The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has developed a collection of resources for all types of data users interested in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The NCVS is the nation’s primary source of information on criminal victimization.
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) Dashboard (N-DASH) Tool
The N-DASH provides direct and user-friendly access to NCVS data on personal and property victimization, beginning with 1993.
Access to NCVS Datasets
There are several ways to access NCVS data:
- NCVS Select Datasets are available through Application Programming Interface (API) and include a discrete set of commonly used variables for analysis. These datasets are concatenated (also referred to as longitudinal) and use a collection year basis from 1993 through the most recent year available.
- NCVS Public Use Files are available at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) and include a broader set of variables for analysis. These datasets are available in annual and concatenated (also referred to as longitudinal) formats.
- NCVS Restricted Use Files are available through the Census Bureau’s Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (RDC). Before researchers can access NCVS microdata, a research proposal must be submitted and approved by BJS and the Census Bureau. For more information on the proposal process, visit here.
Video resources for working with NCVS data
Technical Documentation and User Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Questionnaires used in the NCVS are found here.
Check out the NCVS Subnational Program webpage for an overview of the different types of resources available. Depending on your research question, you can access either public use or restricted use datafiles for your analysis.
Yes! Check out the NCVS Supplements webpage for an overview of the NCVS supplements. Public use files are available at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) for data users to download.
Generally, most research questions can be addressed with the public use datafiles. Some research questions involving subnational analyses may require using the restricted use datafiles.
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