U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Victims of Crime March 2009, NCJ 225037 -------------------------------------------------------- This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.csv) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/anhpivc.htm -------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- by Erika Harrell, Ph.D. BJS Statistician --------------------------------------------------------- Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders were victims of approximately 105,000 nonfatal violent crimes (rape, sexual assault, aggravated assault, and simple assault) on average per year between 2002 and 2006. An average of about 471,000 property crimes (household burglary, motor vehicle theft, and theft) were committed against Asian, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander households per year during that period. While Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders accounted for 4% of the U.S. population, they were victims in 2% of nonfatal violent crimes and 3% of property crimes between 2002 and 2006. These findings are based on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR), Supplementary Homicide Reports. From 2002 through 2006, comparative nonfatal violent and property victimizations showed-- *Asians had the lowest rate of violent victimization among all racial or ethnic groups.***Footnote 1 Throughout this report, the terms "Asians" and "Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders" are used interchangeably.*** *Asian males were at a slightly higher risk of violent victimization than Asian females. *Among victims, Asians were more likely than non-Asians to be violently victimized by a stranger. *Asian households had the lowest rate of property victimization among households of all racial or ethnic groups. *Property crimes against Asian households were as likely to be reported to the police as property crimes against white, black, or Hispanic households. This report focuses on the victimization experiences of Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders in the United States. It examines nonfatal and fatal violent victimization and property victimization. It also includes comparisons between the victimization of Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders and other racial or ethnic groups, as well as information on victimization trends. From 2002 through 2006, the average annual rate of nonfatal violent victimization against Asians was about 11 violent victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older, compared to 24 per 1,000 persons for non-Asians (table 1). Asians were less vulnerable than non-Asians for nearly all types of nonfatal violent crime. For simple assault, the rate among Asians was less than half that for non-Asians. There was no statistically significant difference between Asians and non-Asians in their rates of robbery. The average annual rate of property victimization among Asian households was 115 property crimes per 1,000 households, compared to 162 per 1,000 non-Asian households from 2002 through 2006. Asian and non-Asian households were equally likely to experience motor vehicle theft during this period. Asian households were half as likely as non-Asian households to experience household burglary. Changes to the NCVS methodology affected crime estimates in 2006 Major changes were introduced to the NCVS methodology in 2006. Due to these changes, estimates of the amounts and rates of crime are not comparable to NCVS estimates from previous years. For more information, see Criminal Victimization, 2006 at: .*** The number of murdered Asian males and females increased between 2005 and 2006 (figure 3). Males accounted for about 74% of Asian homicide victims in 2006, compared to 73% of white homicide victims and 85% of black homicide victims. About 50% of all Asian homicide victims were age 30 or under, which is similar to the percentage of white victims (48%) and less than the percentage of black victims (62%). In single victim and single offender homicides, about 50% of Asian victims were murdered by someone of their race, compared to about 78% of white victims and 92% of black victims. Property victimization for Asian households dropped by about 68% from 1993 through 2005 The rate of property crime for Asian households decreased from about 319 property crimes per 1,000 households in 1993 to about 102 per 1,000 households in 2005 (figure 4). During this period, the rate of property victimization for non-Asian households decreased 51%, from about 323 per 1,000 households in 1993 to 157 per 1,000 households in 2005. Since 1993, a difference in the risk of property victimization of Asian and non-Asian households has emerged. Asian and non-Asian households were equally likely to experience property crime in 1993. In 2005, non-Asian households were more likely to experience property crime than Asian households. Asians had the lowest risk of household burglary and theft among all racial or ethnic groups From 2002 through 2006, the rate of household burglary and theft among Asian households was the lowest of all racial or ethnic groups (table 7). Asian households were slightly more vulnerable to motor vehicle theft than white households and less vulnerable than black or Hispanic households. Asians had lower rates of household property crime than non-Asians in all regions and at most income levels At almost all income levels, Asian households had lower rates of property victimization than non-Asian households (table 8). Among households with annual household incomes between $15,000 and $24,999, there was no statistically significant difference between Asian and non-Asian households in the rate of property victimization from 2002 through 2006. Among Asian households in the U.S., those located in the southern and western regions had the highest rates of property victimization. Asian households had a lower risk of property crime than non-Asian households in every U.S. region. Property crimes against Asian households were as likely as those against white, black, and Hispanic households to be reported to the police From 2002 through 2006, almost 2 in 5 property crimes against Asian households were reported to the police (table 9). As with other racial or ethnic groups, motor vehicle theft had the highest percentage of reports to the police. About 90% of motor vehicle thefts against Asian households were reported. Asian and black households had similar percentages of household burglaries reported to the police. The percentage of thefts against Asian households that was reported to the police was marginally higher than the percentage for American Indian households. Methodology Data sources This report presents data on violent and property crimes against non-Hispanic Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders age 12 or older and their households as measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The terms "Asians" and "Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders" are used interchangeably. These crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault, household burglary, motor vehicle theft, and theft. The NCVS gathers data on crimes against persons age 12 or older and their households, reported and not reported to the police, from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. The survey provides information about victims (age, gender, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, income, and educational level), offenders (gender, race, approximate age, and victim-offender relationship), and the nature of the crime (time and place of occurrence, use of weapons, nature of injury, and economic consequences). Homicide data are from the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR), which are collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). From 1993 through 2006, about 2.2 million individuals age 12 or older were interviewed for the NCVS. For the overall population and for the years measured, response rates varied between 84% and 93% of eligible individuals. About 135,000 persons were interviewed for the NCVS in 2006. Of those interviewed, about 320 persons were non- Hispanic Asians or non-Hispanic Pacific Islanders. Classification by race and Hispanic origin Because the racial categories were changed in 2003, caution is warranted when examining race over time. Since 2003, two questions on the NCVS obtain information on the respondent's race and Hispanic origin: (1) whether the respondent is of Hispanic origin, and (2) which race or races they identify with. Respondents may choose white, black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander, and other race. Respondents who select other race are asked to specify their race. More than one race may be selected. Prior to 2003, respondents were asked to identify the racial group they identified with, including white, black, American Indian/Aleut/Eskimo, Asian/Pacific Islander, or other race. Respondents who selected other race were not able to specify a race for the NCVS. They were also not able to select more than one racial group. After respondents were asked the question on race, they were asked if they were of Hispanic origin. For nonfatal violent crime and property crime discussed in this report, the Asian/Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander category refers to non-Hispanics persons who either chose the Asian/Pacific Islander category prior to 2003 or who chose the Asian or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander category since 2003. Whites refer to non-Hispanic persons who selected the white category. Black and black/African American refer to non-Hispanic persons who chose the black category prior to 2003 and the black/African American category thereafter. Hispanic and Hispanic/Latino categories refer to persons of any race who identified as being of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. American Indians and American Indian/Alaska Natives refer to non-Hispanic persons who selected either the American Indian/Aleut/Eskimo category prior to 2003 or the American Indian/Alaska Native category since 2003. Respondents who reported more than one race were included in all references to non-Asians but were excluded in the breakdown of race and ethnic origin. Persons who reported more than one race made up about 1% of the U.S. population in 2006. Asian, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander households are those for which the head of household reported these categories. In this report for homicide data from the Supplementary Homicide Reports, all racial categories include both Hispanic and non-Hispanic persons. Standard error computations Comparisons of percentages and rates made in this report were tested to determine if observed differences were statistically significant. Differences described as higher, lower, or different passed a hypothesis test at the 0.05 level of statistical significance (95%-confidence level). The tested difference was greater than twice the standard error of that difference. For comparisons that were statistically significant at the 0.10 level (90%-confidence level), "somewhat," "slightly," or "marginally" is used to note the difference. Significance testing calculations were conducted at the Bureau of Justice Statistics using statistical programs developed specifically for the NCVS by the U.S. Census Bureau. These programs take into consideration many aspects of the complex NCVS sample design when calculating estimates. Estimates based on 10 or fewer sample cases have high relative standard errors. Care should be taken when comparing such estimates to other estimates when both are based on 10 or fewer sample cases. ----------------------------------------------------------- The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Michael D. Sinclair is acting director. This Special Report was written by Erika Harrell, Ph.D., under the supervision of Michael R. Rand. Cathy Maston and Patsy Klaus verified the report. Georgette Walsh and Jill Duncan edited the report, and Jayne E. Robinson and Tina Dorsey produced the report and prepared the report for final printing. March 2009, NCJ 225037 ----------------------------------------------------------- This report in portable document format and in ASCII and its related statistical data and tables are available at the BJS World Wide Web Internet site: . ----------------------------------------------------------- Office of Justice Programs Innovation Partnerships Safer Neighborhoods http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov ----------------------------------------------------------- 3/18/2009/ JER