary parole), according to provisions of a statute (mandatory release/mandatory parole), through other types of post-custody conditional supervision, or as the result of a sentence to a term of supervised release. In the federal system, a term of supervised release is a sentence to a fixed period of supervision in the community that follows a sentence to a period of incarceration in federal prison, both of which are ordered at the time of sentencing by a federal judge. Parolees can have a number of different supervision statuses, including active supervision, which means they are required to regularly report to a parole authority in person, by mail, or by telephone. Some parolees may be on an inactive status, which means they are excluded from regularly reporting, and that could be due to a number of reasons. For instance, some may receive a reduction in supervision, possibly due to compliance or meeting all required conditions before the parole sentence terminates, and therefore may be moved from an active to inactive status. Other supervision statuses include parolees who have only financial conditions remaining, have absconded, or have active warrants. Parolees are also typically required to fulfill certain conditions and adhere to specific rules of conduct while in the community. Failure to comply with any of the conditions can result in a return to incarceration.

Parole Hearing/Eligibility Date

The date the offender is eligible for review by an administrative agency such as a parole board, to determine whether he or she will be released from prison.

Parole violators

All conditional release violators returned to prison for either violating conditions of release or for new crimes.

Payroll

Gross 1-month payroll before deductions. This includes salaries, wages, fees, and commissions paid to employees.

Percent of capacity occupied at midyear

The jail population at midyear, divided by the rated capacity.

Personal crimes

Rape, sexual assault, personal robbery, assault, purse snatching, and pocket picking. This category includes both attempted and completed crimes.

Personal theft/larceny

Includes purse-snatching or pocket-picking. Theft or attempted theft of property or cash directly from the victim by stealth, without force or threat of force.

Personal victimization

An offense category consisting of rape/sexual assault, personal robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault, and personal theft/larceny (includes purse-snatching or pocket-picking). Includes both attempted and completed crimes.

Persons under jail supervision but not confined

All persons in community-based programs operated by jail facilities, including electronic monitoring, house arrest, community service, day reporting, and work programs. This group excludes persons on pre-trial release who are not in community‐based programs run by jails; persons under supervision of probation, parole, or other agencies; inmates on weekend programs; and inmates who participate in work‐release programs and return to jail at night.

Place of occurrence of crime

The location at which a crime occurred, as specified by the victim. Survey measures of crimes occurring in commercial establishments, in restaurants, in nightclubs, on public transportation, and at other similar places include only those crimes involving NCVS measured crimes against persons, not the establishments. Crimes against commercial establishments and other places are not measured by the survey.

Police protection

The function of enforcing the law, preserving order, and apprehending those who violate the law, whether these activities are performed by a city police department, sheriff's department, state police, or federal law enforcement agency, such as the FBI or the Drug Enforcement Administration. Private security police are outside the scope of the survey.

Population size

The size range for the place in which the housing unit is located. "Not a place" is a concentration of population that is either not legally bounded as an incorporated place having an active government or not delineated for statistical purposes as a census designated place with definite geographic boundaries, such as a city, town, or village. Population size is not available for years 1993, 1994, and 1995.

The data visualization tool uses this coding for population size:

Not a place
Under 100,000
100,000 to 249,999
250,000 to 499,999
500,000 to 999,999
1 million or more

Positive identification

Identification of an individual using biometric characteristics that are unique and not subject to alteration. In present usage, the term refers to identification by fingerprints but may also include identification by retinal images, voiceprints, or other techniques. Positive identification is to be distinguished from identification using name, sex, date of birth, or other personal identifiers as shown on a document subject to alteration or counterfeit such as a birth certificate, Social Security card, or driver's license. Because individuals can have identical or similar names, ages, etc., identifications based on such characteristics are not reliable.

Prevalence rate

Number of persons or households per 1,000 who experienced at least one victimization during the year.

Prison

Compared to jail facilities, prisons are longer-term facilities owned by a state or by the federal government. Prisons typically hold felons and persons with sentences of more than a year; however, the sentence length may vary by state. Six states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Delaware, Alaska, and Hawaii) have an integrated correctional system that combines jails and prisons. There are a small number of private prisons, which are facilities run by private prison corporations whose services and beds are contracted out by state or federal governments.

Prisoner

An individual confined in a correctional facility under the legal authority (jurisdiction) of state and federal correctional officials.

Prisoners

Prisoners are inmates confined in long-term facilities run by the state or federal government or private agencies. They are typically felons who have received a sentence of incarceration of 1 year or more. (Sentence length may vary by state because a few states have one integrated prison system in which both prison and jail inmates are confined in the same types of facilities.)

Private prisons

Prison facilities run by private prison corporations whose services and beds are contracted out by state governments or the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Probation

Probation refers to adult offenders whom courts place on supervision in the community through a probation agency, generally in lieu of incarceration. However, some jurisdictions do sentence probationers to a combined short-term incarceration sentence immediately followed by probation, which is referred to as a split sentence. Probationers can have a number of different supervision statuses, including active supervision, which means they are required to regularly report to a probation authority in person, by mail, or by telephone. Some probationers may be on an inactive status, which means they are excluded from regularly reporting, and that could be due to a number of reasons. For instance, some probationers may be placed on inactive status immediately because the severity of the offense was minimal or some may receive a reduction in supervision and therefore may be moved from an active to inactive status. Other supervision statuses include probationers who have only financial conditions remaining, have absconded, or have active warrants. In many instances, while on probation, offenders are required to fulfill certain conditions of their supervision (e.g., payment of fines, fees or court costs, and participation in treatment programs) and adhere to specific rules of conduct while in the community. Failure to comply with any conditions can result in incarceration.

Process of arrest

Any actions by law enforcement officers in an attempt to apprehend a criminal suspect. For the purposes of the Arrest-Related Deaths (ARD) program, a death occurring during the "process of arrest" can happen any time after a law enforcement officer invokes his or her authority to detain a criminal suspect and before custody of the suspect is transferred to a correctional authority.

Projected Release Date

The projected date on which the offender will be released from prison.

Property crime

Burglary/trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and theft. This category includes both attempted and completed crimes.

Property offenses

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.

Larceny/theft—Includes grand theft, grand larceny, and any other felony theft, including burglary from an automobile, theft of rental property, and mail theft. It does not include motor vehicle theft, receiving or buying stolen property, fraud, forgery, or deceit.

Motor vehicle theft—Includes auto theft, conversion of an automobile, receiving and transferring an automobile, unauthorized use of a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, and larceny or taking of an automobile.

Forgery—Includes forging of a driver's license, official seals, notes, money orders, credit or access cards or names of such cards or any other documents with fraudulent intent, uttering a forged instrument, counterfeiting, and forgery.

Fraud—Includes possession and passing of worthless checks or money orders, possession of false documents or identification, embezzlement, obtaining money by false pretenses, credit card fraud, welfare fraud, Medicare fraud, insurance claim fraud, fraud, swindling, stealing a thing of value by deceit, and larceny by check.

Other property offenses—Includes receiving or buying stolen property, arson, reckless burning, damage to property, criminal mischief, vandalism, criminal trespassing, possession of burglary tools, and unlawful entry for which the interest is unknown.

Property victimization

Includes burglary, trespassing, motor vehicle theft, or other theft. Includes both attempted and completed crimes. Property victimizations measure crimes against households. Each time a household is affected by a property crime, it is counted as a single victimization.