U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report Crimes against Persons Age 65 or Older, 1993-2002 January 2005, NCJ 206154 ----------------------------------------------------------------- This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.wk1) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cpa6502.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#cpa ----------------------------------------------------------------- Patsy Klaus BJS Statistician According to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), persons age 65 or older generally experienced victimizations at much lower rates than younger groups of people from 1993 through 2002. For the period 1993-2002 the elderly experienced nonfatal violent crime at a rate 1/20th that of young persons (4 per 1,000 age 65 or older versus 82 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12-24). Violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assaults. Households headed by persons age 65 or older experienced property crimes at a rate about a fourth of that for households headed by persons under age 25 (93 per 1,000 households versus 406 per 1,000). Purse snatching/pocket picking (personal larceny) was the only measured crime for which the elderly were victimized at about the same rates as most other age groups. Persons age 12-24 were the only group with higher rates of personal larceny than the elderly. Although persons age 65 or older generally experienced lower victimization rates, when they were victimized they were most often the victims of property crimes, which include household burglary, motor vehicle theft and theft. Property crimes accounted for 92% of victimizations affecting persons or households headed by someone 65 or older and 88% of victimizations against persons or households headed by persons age 50-64. In comparison, violent crimes comprised more than half the victimizations experienced by persons age 12-24. Compared to younger victims of personal crimes (rape/sexual assault, robbery, assault, and purse snatching/pocket picking), elderly victims were disproportionately victimized by thefts of their purses or wallets About 1 in 5 of personal crimes against the elderly were thefts compared to about 1 in 33 for persons age 12-49. Trends in violent and property crimes, 1993-2002 Nonfatal violence generally declined for most age groups between 1993 and 2002. The elderly had the lowest rates of any age group for nonfatal violence during this period. In recent years all rates have remained stable, after declining in earlier years. Rates for persons age 50-64 were stable during some of the years in which there were declines for younger age groups. Murder, which is measured by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports, declined slightly for the elderly between 1993 and 1998. Since 1998 murder rates have remained stable for this age group. Persons age 65 or older had lower rates of murder than other age groups every year between 1993 and 2002. Property crime victimizations declined for households headed by all age groups between 1993 and 2002. For persons age 65 or older, property crime rates in 2002 were less than half that of the rates in 1993 (63 per 1,000 households versus 133 per 1,000). Violent victimization characteristics, 1993-2002 Compared to younger persons, the elderly are less likely to be victims of violence, but when victimized, persons age 65 or older -- * were equally likely to face offenders with weapons (30% versus 26%) * were more likely to offer no resistance (45% versus 29%) * were equally likely to receive serious injuries (3% for both groups). Offenders in violent crimes, 1993-2002 Persons age 65 or older, when compared with those age 12-64, -- * were somewhat more likely to face offenders who were strangers to them (53% versus 46%) * were more likely to face offenders age 30 or older (48% versus 30%) * were equally likely to face male offenders (about 79% versus 76%). When and where crimes occurred and reporting of crimes to police Lower percentages of crimes against persons age 65 or older were committed at night compared to crimes against younger persons. About a fourth of violent crimes against the elderly were committed at night, compared to almost half of all violence against persons age 12-64. Similar differences existed for personal larceny (15% versus 34%) and property crime (21% versus 29%). About 46% of violent crimes and about 67% of property crimes against persons or households headed by persons age 65 or older occurred at or near their homes. The elderly were more likely than those age 12-64 to face these crimes while in or near their homes. Purse snatching/pocket picking rarely occurred near home for either persons age 65 or older or those under age 65 (5% versus 6%). Compared to younger victims, persons age 65 or older were more likely to report violence (53% versus 44%) and purse snatching/pocket picking (42% versus 32%) to the police. Slightly over a third of all households, regardless of the age of the household head, reported property crimes. Methodology This report presents data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). This survey obtains information about criminal victimizations and incidents from an ongoing, nationally representative sample of households in the United States. Information about murder was obtained from the Uniform Crime Reports sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Data were obtained from Supplemental Homicide Reports covering the period of 1993 through 2002. Some crimes of concern are not within the scope of the NCVS. The NCVS is a household-based survey. It does not interview persons living in institutions, so that it cannot measure victimization of the elderly who reside in such settings. The NCVS does not measure most types of fraud. Questions concerning identity theft were added to the questionnaire in July 2004 and Will be analyzed in future reports when data become available. NCVS data are useful for providing a comprehensive overview of the entire elderly population within the United States. Within this population, however, there are people with particular vulnerabilities whose victimization may be under reported or outside of the scope of the crimes measured by this survey. Other types of studies targeted at specific groups, such as elderly people in nursing homes, are needed to complement the data available through NCVS. Computation of standard errors The comparisons made in this report were tested to determine whether the observed differences between groups were statistically significant. Except where otherwise noted comparisons mentioned in this report passed a hypothesis test at the .05 level of statistical significance (or the 95% confidence level). One should use caution when comparing estimates not discussed in the text. Seemingly large differences may not be statistically significant at the 95% or even the 90% confidence level. -------------------------------------------- The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Lawrence A. Greenfeld is director. Patsy Klaus of BJS wrote this report. Cathy Maston provided verification. Carolyn C. Williams produced and edited the report. Jayne Robinson administered final production. January 2005, NCJ 206154 Office of Justice Programs Partnerships for Safer Communities http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov ------------------------------------------- End of file 01/04/05 ih