The NCS program was designed to achieve four primary objectives: develop detailed information about victims and consequences of crime, estimate the numbers and types of crime not reported to the police, provide uniform measures of selected crime types, and permit comparisons over time and by area. The survey questionnaire covers rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, and auto or motor vehicle theft. Detailed information about each victimization incident is recorded as well as data on offender characteristics reported by victims. The data are collected by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Interviewers use the survey questionnaire with a sample of addresses in the United States to obtain information from persons aged 12 and older. Each respondent is asked a series of screening questions to determine if he or she was victimized during the preceding 6-month period. The questionnaire is designed to obtain detailed data on both characteristics and circumstances of victimization. The sampling design, data collection procedures, data file structure, and data analysis techniques are detailed. A list of variables incorporated in the survey questionnaire is provided.
National Crime Surveys: National Sample, 1979-1987 (Revised Questionnaire), Third ICPSR Edition
NCJ Number
130249
Date Published
December 1989
Annotation
The National Crime Survey (NCS) collects data on personal and household victimization through an ongoing national survey of residential addresses.
Abstract
Date Published: December 1, 1989