Young Black Male Victims: National Crime Victimization Survey U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief Young Black Male Victims: National Crime Victimization Survey Decmber 1994, Order No. NCJ-147004 These data are drawn from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), an ongoing survey of U.S. residents age 12 or older. Hard copy with graphics is available from the Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse, 1-800-732-3277, or for a limited time from the BJS fax-on-demand system, 301-216-1827. By Lisa D. Bastian and Bruce M. Taylor BJS Statisticians In 1992 black males age 12 to 24 experienced violent crime at a rate significantly higher than the rates for other age or racial groups. Males age 16 to 19 were particularly at risk; their violent victimization rate was almost double the rate for white males and 3 times that for white females in the same age range. *Among persons age 16 to 24, the rate of violent crime that black males sustained was more than 1. times the rate for white males. *While black males between the ages of 16 and 24 comprised only about 1% of the population age 12 and over in 1992 they experienced 5% of all violent victimizations. White males 16 to 24 made up about 6% of the population and were victims in 17% of violent crimes. Serious violent crime victimizations, 1987-92 Excluding murder (murder is not measured by the NCVS because of the inability to question the victim), the most serious violent crimes (rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults) comprised 60% of all violent victimizations of black males age 12 to 24 in 1987 and 65% in 1992. The proportion of these crimes against white males in the same age range remained stable at about 45%. *During the same 6-year period, more than half of the violent crimes committed against young white males were simple assaults--crimes that involved no weapon and resulted in little or no injury. For young black males, slightly more than 1 in 3 violent crimes were simple assaults. Between 1973 and 1992, the rate of violent victimizations of young black males (rapes, robberies, and assaults) increased about 25%. Overall, among persons age 12 to 24, there was 1 violent victimization for 10 black males in 1973 and 1 for 8 in 1992. Black men age 20 to 24 sustained 1 violent crime for-- 10.3 persons in 1973 8 in 1992 Black men age 16 to 19 sustained 1 violent crime for-- 11 persons in 1973 6 in 1992 Black males age 12 to 15 sustained 1 violent crime for-- 10 persons in 1973 14 in 1992. Weapon involvement in violent crimes, 1987-92 Black youth were more likely than white youth to be victims in crimes involving weapons. Black males age 16 to 24 were 1 1/2 times as likely as white males to be victimized by an armed offender or offenders. *For victimizations involving a weapon, among male victims age 16 to 19, 50% of the black victims and 22% of the white victims faced a handgun. Specifically, the average rate of handgun victimizations per 1,000 black males age 16 to 19 was 39.7 from 1987 through 1992, 4 times the rate for white males. From 1987 to 1992, the average annual rate of handgun victimization per 1,000 young black males was 3 to 4 times higher than for young white males Average annual rate of crime committed with handguns (per 1,000 persons)* ---------------------------------------- Male victims Female victims ---------------- ------------------ Age of victim White Black White Black ------------------------------------------------------------- 12-15 3.1 14.1 2.1 4.7 16-19 9.5 39.7 3.6 13.4 20-24 9.2 29.4 3.5 9.1 25-34 4.9 12.3 2.1 9.0 35-49 2.7 8.7 1.4 3.3 50-64 1.2 3.5 0.7 1.6 65 or older 0.6 3.7 0.2 2.3 *Rates per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in each specified category of the population. Rates do not include murder or nonnegligent manslaughter committed with handguns. Violent offender characteristics In those violent victimizations when the victim could determine characteristics of the offender-- *Victim and offender were of similar ages. Persons under age 21 committed two-thirds of the victimizations of black males between 12 and 21. *Among the victims of violence age 12 to 24, 82% of the victimizations of black males and 71% of the victimizations of white males involved an offender or offenders of the same race. Homicides Even though black males age 12 to 24 represent 1.3% of the population, the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) 1992 data show that they experienced 17.2% of single-victim homicides. This translates to a homicide rate of 114.9 per 100,000 black males in this age range. Black males age 12 to 24 were almost 14 times as likely to be homicide victims as were members of the general population. The homicide rate for older black males was 67.5 per 100,000 in 1992, 8 times that for the general population. UCR Homicide and nonnegligent manslaughter, 1992 Single-victim homicides* Homicide Sex, age Population Percent rate per and race Number Percent Number of total 100,000 --------------------------------------------------------------- Males,12-24 Black 3,234,950 1.3% 3,718 17.2% 114.9 White 18,939,790 7.4 2,220 10.3 11.7 Males, 25 or older Black 7,561,440 3.0% 5,103 23.6% 67.5 White 66,116,290 25.9 5,138 23.8 7.8 Other 159,229,530 62.4% 5,249 24.3% 3.3 Total 255,082,000 100% 21,617 100% 8.5 *96.2% of all homicides. Undetermined characteristics existed for 0.9% of victims. Sources: NCVS, Statistical Abstract of the United States, and Uniform Crime Reports.