U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1994 A National Crime Victimization Survey Report --------------------------------------------------------- Earlier editions of printed reports are available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#ncvs --------------------------------------------------------- May 1997, NCJ-162126 The full text of this report is available through: * the BJS Clearinghouse, 1-800-732-3277 * on the Internet at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ * on the BJS gopher: gopher://www.ojp.usdoj.gov:70/11/bjs/ * on the National Criminal Justice Reference Service Electronic Bulletin Board (set at 8-N-1, call 301-738-8895, select BJS). By Michael R. Rand BJS Statistician ------------------------------ Highlights ------------------------------ * In 1994 for every 1,000 persons age 12 or older, there occurred: -- 2 rapes or attempted rapes -- 3 assaults with serious injury -- 4 robberies with property taken. * The violent crime rate has been essentially unchanged since 1992, following a slight increase between 1985 and 1991. Property crime continued a 15-year decline. * The young, blacks, and males were most vulnerable to violent crime: -- 1 in 9 persons age 12 to 15, compared to 1 in 196 age 65 or more -- 1 in 16 blacks, compared to 1 in 20 whites -- 1 in 17 males, compared to 1 in 24 females. * Compared to those households with annual incomes of $15,000 or more, persons in households with incomes of less than $15,000 were: -- 3 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted -- 2 times more likely to be robbed -- 1 1/2 times more likely to be a victim of an aggravated assault. * Almost two-thirds of victims of completed rapes did not report the crime to the police. * Two-thirds of victims of rape or sexual assault knew their assailants. * A third of robbery victims were injured as a result of the incident. ---------------------------------------------------------------- * Residents age 12 or older experienced approximately 42.4 million crimes in 1994. Thirty-one million (73%) were property crimes, 10.9 million (26%) were crimes of violence, and approximately a half million (1%) were personal thefts. * The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) indicates there were 51 violent victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older and 308 property crimes per 1,000 households. * The National Crime Victimization Survey measures personal and household offenses, including crimes not reported to police, by interviewing all occupants age 12 or older in a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. * Violent crimes include rape/sexual assault, robbery, and both aggravated and simple assault, as measured by the NCVS, and murders from FBI data on homicides reported to the police. * Pocket picking, purse snatching, and attempted purse snatching comprise personal theft. Property crimes consist of household burglary, motor vehicle theft, and thefts of other property. ------------------------------------- 10.9 million violent crimes in 1994 ------------------------------------- The 10.9 million violent victimizations included: 430 thousand rapes/sexual assaults, 1.3 million robberies, over 2.5 million aggravated assaults, and 6.6 million simple assaults. FBI data indicated 23,305 homicides and nonnegligent manslaughters were reported to police during 1994. In terms of crime rates, for every 1,000 persons age 12 or older, there were 51 victims of violence, including: -- 1 sexual assault, -- 2 rapes or attempted rapes per 1,000, -- 6 completed or attempted robberies, -- 12 aggravated assaults, and -- 31 simple assaults. In 1994 there were about 9 murder victims per 100,000 persons. Attempted violent crimes accounted for 71% (7.7 million) of the 10.9 million crimes of violence. Attempted violent crimes included attempted rapes, attempted robberies, and attempted or threatened violence -- including threats with weapons. Almost a quarter (2.7 million) of all violent victimizations resulted in an injury to the victim. Rape, gun shot or knife wounds, or other injuries requiring hospitalization constitute serious harm. Minor injuries include bruises, black eyes, or broken teeth. In 1994 a third of all robberies resulted in an injury to the victim. In 36% of completed and 24% of attempted robberies the victim sustained an injury. There was little or no change between 1993 and 1994 in most NCVS measured crimes. Comparisons between these years. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 31 million burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, and household thefts ----------------------------------------------------------------- In 1994 the NCVS measured 31 million household burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, and thefts of other property, accounting for 73% of the more than 42 million victimizations. During the year, households experienced 1.8 million motor vehicle thefts, 5.5 million household burglaries, and 23.8 million thefts of other property. Of the almost 5.5 million household burglaries, 4.6 million, or 83%, were completed burglaries. In the remaining 0.9 million (17%), the offender attempted forcible entry. In a third of the completed burglaries, the burglar forced entry into the home; in two-thirds, the burglar gained entry through an unlocked door or open window. Of the 22.7 million completed thefts of property, there were 9.4 million (41%) property thefts of less than $50, 7.9 million (35%) between $50 and $249, 4.3 million (19%) of $250 or more, and 1.2 million (5%) in which the property value was not known. Expressed as rates per 1,000 households, there were 54 burglaries, 18 motor vehicle thefts, and 236 property thefts. ------------------------------------------------ Murder in the United States, 1994 ------------------------------------------------ In its annual compilation of local police agency statistics for 1994, the FBI reported 23,305 murders and nonnegligent manslaughters -- a 5% decrease from the previous year. The national murder rate was 9 per 100,000 inhabitants. In its annual report Crime in the United States, the FBI defines murder as the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another. The incidence of murder varies by U.S. region, and characteristics of murder victims vary according to sex, race, and age. Supplemental demographic information was available for 22,076 murder victims. About 51% of these victims were black, 46% were white, and the remainder were Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. Victims were likely to be male and relatively young: 78% were male and 65% were under age 35. About 11% were under age 18. Forty-seven percent of murder victims were related to or acquainted with their assailants; 13% of victims were murdered by strangers, while 40% of victims had an unknown relationship to their murderer. Husbands or boyfriends killed 28% of female murder victims; wives or girlfriends, 3% of male victims. ------------------------------------ The South and the West, with 56% of the population, accounted for almost 66% of all homicides Percent ------------------ U.S. Region Homicides population --------------------------------------- Total 100% 100% South 42 35 West 23 21 Midwest 20 24 Northeast 16 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ Victimizations reported to law enforcement authorities ------------------------------------------------------ Overall, 42% of the violent crimes committed in 1994 were reported to police. Thirty-six percent of rapes, 20% of attempted rapes, and 41% of sexual assaults were brought to the attention of law enforcement authorities. Fifty-five percent of robberies, 52% of aggravated assaults, and 36% of simple assaults were reported to police. Victims reported approximately a third of all property crimes. Motor vehicle theft was the most frequently reported property crime (78%), and theft of other property the least reported crime (27%). The 1994 data indicated patterns in reporting to police. For example, victims were more likely to report incidents to police where: -- violent crimes were completed -- an injury resulted -- items valued at $250 or more were stolen -- forcible entry occurred. Victims cite many reasons for deciding whether or not to report particular crimes to law enforcement authorities. (For analysis of reasons why victims reported or did not report crimes, see Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1993, BJS, NCJ-151657.) Victims of violent incidents most often cite as a reason for reporting the crime to the police the desire to prevent future acts of violence. Victims also reported incidents because they thought it was the right thing to do. Among victims who chose not to report a violent crime to the police, many indicated that they felt the matter was private or personal in nature. Victims of personal and property thefts frequently reported the incidents to enable recovery of their stolen property and to collect insurance, or chose not to report because they had been able to recover their property or because the theft attempt had been unsuccessful. ---------------------------------------- Characteristics of victims of violence ---------------------------------------- Males, blacks, Hispanics, the young, the poor, and inner city dwellers were the most vulnerable to violence. Except for rape/sexual assault, every violent crime victimization rate for males was higher than for females. Males were about twice as likely as females to experience robbery and aggravated assault. However, there were 4 rapes or sexual assaults per 1,000 females age 12 or older compared to 0.2 rapes per 1,000 males. Blacks were more likely than whites or persons of other races -- Asians or Native Americans -- to be victims of robbery or aggravated assault. In 1994 there were 16.6 aggravated assaults per 1,000 black persons, 10.9 per 1,000 whites, and 11.9 per 1,000 persons in other racial categories. The victimization rates for rape/sexual assault were not significantly different among the three racial groups. Persons under age 25 had higher violent victimization rates than those 65 or older. Persons age 16 to 19 were about 30 times more likely than persons age 65 or older to be victimized by assault. Hispanics had higher violent crime rates than Non-Hispanics. Persons from households with lower incomes were more vulnerable to violent crime than those from higher income households. Persons with household incomes of less than $15,000 per year had significantly higher violent crime rates for all categories of violent crime when compared with those who had household incomes of $15,000 or more per year. Rates per 1,000 persons age 12 or older -------------------------- Annual Annual household household income income of less than of $15,000 Type of crime $15,000 or more ----------------------------------------------------- Violent crime 68.6 46.9 Rape/sexual assault 4.7 1.3 Robbery 8.7 4.9 Aggravated assault 16.5 10.6 Simple assault 38.8 30.2 --------------------------------------------------------- Higher property crime victimization rates: households of blacks, Hispanics, the poor, urban dwellers, and renters --------------------------------------------------------- Minorities, urban dwellers, and those who rent their homes experienced the highest rates of property crime. The impact of income varied, depending on the type of property crime. Black households suffered higher rates of property victimization for all property crime than did white households ( 341 versus 302 per 1,000 households, respectively). Hispanic households had a significantly higher rate of property crime victimization than non-Hispanics (426 incidents per 1,000 households versus 298, respectively). Households earning $50,000 or more annually had a theft rate 50% higher than those households earning less than $7,500 annually. Households earning under $7,500 a year suffered almost twice the rate of household burglary compared to those with the highest annual earnings. City residents experienced higher rates of property crime (376 per 1,000 households) than either suburban residents (296) or rural area dwellers (246). Renters had significantly higher property crime rates than home owners. --------------- Recent trends --------------- Between 1993 and 1994 there were no changes in violent crimes measured by NCVS, except for a decline in sexual assault. While sexual assault decreased, the overall rape/sexual assault category showed no change. Motor vehicle theft and property theft rates showed statistically significant declines between 1993 and 1994. There was some evidence of declines in the rates and levels of overall property crimes, household burglary, attempted forcible entry, and attempted theft. Since its inception in 1973, the survey has identified fluctuations in crime levels and rates over extended periods. Because of the survey design, the data presented in these highlights are not directly comparable with data collected prior to 1993. While some crimes exhibit short-term changes that differ from previous longer-term trends, many patterns discernible for 1992-94 continue general trends in crime rates that existed during previous years. Violent crime rates generally declined from 1981 to 1986 (a drop of 20%), and then rose from 1986 to 1991 (up 15%). Since 1992, violent crime victimization rates have remained generally stable. Both victimization levels and rates show little change in 1992, 1993, and 1994. Robbery rates increased slightly during the late 1980's, but never reached the peak rates experienced earlier in the decade. Since 1992 the robbery rate has remained unchanged. Aggravated assault levels have shown yearly fluctuations but the overall trend was slightly downward from 1974 to 1991. Neither the increase in aggravated assault from 1992 to 1993 nor the decrease from 1993 to 1994 is statistically significant. Theft rates declined slightly in 1994 from the previous year, continuing a steady decrease that has persisted since 1979. Burglary rates continued a downward trend that has existed since the survey began in 1973. Motor vehicle theft rates steadily increased for several years beginning in the mid-1980's. There is some evidence of a decline in the motor vehicle theft rate from 1993 to 1994. Except for an increase in reporting of sexual assault and theft, there were no statistically significant changes in reporting of crimes to police between 1993 and 1994. ----------------- Juvenile victims ----------------- Teenagers and young adults were more likely to become victims of violent crime than older persons. In 1994, about a third of all victims of violent crime were ages 12 to 19. Almost half of all victims of violence were under age 25. In the same year, there were 111 rapes/sexual assaults, robberies, or aggravated or simple assaults for every 1,000 persons under age 25. This rate was more than twice as high as that for persons between ages 25 and 49 and about 11 times as high as that for persons age 50 or older. Percent of Percent of population violent Victim's age 12 or older victimizations ----------------------------------------------- Total 100% 100% 12 to 15 7 16 16 to 19 7 16 20 to 24 8 17 25 to 34 20 23 35 to 49 28 21 50 to 64 16 5 65 or older 14 1 These large differences in victimization rates by age occurred for each of the violent crimes measured by the survey. For example, there were 4 rape/sexual assaults per 1,000 for persons under age 25, 2 per 1,000 for those ages 25 to 49, and 0.1 per 1,000 for those age 50 or more. Rates for robbery were twice as high for those under 25 as for those ages 25 to 49. For persons under age 25, the robbery rates were 12 per 1,000 compared with 2 per 1,000 for those persons age 50 or more. The rates of aggravated assault were almost 3 times as high for victims under 25 as for those ages 25 to 49. Rates per 1,000 persons age 12 or older ----------------------- 12-24 25-49 50 or Type of crime older --------------------------------------------- Violent crime 110.9 48.4 10.3 Rape/sexual assault 4.4 2.1 .1 Robbery 11.7 6.1 1.9 Aggravated assault 27.3 10.1 2.3 Simple assault 67.5 30.0 6 ------------------------------- Examining violent incidents ------------------------------- Excluding those crimes in which the victim/offender relationship was not known, 53% of persons victimized by violence did not know their assailant. Almost 8 out of 10 robberies were committed by strangers compared to 3 out of 10 of all rapes/sexual assaults. Just over half of all rapes/sexual assaults were committed by people either well-known or casually known to the victim. While overall violent crimes were about as likely to occur during the day as during the night, some crimes exhibited different patterns. Fifty-three percent of incidents of violent crime occurred between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. About two-thirds of simple assaults, compared to a third of aggravated assaults, took place during these hours. Approximately two-thirds of rapes/sexual assaults occurred at night -- 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. In 1994 about a quarter of incidents of violent crime occurred at or near the victim's home. Among common locales for violent crimes were on the street other than those near the victim's home (20%), at school (13%), or at a commercial establishment (13%). Twenty-three percent of victims of violent crime reported being involved in some form of leisure activity away from home at the time of their victimization. Twenty-two percent said they were at home, and another 22% mentioned they were at work or traveling to or from work when the crime occurred. One in five violent crimes occurred in or near the victim's home. Including these, almost half occurred within a mile from home and about 70% within five miles. Only 5% of victims of violent crime reported that the crime took place more than fifty miles from their home. In 3 out of 10 incidents of violent crimes, offenders used or threatened to use a weapon. NCVS defines assaults involving weapons as aggravated; thus almost all aggravated assaults (95%) involved a weapon. (Assaults without weapons are classified as aggravated if the victim suffers a serious injury.) Offenders had or used a weapon in slightly more than half of all robberies, compared with 16% of all rapes/sexual assaults. --------------------------------- Summary of crime characteristics --------------------------------- Rapes/sexual assaults *********************** * Two-thirds were committed by someone acquainted with, known to, or related to the victim. * Two-thirds occurred in the evening or at night. * About 6 in 10 occurred in the victim's or someone else's home. * More than a third occurred as the victim engaged in activities in the home; another third occurred during leisure activities away from the home. * Offenders had a weapon in 16% of all rape/sexual assault victimizations. Robberies ************ * Almost 8 in 10 were committed by strangers. * About 4 in 10 occurred in the daytime; another 4 in 10 occurred in the evening before midnight. * Robberies occurred in a variety of situations: -- 1 in 5 during leisure activities -- 1 in 5 during travel and almost 1 in 5 at home -- 1 in 6 while at work or commuting to/from work -- 1 in 10 while shopping -- 1 in 14 at school. * Weapons were present in 55% of robberies. * More than half occurred at or within a mile of the victim's home. Assaults ********* * Strangers committed 1 in 2 simple assaults and 6 in 10 aggravated assaults. * Simple assaults were almost twice as likely as aggravated assaults to be committed during the daytime. * For both aggravated and simple assaults, about 1 in 4 occurred at or near the victim's home. * 25% of aggravated assaults and 15% of simple assaults occurred on streets other than near the victim's home. * In aggravated assaults, offenders had a firearm in more than 1 in 3 incidents and another type of weapon in 6 of 10. Simple assaults do not involve the use of weapons. -------------------------------------------------------- Recent National Crime Victimization Survey data releases -------------------------------------------------------- Changes in Criminal Victimization, 1994-95: National Crime Victimization Survey, April 1997, NCJ-162032, 12 pages. Criminal Victimization, 1973-95: National Crime Victimization Survey, April 1997, NCJ-163069, 8 pages. Effects of the Redesign on Victimization Estimates: Technical Report, April 1997, NCJ-164381, 7 pages. Female Victims of Violent Crime, December 1996, NCJ-162602, 4 pages. ----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------- Introduction --------------- -------------------- NCVS-measured crimes -------------------- The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is one of two Justice Department measures of crime in the United States. A pioneering effort when it was begun in 1972, the survey was intended to complement what is known about crime from the FBI's annual compilation of information reported to law enforcement agencies (Uniform Crime Reports). The survey, which also counts incidents not reported to the police, provides a detailed picture of crime incidents, victims, and trends from the victim's perspective. Data are collected every year from a sample of approximately 50,000 households with more than 100,000 individuals age 12 or older. Victimizations are categorized as personal or property crimes. Personal crimes, including attempts, involve direct contact between the victim and offender. Property crimes do not involve personal confrontation and include the crimes of household burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft. Since crime victims are asked directly about crime, crimes are measured whether or not they were reported to the police. No attempt is made to validate reported crimes by checking them against other sources of criminal data, such as police records. -------------------------------- Crimes not measured by the NCVS -------------------------------- The NCVS does not measure murder, kidnaping, or crimes against commercial establishments such as commercial burglary and robbery. (Murder is not measured by the NCVS because of the inability to question the victim.) Crimes such as public drunkenness, drug abuse, prostitution, illegal gambling, con games, and blackmail are also excluded. Sometimes people are not aware they have been victims of a crime, making such crimes difficult to measure accurately. Buying stolen property and embezzlement are examples of this type of crime. In addition, many attempted crimes of all types are probably underreported because victims were not aware of their occurrence. --------------- Survey redesign --------------- This report presents data from the redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey. The redesigned methodology, introduced in 1992, presented a new crime screening procedure and incorporated other improvements into the survey. As a result, data based on the redesign are not comparable with data collected in previous years. Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1993, NCJ-151657, was the first in this series that presented data from the redesigned survey. That report contains detailed information about the redesign program, including changes and improvements made to the survey. ----------------------- Major redesign changes ----------------------- All crimes ************ The redesigned screening questionnaire (to determine whether the respondent has been the victim of any crime within the scope of the survey) uses extensive, detailed cues to help respondents recall and report incidents. These new questions and cues jog memories of the respondents and let them know that the survey is interested in a broad spectrum of incidents, not just those involving weapons, severe violence, or strangers. Because of these changes, substantial increases occur in the extent to which victims tell the interviewers about simple assault (defined as assault without a weapon or resulting in minor injury) and sexual crimes. Domestic violence ****************** Multiple questions and cues on crimes committed by family members, intimates, and acquaintances have been added. The survey also encourages respondents to report incidents even if they are not sure whether a crime has been committed. The survey staff review these reported incidents using standardized definitions of crimes. Thus, within the categories of violent crime measured by the NCVS, the redesign is producing fuller reporting of those incidents that involved intimates or other family members. Sexual crimes ************** The current NCVS broadens the scope of covered sexual incidents beyond the categories of rape and attempted rape. These include: * sexual assault (other than rape) * verbal threats of rape or sexual assault * unwanted sexual contact without force but involving threats or other harm to the victim. These new categories, broadened coverage, and more extensive questions on sexual victimizations have elicited information on about 3 to 4 times as many sexual crime victimizations prior to 1993. --------------------------------- Selection of survey participants --------------------------------- The survey collects its data from a nationally representative sample of individuals age 12 or older living in U.S. households. Basic demographic information, such as age, race, sex, and income, is collected to enable analysis of victimizations of various subpopulations. Interviews are translated for non-English speaking respondents. Each month the U.S. Bureau of the Census selects respondents for the NCVS using a "rotating panel" design. Households are randomly selected, and all age-eligible individuals in a selected household become part of the panel. Once in the sample, respondents are interviewed every 6 months for a total of seven interviews over a 3-year period. The first and fifth interviews are face-to-face; the rest are by telephone when possible. After the seventh interview the household leaves the panel and a new household is rotated into the sample. The interview takes about 1/2 hour. The NCVS has consistently obtained a response rate of about 95%. ----------------------- The NCVS questionnaire ----------------------- The NCVS questionnaire does more than simply ask participants if they have been victimized by crime. A screening section provides respondents with a series of detailed questions and cues on victimizations and the situations within which crimes may take place. If any screening question elicits a positive response to a crime within the scope of the survey, interviewers collect details about the victimization in an incident report. The screening section describes crimes in simple language, avoiding technical and legal terms such as aggravated assault. Attempting to elicit an accurate account, interviewers provide respondents with detailed features that may characterize a criminal incident, such as offender behavior, crime location and whether the offender was a stranger, acquaintance, or relative. If a feature produces a positive response, details on the incident are gathered. When NCVS data are processed, incident report data are classified by elements necessary to define the incident as a crime. If an incident does not satisfy these criteria, it is not counted as a crime. ------------------ Uses of NCVS data ------------------ NCVS data have informed a wide audience concerned with crime and crime prevention. Researchers at academic, government, private, and nonprofit research institutions use NCVS data to prepare reports, policy recommendations, scholarly publications, testimony before Congress, and documentation for use in courts. Community groups and government agencies use the data to develop neighborhood watch and victim assistance and compensation programs. Law enforcement agencies use NCVS findings for training. The data appear in public service announcements on crime prevention and crime documentaries. Finally, print and broadcast media regularly cite NCVS findings when reporting on a host of crime-related topics. --------------------------------- Appendix II - Survey methodology --------------------------------- The survey results contained in this report are based on data gathered from residents living throughout the United States, including persons living in group quarters, such as dormitories, rooming houses, and religious group dwellings. Crew members of merchant vessels, Armed Forces personnel living in military barracks, and institutionalized persons, such as correctional facility inmates, were not included in the scope of this survey. Similarly, U.S. citizens residing abroad and foreign visitors to this country were excluded. With these exceptions, individuals age 12 or older living in units selected for the sample were eligible to be interviewed. ----------------- Data collection ---------------- Each housing unit selected for the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) remains in the sample for 3 years, with each of seven interviews taking place at 6 month intervals. An NCVS interviewer's first contact with a housing unit selected for the survey is in person. The interviewer may then conduct subsequent visits, except for the fifth, by telephone. To elicit more accurate reporting of incidents, NCVS uses the self-respondent method which calls for the direct interviewing of each person 12 years or older in the household. An exception is made to use proxy interviewing instead of direct interviewing for the following three cases: 12- and 13- year old persons when a knowledgeable household member insists they not be interviewed directly, incapacitated persons, and individuals absent from the household during the entire field-interviewing period. In the case of temporarily absent household members and persons who are physically or mentally incapable of granting interviews, interviewers may accept other household members as proxy respondents, and in certain situations non-household members may provide information for incapacitated persons. As noted in the sample design section, about 30% of the interviews in the 1994 sample were conducted using Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), a data collection mode which involves interviewing from centralized facilities and using a computerized instrument. In the CATI-eligible part of the sample, all interviews are done by telephone whenever possible, except for the first and fifth interviews, which are still primarily conducted in person. The telephone interviews are conducted by the CATI facilities (Hagerstown, Maryland, and Tucson, Arizona). ------------------------ Sample design and size ----------------------- Survey estimates are derived from a stratified, multi-stage cluster sample. The primary sampling units (PSU's) composing the first stage of the sample were counties, groups of counties, or large metropolitan areas. Large PSU's were included in the sample automatically and are considered to be self-representing (SR) since all of them were selected. The remaining PSU's, called non-self-representing (NSR) because only a subset of them was selected, were combined into strata by grouping PSU's with similar geographic and demographic characteristics, as determined by the 1980 census. The 1994 NCVS sample households were drawn from the 1980-based sample design. The 1980 design consists of 84 SR PSU's and 153 NSR strata, with one PSU per stratum selected with probability proportionate to population size. The NCVS sample design has been revised to take advantage of the availability of data from the 1990 census. However, the 1990-based sample will not start contributing to the NCVS estimates until 1995. The two remaining stages of sampling were designed to ensure a self-weighting (Self-weighting means that, prior to any weighting adjustments, each sample housing unit had the same overall probability of being selected.) probability sample of housing units and group-quarter dwellings within each of the selected areas. This involved a systematic selection of enumeration districts (geographic areas used for the 1980 census), with a probability of selection proportionate to their 1980 population size, followed by the selection of segments (clusters of approximately four housing units each) from within each enumeration district. To account for units built within each of the sample areas after the 1980 Census, a sample was drawn of permits issued for the construction of residential housing. Jurisdictions that do not issue building permits were sampled using small land-area segments. These supplementary procedures, though yielding a relatively small portion of the total sample, enabled persons living in housing units built after 1980 to be properly represented in the survey. Approximately 58,060 housing units and other living quarters were designated for the sample. In order to conduct field interviews, the sample is divided into six groups, or rotations, and each group of households is interviewed once every 6 months over a period of 3 years. The initial interview is used to bound the interviews (bounding establishes a timeframe to avoid duplication of crimes on subsequent interviews), but is not used to compute the annual estimates. Each rotation group is further divided into six panels. A different panel of households, corresponding to one sixth of each rotation group, is interviewed each month during the 6-month period. Because the survey is continuous, newly constructed housing units are selected as described, and assigned to rotation groups and panels for subsequent incorporation into the sample. A new rotation group enters the sample every 6 months, replacing a group phased out after being in the sample for 3 years. For these 58,060 sample households, complete interviews were obtained for about 47,600 households in 1994, about 95.1% of all eligible housing units. Within the interviewed households some 90,560 persons, or about 92.0%, provided responses; the other individuals for the most part either refused, or were unavailable or unable to answer and no proxy was available. The remaining 10,460 housing units were not interviewed because they were either ineligible -- vacant, demolished, or otherwise ineligible -- for the survey (about 8,010 units), or the occupants could not be reached or refused to participate (about 2,450 units). Selection of cases for CATI ****************************** About 30% of the 47,600 households obtained in the 1994 sample were interviewed using the CATI technique. Currently, the NCVS sample PSU's fall into three groups of CATI usage: maximum-CATI PSU's, where all the segments in the PSU are CATI-eligible; half-CATI PSU's, where half of the segments in the PSU are randomly designated to be CATI-eligible; and no-CATI PSU's, where none of the segments are CATI-eligible. The level of CATI usage for each PSU was established with concern toward an optimal workload for the field interviewers. In the half-CATI PSU's, a random sample of about 50% of the segments in each PSU is taken and designated as CATI-eligible. The sample cases in CATI-eligible segments from the max-CATI and the half-CATI PSU's are interviewed from CATI facilities while the other sample cases are interviewed by the standard NCVS field procedures. --------------------- Estimation procedure --------------------- Annual estimates of the levels and rates of victimization are derived by accumulating four quarterly estimates, which in turn are obtained from 17 months of field interviewing, ranging from February of one year through June of the following year. The population and household figures shown on victimization rate tables are based on an average for these 17 months, centering on the ninth month of the data collection period, in this case October 1994. Sample data from 8 months of field interviewing are required to produce estimates for each quarter. (Quarterly estimates are not published since there may not be sufficient observations to ensure their reliability.) For example, data collected between February and September are required to estimate the first quarter of any given calendar year (see accompanying chart). Each quarterly estimate is composed of equal numbers of field observations from the months during the half-year interval prior to the time of interview. Therefore, incidents occurring in January may be reported in a February interview (1 month between the crime and the interview), in a March interview (2 months), and so on up to 6 months ago for interviews conducted in July. This arrangement minimizes expected biases associated with the tendency of respondents to place victimizations in more recent months of a 6-month reference period rather than the month in which they actually occurred. The estimation procedure begins with the application of a base weight to the data from each individual interviewed. The base weight is the reciprocal of the probability of each unit's selection for the sample, and provides a rough measure of the population represented by each person in the sample. Next, an adjustment is made to account for households and individuals in occupied units who were selected for the survey but unavailable for interview. In addition to adjusting for unequal probabilities of selection and observation, the final weight also includes a ratio adjustment to known population totals based on the adjusted counts from the 1990 Decennial Census. Specifically, the final person weight is the product of the values of the following six component weights; the final household weight is the product of all components except the within-household non-interview adjustment component detailed below: Probabilities of selection **************************** * Base weight: the inverse of the sampling rate of that unit (person or household) within the stratum. * Weighting control factor: adjusts for any subsampling due to unexpected events in the field, such as unusually high growth in new construction, area segments larger than anticipated, and other deviations from the overall stratum sampling rate. Probabilities of observation (Nonresponse) ****************************************** * Household noninterview adjustment: adjusts for nonresponse at the household level by inflating the weight assigned to interviewed households so that they represent themselves and noninterviewed households. * Within-household non-interview adjustment: adjusts for nonresponse at the person level by inflating the weight assigned to the interviewed persons so that they represent themselves and the missed interviews. ---------------------- Series victimizations ---------------------- A series victimization is defined as six or more similar but separate crimes which the victim is unable to recall individually or describe in detail to an interviewer. These series crimes have been excluded from the tables in this report because the victims were unable to provide details for each event. Data on series crimes are gathered by the calendar quarter(s) of occurrence, making it possible to match the timeframes used in tabulating the data for non-series crimes. The effect of combining series and non-series crimes, counting each of the series crimes as a single victimization based on the details of the most recent incident, was included in the initial release of the 1980 data. (See Criminal Victimization in the United States; 1979-80 Changes, 1973-80 Trends, BJS Technical Report, NCJ-80838, July 1982.) The report showed that victimization counts and rates were higher in 1979 and 1980 when the series crimes were added. However, rate changes between these 2 years were basically in the same direction and significantly affected the same crimes as those affected when only non-series crimes were analyzed. ----------------------- Accuracy of estimates ----------------------- The accuracy of an estimate is a measure of its total error, that is, the sum of all the errors affecting the estimate: sampling error as well as nonsampling error. The sample used for the NCVS is one of a large number of possible samples of equal size that could have been obtained by using the same sample design and selection procedures. Estimates derived from different samples would differ from one another due to sampling variability, or sampling error. The standard error of a survey estimate is a measure of the variation among that estimate from all possible samples. Therefore, it is a measure of the precision (reliability) with which a particular estimate approximates the average result of all possible samples. The estimate and its associated standard error may be used to construct a confidence interval. A confidence interval is a range of numbers which has a specified probability that the average of all possible samples, which is the true unknown value of interest in an unbiased design, is contained within the interval. About 68% of the time, the survey estimate will differ from the true average by less than one standard error. Only 10% of the time will the difference be more than 1.6 standard errors, and just 1 time in 100 will it be greater than 2.5 standard errors. A 95% confidence interval is the survey estimate plus or minus twice the standard error, thus there is a 95% chance that the result of a complete census would fall within the confidence interval. In addition to sampling error, the estimates in this report are subject to nonsampling error. While substantial care is taken in the NCVS to reduce the sources of nonsampling error throughout all the survey operations, by means of a quality assurance program, quality controls, operational controls, and error-correcting procedures, an unquantified amount of nonsampling error remains still. Major sources of nonsampling error are related to the inability of the respondents to recall in detail the crimes which occurred during the 6 months prior to the interview. Research based on interviews of victims obtained from police files indicates that assault is recalled with the least accuracy of any crime measured by the NCVS. This may be related to the tendency of victims to not report crimes committed by offenders who are not strangers, especially if they are relatives. In addition, among certain groups, crimes which contain elements of assault could be a part of everyday life, and are therefore forgotten or not considered important enough to mention to a survey inter-viewer. These recall problems may result in an understatement of the actual rate of assault. Another source of nonsampling error is the inability of some respondents to recall the exact month a crime occurred, even though it was placed in the correct reference period. This error source is partially offset by interviewing monthly and using the estimation procedure described earlier. Telescoping is another problem in which incidents that occurred before the reference period are placed within the period. The effect of telescoping is minimized by using the bounding procedure previously described. The interviewer is provided with a summary of the incidents reported in the preceding interview and, if a similar incident is reported, it can be determined whether or not it is a new one by discussing it with the victim. Events which occurred after the reference period are set aside for inclusion with the data from the following interview. Other sources of nonsampling error can result from other types of response mistakes, including errors in reporting incidents as crimes, isclassification of crimes, systematic data errors introduced by the interviewer, errors made in coding and processing the data. Quality control and editing procedures were used to minimize the number of errors made by the respondents and the interviewers. Since field representatives conducting the interviews usually reside in the area in which they interview, the race and ethnicity of the field representatives generally matches that of the local population. Special efforts are made to further match field representatives and the people they interview in areas where English is not commonly spoken. About 90% of all NCVS field representatives are female. Standard errors measure only those nonsampling errors arising from transient factors affecting individual responses completely at random (simple response variance); they do not reveal any systematic biases in the data. As calculated in the NCVS, the standard errors would partially measure nonsampling error arising from some of the above sources, such as transient memory errors, or accidental errors in recording or coding answers, for example. ----------------------------------------------- Computation and application of standard errors ----------------------------------------------- The results presented in this report were tested to determine whether or not the observed differences between groups were statistically significant. Differences were tested for significance at the 90% confidence level, or roughly 1.6 standard errors. Most of the comparisons in this report were significant at the 95% confidence level (about 2.0 standard errors, meaning that the difference between the estimates is greater than twice the standard error of the difference). Comparisons which failed the 90% test were not considered statistically significant. Comparisons qualified by the phrase "some evidence" or "statistically significant" had a significance level between 90% and 95%. Deriving standard errors which are applicable to a wide variety of items and which can be prepared at a moderate cost requires a number of approximations. Therefore, three generalized variance function (gvf) constant parameters (identified as "a", "b", and "c" in the following section) were developed for use in calculating standard errors. The parameters provide an indication of the order of magnitude of the standard errors rather than the precise standard error for any specific item. The gvf represents the curve fitted to the individual standard errors, which were calculated using the Jackknife Repeated Replication technique. The 1994 gvf provided new values for the "a", "b", and "c" parameters calculated from the 1994 data. This updated model also provided new 1993 and 1992 gvf constant parameters. Notation ********** x = the estimated number (level) of personal or household victimizations or incidents y = the base; either the total number of persons or households (for victimization rates) or the total of all victimizations (for incident characteristics) p = the estimated proportion, resulting from dividing the number of victimizations into the base. Also, the percentage or rate expressed in decimal form. The percentage is 100p and the rate per thousand is 1000p. s(p) = the estimated standard error of p It follows that: s(percentage) = s(100p) = 100 s(p) s(rate) = s(1000p) = 1000 s(p) a,b,c = the generalized variance function parameters (see chart) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- GVF parameters from 1994-92 data-year estimates Generalized variance functions a b c 1994 parameter set Estimates Overall person crime (1) -.00004144 2008 1.612 Personal crime domain (2) -.00006269 2278 1.804 Overall property crime (3) -.00008894 1501 1.276 Property crime domain (4) -.00005292 2185 1.153 1993 revised parameter set Estimates Overall person crime (1) -.00005221 2530 2.031 Personal crime domain (2) -.00007899 2870 2.273 Overall property crime (3) -.00011206 1891 1.608 Property crime domain (4) -.00006668 2753 1.453 1992 revised parameter set Estimates Overall person crime (1) -.00009951 4822 3.871 Personal crime domain (2) -.00015053 5470 4.332 Overall property crime (3) -.00021356 3604 3.064 Property crime domain (4) -.00012707 5247 2.769 Parameter set #1 is used for the overall person crime estimates (Table 1). These are the person crime estimates by crime category for the whole population, not disaggregated by any victim, offender, or incident characteristics, nor any variable related to reporting to police. Parameter set #2 is used for the person crime domain estimates. These are the person crime estimates disaggregated by victim, offender, or incident characteristics, or any variable related to reporting to police. Parameter set #3 is used for the property crime estimates for the whole population (Table 1). These are the property crime estimates by crime category for the whole population, not disaggregated by any household characteristics, nor any variable related to reporting to police. Parameter set #4 is used for the property crime domain estimates. These are the property crime estimates disaggregated by household characteristics, or any variable related to reporting to police. For the statistic from Table 1 that corresponds to the crime category "all crimes" (person and property crimes together), parameter set #3 should be used. When the person and property estimates are combined (all crimes) and disaggregated by victim, household, incident characteristics, as well as any variable related to reporting to police, parameter set #4 should be used for the best estimate of the corresponding variance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ Appendix III - Glossary ------------------------ Age -- The appropriate age category is determined by the respondent's age on the last day of the month before the interview. Annual household income -- The total income of the household head and all members of the household for the 12 months preceding the interview. Includes wages, salaries, net income from businesses or farms, pensions, interest, dividends, rent, and any other form of monetary income. Aggravated assault -- Attack or attempted attack with a weapon, regardless of whether or not an injury occurred and attack without a weapon when serious injury results. With injury -- An attack without a weapon when serious injury results or an attack with a weapon involving any injury. Serious injury includes broken bones, lost teeth, internal injuries, loss of consciousness, and any unspecified injury requiring two or more days of hospitalization. Threatened with a weapon -- Threat or attempted attack by an offender armed with a gun, knife, or other object used as a weapon, not resulting in victim injury. Assault -- An unlawful physical attack or threat of attack. Assaults may be classified as aggravated or simple. Rape, attempted rape, and sexual assaults are excluded from this category, as well as robbery and attempted robbery. The severity of assaults ranges from minor threat to incidents which are nearly fatal. Household burglary -- Unlawful or forcible entry or attempted entry of a residence. This crime usually, but not always, involves theft. The illegal entry may be by force, such as breaking a window or slashing a screen, or may be without force by entering through an unlocked door or an open window. As long as the person entering has no legal right to be present in the structure a burglary has occurred. Furthermore, the structure need not be the house itself for a burglary to take place; illegal entry of a garage, shed, or any other structure on the premises also constitutes household burglary. If breaking and entering occurs in a hotel or vacation residence, it is still classified as a burglary for the household whose member or members were staying there at the time the entry occurred. Completed burglary -- A form of burglary in which a person who has no legal right to be present in the structure successfully gains entry to a residence, by use of force, or without force. Forcible entry -- A form of completed burglary in which force is used to gain entry to a residence. Some examples include breaking a window or slashing a screen. Unlawful entry without force -- A form of completed burglary committed by someone having no legal right to be on the premises, even though no force is used. Attempted forcible entry -- A form of burglary in which force is used in an attempt to gain entry. Commercial crimes -- Crimes against commercial establishments of any type are not included in the survey. Commercial establishments include stores, restaurants, businesses, service stations, medical offices or hospitals, or other similiar establishments. For victimizations occurring in commercial establishments, the crime is included or not included depending upon whether the survey respondent was threatened or harmed in some way or personal property was taken. Crime classification -- Victimizations and incidents are classified based upon detailed characteristics of the event provided by the respondent. Neither victims nor interviewers classify crimes at the time of interview. During data processing, a computer program classifies each event into one type of crime, based upon the entries on a number of items on the survey questionnaire. This ensures that similar events will be classified using a standard procedure. The glossary definition for each crime indicates the major characteristics required to be so classified. If an event can be classified as more than one type of crime, a hierarchy is used which classifies the crime according to the most serious event that occurred. The hierarchy is: rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, theft. Ethnicity -- A classification based on Hispanic culture and origin, regardless of race. Head of household -- A classification which defines one and only one person in each housing unit as the head. Head of household implies that the person rents or owns (or is in the process of buying), the housing unit. The head of household must be at least 18, unless all members of the household are under 18, or the head is married to someone 18 or older. Hispanic -- A person who describes himself as Mexican-American, Chicano, Mexican, Mexicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, South American, or from some other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Household -- A person or group of people meeting either of the following criteria. (1) people whose usual place of residence is the same housing unit, even if they are temporarily absent. (2) people staying in a housing unit who have no usual place of residence elsewhere. Incident -- A specific criminal act involving one or more victims and offenders. For example, if two people are robbed at the same time and place, this is classified as two robbery victimizations but only one robbery incident. Marital status -- Every person is assigned to one of the following classifications: (1) married, which includes persons in common-law unions and those who are currently living apart for reasons other than marital discord (employment, military service, etc.); (2) separated or divorced, which includes married persons who are legally separated and those who are not living together because of marital discord; (3) widowed; and (4) never married, which includes persons whose marriages have been annulled and those who are living together and not in a common-law union. Metropolitan area -- See "Metropolitan Statistical Area." Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) -- The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines this as a population nucleus of 50,000 or more, generally consisting of a city and its immediate suburbs, along with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with the nucleus. MSA's are designated by counties, the smallest geographic units for which a wide range of statistical data can be attained. However, in New England, MSA's are designated by cities and towns since these subcounty units are of great local significance and considerable data is available for them. Currently, an area is defined as an MSA if it meets one of two standards: (1) a city has a population of at least 50,000; (2) the Census Bureau defines an urbanized area of at least 50,000 people with a total metropolitan population of at least 100,000 (or 75,000 in New England). The Census Bureau's definition of urbanized areas, data on commuting to work, and the strength of the economic and social ties between the surrounding counties and the central city determine which counties not containing a main city are included in an MSA. For New England, MSA's are determined by a core area and related cities and towns, not counties. A metropolitan statistical area may contain more than one city of 50,000 and may cross State lines. Motor vehicle -- An automobile, truck, motorcycle, or any other motorized vehicle legally allowed on public roads and highways. Motor vehicle theft -- Stealing or unauthorized taking of a motor vehicle, including attempted thefts. Completed motor vehicle theft -- The successful taking of a vehicle by an unauthorized person. Attempted motor vehicle theft -- The unsuccessful attempt by an unauthorized person to take a vehicle. Multiple offenders -- Two or more persons inflicting some direct harm to a victim. The victim-offender relationship is determined by the offender with the closest relationship to the victim. The following list ranks the different relationships from closest to most distant: spouse, ex-spouse, parent, child, other relative, nonrelative well-known person, casual acquaintance, or stranger. (see Nonstranger and Stranger) Non-Hispanic -- Persons who report their culture or origin as something other than "Hispanic" as defined above. This distinction is made regardless of race. Nonstranger -- A classification of a crime victim's relationship to the offender. An offender who is either related to, well known to, or casually acquainted with the victim is a nonstranger. For crimes with more than one offender, if any of the offenders are nonstrangers, then the group of offenders as a whole is classified as nonstranger. This category only applies to crimes which involve contact between victim and the offender; the distinction is not made for crimes of theft since victims of this offense rarely see the offenders. Offender -- The perpetrator of a crime; this term usually applies to crimes involving contact between the victim and the offender. Offense -- A crime. When referring to personal crimes, the term can be used to refer to both victimizations and incidents. Personal crimes -- Rape, sexual assault, personal robbery, assault, purse snatching and pocket picking. This category includes both attempted and completed crimes. 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, restaurants, nightclubs, public transportation and 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. Property crimes -- Property crimes including burglary, motor vehicle theft, or theft. This category includes both attempted and completed crimes. Purse snatching/Pocket picking -- Theft or attempted theft of property or cash directly from the victim by stealth, without force or threat of force. Race -- Racial categories for this survey are white, black, and other. The "other" category is composed mainly of Asian Pacific Islanders, and American Indian, Aleut, and Eskimo. The race of the head of household is used in determining the race of the household for computing household crime demographics. Rape -- Forced sexual intercourse including both psychological coercion as well as physical force. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, anal or oral penetration by the offender(s). This category also includes incidents where the penetration is from a foreign object such as a bottle. Includes attempted rapes, male as well as female victims, and both heterosexual and homosexual rape. Attempted rape includes verbal threats of rape. Rate of victimization -- see "Victimization rate". Region -- The States have been divided into four groups or census regions: Midwest -- Includes the 12 States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Northeast -- Includes the 9 states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. South -- Includes the District of Columbia and the 16 States of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. West -- Includes the 13 states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Robbery -- Completed or attempted theft, directly from a person, of property or cash by force or threat of force, with or without a weapon, and with or without injury. Completed/property taken -- The successful taking of property from a person by force or threat of force, with or without a weapon, and with or without injury. Completed with injury -- The successful taking of property from a person, accompanied by an attack, either with or without a weapon, resulting in injury. Completed without injury -- The successful taking of property from a person by force or the threat of force, either with or without a weapon, but not resulting in injury. Attempted to take property -- The attempt to take property from a person by force or threat of force without success, with or without a weapon, and with or without injury. Attempted without injury -- The attempt to take property from a person by force or the threat of force without success, either with or without a weapon, but not resulting in injury. Attempted with injury -- The attempt to take property from a person without success, accompanied by an attack, either with or without a weapon, resulting in injury. Rural area -- A place not located inside the Metropolitan Statistical Area. This category includes a variety of localities, ranging from sparsely populated rural areas to cities with populations less than 50,000. Sample -- The set of housing units selected by the U. S. Census Bureau to be interviewed for the survey. All occupants of the household age 12 or older are interviewed. Series -- Six or more similar but separate events, which the respondent is unable to describe separately in detail to an interviewer. Sexual assault -- A wide range of victimizations, separate from rape or attempted rape. These crimes include attacks or attempted attacks generally involving unwanted sexual contact between victim and offender. Sexual assaults may or may not involve force and include such things as grabbing or fondling. Sexual assault also includes verbal threats. Simple assault -- Attack without a weapon resulting either in no injury, minor injury (for example, bruises, black eyes, cuts, scratches or swelling) or in undetermined injury requiring less than 2 days of hospitalization. Also includes attempted assault without a weapon. With minor injury -- An attack without a weapon resulting in such injuries as bruises, black eyes, cuts or in undetermined injury requiring less than 2 days of hospitalization. Without injury -- An attempted assault without a weapon not resulting in injury. Stranger -- A classification of the victim's relationship to the offender for crimes involving direct contact between the two. Incidents are classified as involving strangers if the victim identifies the offender as a stranger, did not see or recognize the offender, or knew the offender only by sight. Crimes involving multiple offenders are classified as involving nonstrangers if any of the offenders was a nonstranger. Since victims of theft without contact rarely see the offender, no distinction is made between strangers and nonstrangers for this crime. Suburban areas -- A county or counties containing a central city, plus any contiguous counties that are linked socially and economically to the central city. On data tables, suburban areas are categorized as those portions of metropolitan areas situated "outside central cities." Tenure -- The NCVS recognizes two forms of household tenancy: (1) owned, which includes dwellings that are mortgaged, and (2) rented, which includes rent-free quarters belonging to a party other than the occupants, and situations where rental payments are in kind or services. Theft -- Completed or attempted theft of property or cash without personal contact. Incidents involving theft of property from within the sample household would classify as theft if the offender has a legal right to be in the house (such as a maid, delivery person, or guest). If the offender has no legal right to be in the house, the incident would classify as a burglary. Completed -- To successfully take without permission property or cash without personal contact between the victim and offender. Attempted -- To unsuccessfully attempt to take property or cash without personal contact. Urban areas -- The largest city (or grouping of cities) in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (see definition of Metropolitan Statistical Area). Victim -- The recipient of a criminal act, usually used in relation to personal crimes, but also applicable to households. Victimization -- A crime as it affects one individual person or household. For personal crimes, the number of victimizations is equal to the number of victims involved. The number of victimizations may be greater than the number of incidents because more than one person may be victimized during an incident. Each crime against a household is assumed to involve a single victim, the affected household. Victimization rate -- A measure of the occurrence of victimizations among a specified population group. For personal crimes, this is based on the number of victimizations per 1,000 residents age 12 or older. For household crimes, the victimization rates are calculated using the number of incidents per 1,000 households. Victimize -- To commit a crime against a person or household. Violence, crimes of -- Rape, sexual assault, personal robbery or assault. This category includes both attempted and completed crimes. It does not include purse snatching and pocket picking. Murder is not measured by the NCVS because of an inability to question the victim. Completed violence -- The sum of all completed rapes, sexual assaults, robberies, and assaults. See individual crime types for definition of completed crimes. Attempted/threatened violence -- The unsuccessful attempt of rape, sexual assault, personal robbery or assault. Includes attempted attacks or sexual assaults by means of verbal threats. See individual crime types for definition of attempted crimes. Tables and Survey Questionnaire are located in ACROBAT file: CVIUS94.PDF ------------ END OF FILE ------------