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American Indians and Crime: A BJS Statistical Profile, 1992-2002

NCJ Number
203097
Date Published
December 2004
Publication Series
Annotation

Reports the rates and characteristics of violent crimes experienced by American Indians and summarizes data on American Indians in the criminal justice system.

Abstract

Summarizes data on American Indians in the criminal justice system and reports the rates and characteristics of violent crimes experienced by American Indians. This report updates a previous BJS report, American Indians and Crime, published in 1999. The findings include the involvement of alcohol, drugs, and weapons in violence against Indians. The report describes victim-offender relationships, the race of those involved in violence against Indians, and the rate of reporting to police by victims. It discusses the rates of arrest, suspect investigations and charges filed, and incarceration of Indians for violent crimes.

Highlights
  • From 1976 to 2001 an estimated 3,738 American Indians were murdered.
  • Among American Indians age 25 to 34, the rate of violent crime victimizations was more than 2½ times the rate for all persons the same age.
  • Rates of violent victimization for both males and females were higher for American Indians than for all races.

Date Published: December 1, 2004