U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Use of Victim Service Agencies by Victims of Serious Violent Crime, 1993-2009 Special Report August 2011 NCJ 234212 Lynn Langton, BJS Statistician ---------------------------------------------------------- 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 on BJS website at: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2432 ----------------------------------------------------------- From 1993 to 2009, an average of 9% of victims of serious violent crime--rape or other sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault--received assistance from a victim service agency (figure 1). Victim service agencies are publicly or privately funded organizations that provide victims with support and services to aid their physical and emotional recovery, offer protection from future victimizations, guide them through the criminal justice system process, and assist them in obtaining restitution. Data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) reveal no measurable change in the percentage of serious violent crime victims age 12 or older who received help or advice from a victim service agency in 1993 and 2009 (figure 1). However, because the serious violent crime rate declined in the United States during this period, a smaller number of serious violent crime victims received assistance in 2009 than in 1993. From 2000 to 2009, the majority of victims of serious violent crime did not receive assistance from a victim service agency. A greater percentage of female victims of serious violent crime (15%), victims of intimate partner violence (23%), and victims who suffered an injury (15%) received assistance from a victim service agency, compared to male serious violent crime victims (6%); victims of crimes by a stranger, acquaintance, or relative (8%); and victims who were not injured during the offense (7%). --------------------------------------------------------- Highlights * About 9% of serious violent crime victims received direct assistance from a victim service agency from 1993 to 2009. * From 2000 to 2009, 14% of violent crime victims who reported the crime to the police received direct assistance from a victim service agency, compared to 4% when the crime was not reported. * Victims who received direct assistance from a victim service agency were more likely to see an arrest made in the case and have contact with a non-law enforcement criminal justice official, such as a judge or prosecutor, than victims who did not receive direct assistance. * About 1 in 5 victims of rape or other sexual assault received assistance from a victim service agency. * A greater percentage of serious intimate partner violence victims (23%) received assistance from a victim service agency than other serious violent crime victims (8%). * From 2000 to 2009, a greater percentage of female (15%) than male (6%) victims of serious violent crime received assistance from a victim service agency. * A slightly greater percentage of serious violent crime victims living in rural areas (12%) received assistance from victim service agencies than victims living in urban areas (8%). -------------------------------------------------------- Victims who received direct assistance from a victim service agency were more likely to experience a follow-up criminal justice system action related to the crime, such as an arrest or contact from a judge or prosecutor, compared to victims who did not receive assistance from a victim service agency. Using data from the NCVS, this report primarily examines the trends from 2000 to 2009 in the percentage and type of crime victims who received assistance from a victim service agency. It also examines the relationship between victims receiving assistance and reporting the crime to the police, and other criminal justice system actions pertaining to the crime. From 1993 to 2009, the percentage of victims receiving assistance from victim service agencies remained relatively stable While the percentage of serious violent crime victims who received assistance from victim service agencies remained relatively stable from 1993 to 2009, the number of victims who received assistance declined. From 1993 to 1999, an annual average of 297,000 serious violent crime victims received assistance, compared to an annual average of 193,000 from 2000 to 2009 (not shown in a table). Footnote***The counts exclude victims of simple assault, property crimes, and other crimes reported in the NCVS, such as identity theft and stalking, who also received assistance from victim service agencies. Estimates generated by other organizations on the use of victim service agencies may also include the family and friends of victims who received assistance and may count each repeated use of services separately.*** The percentage of serious violent crime victims who received assistance from a victim service agency increased slightly during the mid-2000s before returning to a level in 2009 comparable to 1993 (figure 2). In 1993 a similar percentage (3%) of serious violent crime victims' received assistance from government-funded and privately funded victim service agencies. However, the percentage of victims who received assistance from a government-funded victim service agency increased from about 3% in 1993 to about 5% in 2009. In 2009, the percentage of victims who received assistance from a publicly funded agency (5%) was more than double the percentage of victims who received assistance from a privately funded agency (2%). A greater percentage of serious violent crime victims received assistance when the crime was reported to the police (14%), compared to victims whose victimization was not reported (4%) From 2000 to 2009, about 58% of serious violent crimes were reported to the police (not shown in a table). The percentage of serious violent crime victims who received assistance from a victim service agency was more than 3 times greater among those whose victimization was reported to the police (14%) compared to those whose victimizations was not reported (4%) (table 1). About 1.5 million serious violent crime victims who reported to the police received assistance from a victim service agency during the 10-year period, while about 300,000 victims who did not report received assistance (not shown in a table). The apparent relationship between the victim reporting the crime to the police and receiving assistance may suggest that the police refer victims to victim service agencies or that a greater percentage of victims decide to contact the police after receiving assistance. About 9.5 million victims who reported to the police did not receive assistance during the 10-year period (not shown in a table). Among persons whose victimization was reported to the police, the percentage receiving assistance was similar in 2009 (12%) and 2000 (11%). However, during this period the percentage of victims who reported to the police and received assistance varied depending on victim and crime characteristics (appendix table 1). A greater percentage of serious violent crime victims who received assistance experienced a follow-up criminal justice system action compared to those who did not receive assistance The NCVS collects data on four types of criminal justice system actions that can be taken in response to a crime: police are notified of the crime, a formal complaint is signed, an arrest is made, and the victim receives contact from a non-law enforcement criminal justice authority, such as a prosecutor or a judge. From 2000 to 2009, a greater percentage of victims who received assistance from a victim service agency experienced each type of follow-up action than victims who did not receive assistance (figure 3). The percentage of victims who experienced all four types of criminal justice system actions was more than 5 times greater among victims who received assistance (24%) than among victims who did not (4%). Similarly, the percentage of victims who received assistance from victim service agencies was greater among victims who had experienced all four types of criminal justice system action (39%) than those who had not (8%) (appendix table 4). Together, these finding may suggest that some victims who receive assistance take steps to move the case through the process and that some victims whose cases have moved further through the system may then receive assistance. From 2000 to 2009, about 1 in 5 victims of rape or other sexual assault received assistance from a victim service agency Overall, a greater percentage of serious violent crime victims (10%) than victims of simple assault (7%) and property crime (2%) received assistance from a victim service agency from 2000 to 2009 (table 2). Among violent crime victims, more than double the percentage of rape or other sexual assault victims (21%) received assistance from a victim service agency, compared to victims of robbery (8%), aggravated assault (9%), and simple assault (7%). The percentage of property and serious violent crime victims who received assistance remained relatively stable from 2000 to 2009, while the percentage of simple assault victims who received assistance decreased from about 9% in 2000 to about 5% in 2009. Comparing 2000 to 2009, there were no measurable changes in the percentage of victims of rape or other sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault who received assistance from a victim service agency. While rape or other sexual assault victimizations accounted for 12% of the total serious violent crime victimizations, they accounted for 24% of those who received assistance among victims whose victimization was reported to the police. Among serious violent crime victims whose victimization was not reported to the police, rape or other sexual assault victims accounted for 35% of those who received assistance (not shown in a table). Compared to victims of robbery (4%) and aggravated assault (3%), a greater percentage of rape or other sexual assault victims (9%) who did not report to the police received assistance from victim service agencies (appendix table 1). This finding may suggest that rape victims are more likely to be referred to victim service agencies through non-law enforcement organizations, like hospitals or counselors, or that these victims are more likely to seek out services on their own. Victims of crimes perpetrated by an intimate partner or resulting in an injury were more likely to receive assistance from a victim service agency From 2000 to 2009, nearly 1 in 4 victims of serious violent crime committed by a spouse, partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, or a former intimate partner received assistance from a victim service agency (table 3). Despite a similar percentage of victims of intimate partner (60%) and non-intimate (57%) violence who reported to the police during the 10-year period, a greater percentage of victims of serious violent crimes committed by intimate partners (23%) received assistance from a victim service agency than other serious violent crime victims (8%) who were not intimately involved with their offender. Among serious violent crime victims whose victimization was not reported to the police, victims of intimate partners violence accounted for 36% of victims who received assistance (not shown in a table). Similar to victims of rape and other sexual assault, a greater percentage of victims of intimate partner violence who did not report to the police (15%) received assistance from victim service agencies compared to victims of other serious violent crimes committed by nonintimates (3%) (appendix table 1). Victims who were injured during a serious violent crime were more likely to report the crime to the police (66%) than victims who were not injured (53%). From 2000 to 2009, a greater percentage of serious violent crime victims who were injured (15%) during the crime received assistance from a victim service agency, compared to those who were not injured (7%) (figure 4). A similar percentage of victims who suffered serious injuries (15%) (such as broken bones, internal injuries, or loss of consciousness) and those who suffered minor injuries (14%) (such as scratches and bruises) received assistance from a victim service agency. A lower percentage of younger and male serious violent crime victims received assistance from a victim service agency, compared to older and female victims From 2000 to 2009, a greater percentage of female (15%) serious violent crime victims received assistance from a victim service agency, compared to male serious violent crime victims (6%) (figure 5). Though 43% of serious violent crime victimizations were against women, women accounted for about two-thirds (66%) of the victims who received assistance from a victim service agency (not shown in a table). The percentage of victims of serious violent crime who received assistance from a victim service agency was greater among victims age 35 or older (12%), compared to victims between 18 and 34 years old (9%). Among victims of serious violent crime, a lower percentage of Hispanic victims (6%) than victims who were black (non-Hispanic) (9%), white (non-Hispanic) (11%), or of more than one race (17%) received assistance from a victim service agency. Among blacks, whites, and Hispanics there were no measurable differences in the percentage of victims who received services in urban, suburban, and rural areas (appendix table 2). A slightly greater percentage of serious violent crime victims living in households in rural areas (12%) received assistance from victim service agencies than victims living in urban areas (9%) (figure 6). There were no measurable differences in the percentage of serious violent crime victims who received assistance from victim service agencies by income level. However, a greater percentage of victims with a household income of less than $25,000 living in rural areas (16%) received assistance compared to those living in urban areas (9%). In rural areas, nearly (50%) of victims who received assistance lived in households with an income of less than $25,000, while 38% of serious violent crime in rural areas was against persons in that income category (not shown in a table). Methodology The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is an annual data collection conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The NCVS collects information on nonfatal crimes, both reported and not reported to the police, against persons age 12 or older in a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. Survey results are based on data gathered from residents living throughout the United States, including persons living in group quarters, such as dormitories, rooming houses, and religious group dwellings. The survey excludes personnel living in military barracks and persons living in institutional settings, such as correctional or hospital facilities. For more detail, see the Survey Methodology for Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2007 at http://bjs.gov. The NCVS asks all victims two questions pertaining to the use of victim services: l. Did you (or someone in your household) received any help or advice from any office or agency other than the police that deals with victims of crime? 2. (If yes to the first question) Was that a government or private agency? The analyses in this report use data from these two questions. Standard error computations If estimates are derived from a sample rather than the entire population, as is the case with the NCVS, caution is warranted when drawing conclusions about the size of one population estimate in comparison to another, or whether a time series of population estimates is changing. Although one estimate may be larger than another, estimates based on responses from a sample of the population each have some degree of sampling error. The sampling error, or margin of error, of an estimate depends on several factors, including the amount of variation in the responses, the size and representativeness of the sample, and the size of the subgroup for which the estimate is computed. One measure of the sampling error associated with an estimate is the standard error. The standard error can vary from one estimate to the next. In general, a smaller standard error provides a more reliable approximation of the true value than an estimate with a higher standard error. Estimates with relatively large standard errors are associated with less precision and reliability, and should be interpreted with caution. The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of an estimate's reliability. The RSE is the ratio of the standard error to the estimate. In this report, the RSE was calculated for all estimates, and in cases where the RSE was greater than 50% or when the estimate is based on 10 or fewer sample cases, the estimate was noted with a "!" symbol. Such estimates should be interpreted with caution. A statistical test is used to determine whether differences in means or percentages are statistically significant once sampling error is taken into account. Comparisons made in the text were tested for statistical significance at the p < .05 level to ensure that the differences were larger than might be expected due to sampling variation. Significance testing calculations were conducted at BJS 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. Standard errors for average annual estimates were calculated based on the ratio of the sums of victimizations and respondents across years. Many of the variables examined in this report may be related to one another and to other variables not included in the analyses. Complex relationships among variables were not fully explored in this report and warrant more extensive analysis. Readers are cautioned not to draw causal inferences based on the results presented. --------------------------------------------------------- Office of Justice Programs * Innovation * Partnerships * Safer Neighborhoods * http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. James P. Lynch is the director. This special report was written by Lynn Langton. Michael Planty verified the report. Jill Thomas edited the report, Tina Dorsey produced the report, and Jayne E. Robinson prepared the report for final printing, under the supervision of Doris J. James. August 2011, NCJ 234212 This report in portable document format and in ASCII and its related statistical data and tables are available at the website: http://www.bjs.gov/index. cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2432. -------------------------------------------------------- 7/26/2011/JER/2:21