U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Special Reported

Third-Party Involvement in Violent 
Crime, 1993-99


July 2002, NCJ 189100


------------------------------------------------------------------
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/tpivc99.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------

By Mike Planty, Ph.D.
BJS Statistician

------------------------------------------------------------------
Highlights

About 66% of all violent crimes between
1993 and 1999 occurred in the presence
of someone in addition to the victim and
offender(s).

*  Third parties were present during
two-thirds of all violent victimizations
between 1993 and 1999.  Third parties were
present at 70% of assaults, 52% of
robberies, and 29% of rapes or sexual
assaults.  

*   About a third of all intimate partner
violence occurred in the presence of a third
party compared to about two-thirds of
violence between strangers or other
acquaintances.

*  Less than a quarter of third parties
present during a violent crime were harmed
or robbed themselves.  Of all violent
victimizations 51% involved only one victim
and at least one third party.

*  Third parties were more likely to help the
situation than to make it worse, but more
often they did neither.  Victims stated that
the actions of third parties helped in 36% of
violent victimizations, worsened the situation
in 11%, and did neither in 44%.

*  Third parties primarily helped by preventing 
injuries.  In 18% of cases where a third party 
was present, the actions of that person helped 
to prevent injury, compared to 1% in which the 
actions caused injury.

*  On average each year, 1993-99, third-party 
actions prevented injuries in 1.2 million 
violent victimizations.

*  In 38% of the victimizations in which the
third party helped, either the victim escaped
or the offender was scared off.

*  Violent victimizations at school or occurring
during leisure activities away from home were
the most likely circumstances to involve the
presence of a third party.
------------------------------------------------------------

At least one other person besides a lone
victim and the offender(s) was present at
about two-thirds of violent victimizations,
according to estimates from the National
Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 1993-99.  
In about 6.4 million violent victimizations 
annually a third party was present.  Less 
than a quarter of these third parties were 
victimized themselves.

Violent crime is often characterized as an
event occurring in isolation between an offender 
and a victim.  These characterizations are often 
void of the situational and social context in 
which these events occur.  Criminal incidents 
may occur in the presence of or involve persons 
in addition to a lone victim and the offender(s). 

These third parties may be victimized themselves, 
witness the crime, intervene during the incident, 
and/or escalate the violence of the incident. 
(See page 7.) Third parties sometimes choose not 
to become involved even during an assault.

In addition to the third party's presence during 
an incident of violence, they often serve as 
witnesses to criminal events.  They may call the 
police, provide information that helps to solve 
crimes, clarify the characteristics of the incident, 
or bear some responsibility for the commencement 
or escalation of violence.  Therefore, to better
understand many violent crimes, it is necessary 
to account for persons present at but often not 
directly involved in the victimization.

---------------------------------------------
The National Crime Victimization 
Survey (NCVS)

The NCVS is the Nation's primary source
of information on the frequency,
characteristics, and consequences of
criminal victimization.  One of the largest
ongoing household surveys conducted by
the Federal Government, the NCVS
collects information about crimes both
reported and not reported to police.  

The survey provides a national forum for
victims to describe the impact of crime and
the characteristics of violent offenders. 
This report is one in an ongoing series
using the NCVS to inform topics of
particular interest.  Previous reports in 
this series and NCVS data are presented on
the BJS website at  - www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
------------------------------------------------

This report uses data from the NCVS to
describe how often and under what
circumstances other people, in addition to
the victim interviewed and the offender(s),
are present during a violent crime and their
impact on the outcome of these events.

A third party is an individual(s) other than
the victim interviewed and the offender(s)
who is present during a violent crime.  For
example, a third party may be another
victim, a bystander, an eyewitness, one who
intervenes, an instigator, another household
member, a police officer, or some combination 
of the above.  (For more detailed information 
on the definition of a third party, see page 3.)

Presence of a third party

NCVS data show for 1993-1999, on average, over 
66% of all violent crimes involved someone 
besides the offender and victim. The percentage 
of crimes involving a third party did not change 
significantly from 1993 to 1999.

Third parties were present most often during
aggravated (71%) and simple assaults (70%) and 
less often during rapes/sexual assaults (29%).  
About half of all robberies are committed in 
the presence of a third party.

Victimization of third parties

It is possible that third parties were also the
target of the violence, such as a robber who
victimized a group of shoppers.  In other
cases the third party may have been harmed when 
he or she attempted to intervene.  For example, 
third parties may be shot or stabbed when they 
attempt to stop a crime. 
 
The NCVS cannot identify the true intent of
the offender.  It does not collect information
on whether third parties present during the
incident were targeted by the offender or
became involved in some other way. In
addition, the NCVS does not record the
number of third persons present during the
incident, only the number who were victimized.

When present during a violent incident,
third parties were not likely to be harmed
or robbed.  While 66% of all violent
victimizations involved third parties, 15%
involved multiple victims.  Of those
incidents in which a third party was
present, 23% involved two or more victims:
14% involved two victims, 4% three victims, 
and 5% four or more victims.

Of those victimizations involving third
parties, the number of victims varied by type
of crime.  Thirty-two percent of aggravated
assault incidents involving third parties
resulted in another person being harmed or
robbed, compared to 11% of rape/ sexual
assaults.  Compared to other types of crime,
assaults are significantly more likely to
involve a third party, and these persons are
more likely to be harmed.

In general, crimes with multiple offenders
were more likely than single offender crimes
to involve multiple victims.  Twenty-seven
percent of the victimizations involving
multiple offenders were associated with
multiple victims compared to 12% of
victimizations involving a single offender.

------------------------------------------
Definition of a third party in the NCVS

A third party for this study is defined as
any person at least age 12, other than the
victim interviewed and the offender, who
was present during the victimization.  Third
parties may have been victimized during
the incident and did not necessarily
intervene, physically or verbally. Third-party 
presence and the actions of third parties are 
based on the victim's perception of the events 
as stated during the survey interview.  These 
perceptions were influenced by the victim's 
ability to accurately recognize and recall the
attributes of the incident.  For example, the
victim may have not been aware of the presence 
or actions  of other parties outside of their 
purview while the crime was occurring.

Third parties include eyewitnesses, bystanders, 
instigators, interlopers, other household members, 
and police officers. Third parties can be a single 
person or a group. In some cases the victim may 
have been a third-party witness who intervened
and was then victimized.  The NCVS does ask how 
many other persons were victimized but does not 
count the number of third parties present.

An incident may have multiple victims,
including third parties age 12 or older who
were present during the incident and either
harmed, threatened with harm, or victimized.

To be considered “present,” the third party
must have been at the immediate scene of
the crime during the incident.  The
opportunity for this person to be attacked
or threatened or to lose something by
robbery or theft must have been possible
to consider the person present.  The third
party did not have to be conscious or
awake to be considered present.  A third
party not at the scene of the crime but
personally attacked or threatened with
harm or subject to attempted harm was
considered present.  These situations
include being shot at through a window by
someone outside a building and being
threatened by a neighbor in the next yard
but do not include threats not made in
person, such as over the telephone or
through another person, the mail, or the
Internet.
-------------------------------------------

Victim characteristics and third-party
involvement

The percentage of violent crimes committed in 
the presence of someone other than the victim 
and offender varied by important victim 
characteristics.

Gender of victim

Males were more likely than females to
experience a violent crime in the presence
of a third party, 1993-99.  Seventy percent
of all violent crime involving male victims
was committed in the presence of another
person compared to 61% involving female
victims. 

Age of victim

Younger persons were more likely to
experience violent victimization in the
presence of another party.  Seventy-four
percent of all violent crime experienced by
victims age 12 to 19 involved third parties,
compared to 61% of incidents with victims
age 25 to 64 and 52% with victims age 65 or
older.  Sixty-eight percent of all violence
experienced by victims age 20 to 24
occurred in the presence of a third party.

Marital status

Married victims were as likely as those who
have never been married to have a third
party present during a violent crime. 
Seventy percent of all violence experienced
by those never married occurred in the
presence of a third party compared to 67%
of those who were married.  Divorced/separated 
and widowed persons were less likely to have 
another person present during the violent event 
(54% and 51%, respectively).

Race of victim

In general, white victims experienced violence 
more often in the presence of a third party than 
victims of other races.  From 1993 to 1999, 67% 
of violent victimizations experienced by white 
victims occurred in the presence of a third 
party compared to 63% for black victims, 64% 
for Hispanic victims, and 62% for victims of 
"other races."  

Household income

Overall the higher the person's annual
household income, the greater the likelihood
that a third party was present during the
victimization.  Third parties were present at
61% of victimizations  in which the victim
had an annual household income of less
than $15,000, compared to 72% of victimizations 
of victims with annual household incomes of 
$50,000 or more.

Offender characteristics and third-
party involvement

Sixty-four percent of violent crimes in which
the victim knew the offender occurred in the
presence of a third party compared to 70%
for violence involving strangers.  Intimate
partner violence occurred in the presence of
third parties 36% of the time compared to
69% for non-intimate violence.

Three-quarters of all gang-related incidents
involved third parties compared to 65% of
non-gang violence. 

Third parties were more likely to be present
when the victim perceived that the offender
was using alcohol and/or drugs during the
incident (70%).

Situational aspects of victimizations
involving third parties

Weapon use

Third parties were as likely to be present at
crimes in which someone had a weapon   firearm, 
knife, or other weapon -- as they were to be at 
incidents in which there was no weapon.  A third 
party was present in 67% of violent incidents 
involving a weapon or not.

Urbanicity

The level of third-party involvement in violent 
crime was greater in both rural and suburban 
locations than in urban areas.  Sixty-four 
percent of urban victims of violent crime 
reported the presence of a third party
compared to 67% and 68% for suburban and rural 
victims, respectively.

Victim activity

The presence of third parties varied depending 
on what the victim was doing before the incident 
occurred.  School and leisure activities away 
from home were the most likely activities to 
include third parties when a victimization 
occurred.

Time of incident

The presence of a third party did not vary by 
the time the incident occurred.  Both daytime 
and nighttime victimizations had a third party 
present about 66% of the time.

Reporting to the police

The presence of a third party was significantly 
related to whether the police were notified. Police 
notification occurred 41% of the time when the 
victimization involved the victim only versus 44% 
when the victimization occurred in the presence
of a third party.  Police notification may occur 
during the incident or even hours or days later, 
by the victim or by someone else.

Third-party involvement and whether 
it helped or worsened the situation 

For all types of crime, when third parties were 
present, victims stated that the third parties were 
more likely to help the situation (36%) than to 
make it worse (11%), but most of the time they did 
neither (44%).  In a small number of cases, third 
parties both helped and hurt the situation (3%).

The NCVS asks only about how the actions of the 
third party either helped or worsened the situation.  
It does not gather information about the number of 
third parties present who could have intervened
or about the characteristics of those who did (or 
did not) intervene.

Third parties were more likely to help the
situation than to make it worse, regardless
of the type of crime.  However third parties
were less likely to help the situation during
robberies (29%) compared to either simple
(36%) or aggravated (38%) assaults.  The
percent of third parties who made the
situation worse did not differ by type of
crime.

Third parties helping the situation

A third party most often helped the victim by
preventing injury (47%).  This help resulted
in 1.2 million victimizations annually,
1993-99, in which an injury or further injury
to the victim was prevented.  In 38% of the
cases in which the third parties helped,
either the victim escaped (20%) or the
offender was scared off (18%), totaling 
940,310 such victimizations annually. 
Third-party actions also helped to protect
other people (9%) and property (3%).

Third parties worsening the situation

In cases when the victim stated that third-party 
actions worsened the situation, usually the 
offender had become angrier (62%).  In 8% of these 
cases, third-party actions resulted in victim 
injury, and in 5%, in others being hurt worse. In 
30% of these cases the victim was harmed in other 
ways.

In 18% of cases when a third party was present the 
actions of this person helped to prevent injury 
compared to 1% in which the actions caused victim 
injury. 

Intervention outcomes and incident
characteristics

When a third party was present, the victim's
perception varied as to whether the third
party helped or made the situation worse.

Weapons

There was no significant difference in
whether a third party either hurt or helped
the situation if the offender was armed or
unarmed.  Third parties helped in about 37%
of cases and hurt in 11%, but were most
likely to do neither (43%).

Victim-offender relationship

Victims perceived third-party involvement
as more helpful in incidents involving
strangers than in victimizations in which
the victims knew the offenders.  In
addition, third parties were more likely to
make the situation worse when the offender 
was known to the victim than in a stranger-
related victimization.  In either case third 
parties were more likely to help than make 
the situation worse, but often did neither.

When intimate partner violence and non-intimate 
violence is compared, the results of third-party 
involvement did not differ significantly. Third 
parties helped in about 35% of these victimizations, 
made the situation worse in 12% of the cases, and 
did neither in 44%.  In both cases, third parties
were more likely to help than hurt, but often did 
neither.

Urbanicity

The outcome of third-party involvement did not
differ by the residential location of the victim. 
Regardless of location third parties helped the
situation in about 35% of victimizations and
made it worse in about 11% of victimizations. 

Gang-related incidents

The percent of victimizations that were helped 
by third-party involvement did not differ
significantly based on offender gang membership.  
However if the offender was in a gang third parties 
were likely to make the situation worse. In all 
instances, third parties were more likely to help 
than to make the situation worse, but most did 
neither.

Offender alcohol/drug use

When the victim perceived the offender to be under 
the influence of alcohol and/or drugs during the 
incident, third parties were more likely to help 
the situation than to make it worse or to have no 
impact.  In these incidents, third-party actions 
were more likely to help the situation or to make
the situation worse compared to incidents where 
the offender was not under the influence of alcohol 
and/or drugs. 

Survey methodology

This Special Report presents data on rape,
sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, 
and simple assault from the National Crime 
Victimization Survey (NCVS). The NCVS gathers 
data on crimes against persons age 12 or older,
reported and not reported to the police,
from a nationally representative sample of
U.S. households.  The NCVS provides information 
about victims (age, gender, race, ethnicity, 
marital status, income, and educational level), 
offenders (gender, race, approximate age, and 
victim-offender relations) and the nature of 
the crime (time and place of occurrence, use 
of weapons, nature of injury, and economic
consequences).  

Between 1993 and 1999 approximately 336,300 
households and 651,750 individuals age 12 or 
older were interviewed.  For the NCVS data
presented, response rates varied between
93% and 96% of eligible households and
between 89% and 92% of eligible individuals. 

In some instances the sample size used to
generate an estimate is small.  While the
estimate is reliable, it is also likely
associated with a relatively large
confidence interval and should be viewed
with caution.

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 .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 nature of
the difference. 
              
Caution is required when comparing estimates not 
explicitly discussed in this Special Report. What 
may appear to be large differences may not test as
statistically significant at the 95% or the 90% 
confidence level.  Significance testing calculations 
were conducted at the Bureau of Justice Statistics 
using statistical programs developed specifically 
for the NCVS by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. 
These programs take into consideration many 
aspects of the complex NCVS sample design when 
calculating generalized variance estimates.

------------------------------------------------
Futher reading on third parties and crime

*  Richard Felson and H. S. Steadman,
“Situations and Processes Leading to
Criminal Violence,” Criminology, 26, 1983,
pp. 59-74.

*  Leslie Kennedy and David Forde, When
Push Comes to Shove: A Routine Conflict
Approach to Violence, Albany, NY: State
University of New York Press, 1999.

*  B. Latane and S. Nida, “Ten Years of
Research on Group Size and Helping,”
Psychological Bulletin, 89, 1981, pp.
308-324. 

*  A. M. Rosenthal, Thirty-eight Witnesses,
New York: McGraw Hill, 1964.

*  R. L. Shotland and L. I. Goodstein, “The
Role of Bystanders in Crime Control,”
Journal of Social Issues, 40, 1984, pp. 9-26.

*  Samantha Wells and Kathryn Graham,
“The Frequency of Third-Party Involvement
in Incidents of Barroom Aggression,”
Contemporary Drug Problems, 26, 1999, pp.
457-480.
----------------------------------------

Definitions

The NCVS data have a number of data collection 
procedures to consider when discussing violent 
crime. The victims recall the incidents and the 
data are not verified through other data sources.  
Victims do not report many of these incidents to 
law enforcement officials.  The survey relies on
the victim's ability to recall accurately the
characteristics of each incident.

The NCVS treats six or more incidents similar in 
nature, for which the victim is unable to furnish 
the specific details for each incident separately, 
as "series data."  Only the incident information 
about the most recent incident is collected, and 
the NCVS counts the series as one victimization.

Violent crime is defined in this report as
attempted or completed rape, sexual assault, 
robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault.  
Definitions used in this report are as follows:

Rape is forced sexual intercourse, including 
both psychological coercion and physical force.  
Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, anal, 
or oral penetration by the offender(s).  This 
category includes incidents where the penetration 
is from a foreign object such as a bottle. This
definition includes attempted rapes, male and 
female victims, and heterosexual and homosexual 
rape.

Sexual assault includes a wide range of
victimizations, distinct from rape or
attempted rape.  These crimes include
completed or attempted attacks generally
involving unwanted sexual contact between 
the 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.

Robbery is a 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 an injury.

Aggravated assault is a completed or
attempted attack with a weapon, regardless 
of whether or not an injury occurred.  It 
is also an attack without a weapon in which 
the victim is seriously injured.  Simple assault 
is an attack without a weapon resulting either 
in no injury, minor injury (such as bruises, 
black eyes, cuts, scratches, or swelling), or 
an undetermined injury requiring less than 2
days of hospitalization.  Simple assaults
also include attempted assaults without a
weapon. 

----------------------------------------
The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the
statistical agency of the U.S. Department 
of Justice.  Lawrence A. Greenfeld is 
acting director.

BJS Special Reports address a specific
topic in depth from one or more datasets
that cover many topics.

Mike G. Planty wrote this report under the
supervision of Michael Rand.  Timothy C.
Hart provided statistical assistance and
verification.  Tom Hester edited the report. 
Jayne Robinson prepared the report for
publication.

July 2002, NCJ 189100
----------------------------------------


End of file
06/19/02 ih