U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Data Brief National Crime Victimization Survey Crime and the Nation's Households, 2005 April 2007, NCJ 217198 -------------------------------------------------------- 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/cnh05.htm This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all in the series go to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#cnh -------------------------------------------------------- By Patsy Klaus BJS Statistician In 2005, 14% of the Nation's households, accounting for 16 million households, experienced one or more violent or property victimizations as measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). These crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault, purse snatching or pocket picking, household burglary, motor vehicle theft, and property theft. They also include crimes both unreported and reported to police. About 3% of households in 2005 had a member age 12 or older who experienced one or more violent crimes. Simple assault was the type of violent crime experienced by most households. About 12% of households, or 14.1 million households, experienced one or more property crimes, which include household burglary, motor vehicle theft and property theft. About 1 in 10 households experienced property theft, the most frequently encountered property crime. While there were no real differences between 2004 and 2005 in the percentage of households experiencing any crime, both violent and property crime declined between 1994 and 2005. U.S. households experiencing one or more crimes dropped from 25% in 1994 to 14% in 2005. The percentages declined each year from 1994 through 2001, before leveling off in 2002 through 2005. There were no year-to-year changes after 2001. Measuring crime by counting the affected households gives an understanding of whether crime is concentrated in fewer households or spread among more households in the Nation. When interpreted in relation to the criminal victimization statistics reported in the annual BJS Bulletin, Criminal Victimization 2005, the households-victimized-by-crime indicator shows the proportion of households in the Nation that experience different crimes. Major findings include -- * Fewer than 1% of households had members victimized by more than one type of violence. * About 1 in 320 households were affected by intimate partner violence. * 4.4% of households experienced at least 1 vandalism victimization. * 18% of households headed by Hispanics experienced one or more crimes, compared to 13% of non-Hispanics. * Households in the West were more likely to experience one or more crimes compared to households in other regions. 1 in 36 households experienced one or more violent crimes in 2005 In 2005 about 16 million of the 117.1 million U.S. households experienced one or more violent or property victimizations as measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey (see box below). Violent crimes, which include rape, sexual assault, robbery, simple and aggravated assault, were experienced by about 1 in every 36 households in 2005. About 2.2 million households had members who experienced simple assault, the most frequently encountered crime of violence. Simple assault does not result in serious injury and does not involve a weapon. ----------------------------------------------- The National Crime Victimization Survey The NCVS is the Nation's primary source of information on the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization. One of the largest continuous household surveys conducted by the Federal Government, the NCVS collects information about crimes both reported and not reported to police. The survey, conducted since 1972, provides a national forum for victims to describe their experiences of victimization and the impact of crime. Information is collected twice a year from households that remain in the sample for three years. Data are collected by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). For more information about the NCVS see . ----------------------------------------------- Few households experienced more than one type of crime Fewer than 1% of households had members victimized by more than one type of violence in 2005. About 1% of households were victimized by both violent and property crimes. Such households were counted once in the violent crime measure, once in the property crime measure and once in the overall crime measure. Intimate partner violence affected about 1 in 320 households in 2005 Fewer than 1% of households experienced intimate partner violence, which is violence committed by a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend. One or more members of about 365,000 households experienced at least one intimate partner violence victimization in 2005 (see ). There was no change between 2004 and 2005. If two or more members of a household were victims or if a member experienced multiple victimizations, the household would be counted only once in the households-victimized-by-crime measure. Vandalism was counted separately from the overall measure of households experiencing crime In 2005 about 5.1 million households or 4.4% of U.S. households experienced at least one vandalism victimization. First compiled by the NCVS in 2000, vandalism is not included in the overall measure of households experiencing violent or property crime. If vandalism were included in the total percentage of households experiencing crime, the percentage would increase from 14% to 17%. The total number of households experiencing one or more crimes, including vandalism, would increase to 19.8 million households. Households experiencing crime differed by race and Hispanic origin In 2005 white households (14%) were more likely than households of other races (11%) to sustain one or more crimes. The other races category is composed of American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders. There were no measurable differences in the percentages of white and black households sustaining one or more crimes. Households headed by persons identifying themselves as being of more than one race were more likely to sustain crimes than those in other racial categories. Fewer than 1% of all heads of households identified themselves as being of more than one race. Households headed by Hispanics were more likely to sustain one or more crimes than those headed by non-Hispanics(18% compared to 13%). Hispanic origin is tabulated separately from race. Households in the West were more likely than those in other regions to experience crime When compared with households in other regions of the country, households located in the West were more likely to have experienced one or more victimizations. The overall findings are primarily the result of property crime. The Midwest was more likely than the Northeast to have one or more household members victimized by crime. There was no statistical difference between the South and the Midwest in households victimized during 2005. Larger households were more likely to experience crime Household size affected the likelihood of experiencing criminal victimization in 2005. The larger the size of household, the more likely it was to have a member who had experienced one or more victimizations. Ten percent of one-person households were victimized during 2005 compared with 27% of households with six or more members. In general these patterns applied to both violent and property crimes. For overall violence households with four or more members were more likely to have experienced violence than smaller households. For property crimes the larger the household size, the higher the percentage of households experiencing one or more property crimes. Percentage of households experiencing crimes was higher in urban areas Households in urban areas were more likely to experience one or more crimes than suburban households and rural households in 2005. Fifteen percent of urban households had experienced a property crime, compared to 10% of rural households. Methodology This report presents data on nonlethal violence and property crimes from the National Crime Victimization Survey(NCVS). In 2005, 77,200 households and 134,000 individuals age 12 or older were interviewed. For the 2005 NCVS data presented here, the response rate was 90.7% for eligible households and 84.3% of eligible individuals. The households-victimized-by-crime measure counts each household once for the calendar year, regardless of the number of times a household experienced a particular type of crime. For the overall indicator, household-based crime estimates are derived from NCVS statistics on rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault (both aggravated and simple), personal theft, household burglary, motor vehicle theft, and property theft. A household is counted if anyone in the household experienced one or more of these crimes within the year. A household is counted only once if members experienced multiple crimes of each type within the year. Additional information about criminal victimization is available in the annual bulletin, Criminal Victimization, 2005 at . More detailed tables from the survey and detailed information about the survey methodology are available in Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2005 Statistical Tables, at . Detailed information about the construction of the households-victimized-by-crime measure is available in Crime and the Nation's Households, 2000, with Trends, 1994-2000 at . -------------------------------------------- The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Jeffrey L. Sedgwick is director. This Data Brief was written by Patsy Klaus, under the supervision of Michael R. Rand. Cathy T. Maston verified the report. Tina Dorsey and Carolyn Williams produced the report and Jayne Robinson prepared the report for final printing, under the supervision of Doris J. James. April 2007, NCJ 217198 --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- 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: . ---------------------------------------------- End of file 04/16/07 ih