Alexandra Thompson and Susannah N. Tapp, PhD
BJS Statisticians
JULY 2023, NCJ 305262
From 2008 to 2021, the rate of overall violent victimization fell (figure 1). Over the same time period, the violent victimization rate fell for persons who identified as white, black, Hispanic, or another race (includes American Indian or Alaska Native or persons of two or more races).
Figure 1. Rate of violent victimization, by race/Hispanic origin, 2008-2021
This graphic is interactive. To access data points, hover over the line and select a year. To select multiple lines or years, press and hold ctrl on your keyboard and select desired lines or years.
Note: Rates are per 1,000 persons age 12 or older. Estimates are based on 2-year moving averages centered on the most recent year (e.g., a 2008 estimate includes data for 2007 and 2008). Therefore, estimates may differ from previously published reports where only 1 year was used for annual rates, rather than 2-year rolling averages. See appendix table 1 for estimates and standard errors.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
bIncludes persons who identified as Asian only or as Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) only. Categories are not shown separately due to small numbers of sample cases.
cIncludes persons who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native or persons of two or more races. Categories are not shown separately due to small numbers of sample cases.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2008–2021.
During the 5-year aggregate period of 2017–21, white persons (19.8 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older) experienced a higher rate of violent victimization than the rate for Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander persons (9.8 per 1,000) (table 1). This pattern held across all types of violent crime. The rate of robbery victimization for black (2.8 per 1,000) and Hispanic persons (2.5 per 1,000) was higher than for white persons (1.6 per 1,000), but the rate of simple assault was higher for white persons (13.3 per 1,000) than black (11.3 per 1,000) or Hispanic (10.6 per 1,000) persons.
Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older
|
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type of crime |
Total |
White*a |
Blacka |
Hispanic |
Asian/Native Hawaiian/ |
Othera,c |
Total violent crimed |
19.5 |
19.8 |
19.4 |
18.4 |
9.8† |
54.8† |
Rape/sexual assault |
1.6 |
1.7 |
1.4 |
1.4 |
1.1† |
4.2† |
Robbery |
1.9 |
1.6 |
2.8† |
2.5† |
0.9† |
5.3† |
Assault |
16.0 |
16.5 |
15.2 |
14.5 |
7.7† |
45.3† |
Aggravated assault |
3.4 |
3.2 |
3.8 |
3.8 |
1.1† |
8.5† |
Simple assault |
12.6 |
13.3 |
11.3‡ |
10.6† |
6.7† |
36.9† |
Violent crime excluding simple assaulte |
6.9 |
6.4 |
8.0† |
7.8† |
3.1† |
18.0† |
Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Rate is per 1,000 persons age 12 or older. See appendix table 19 in Criminal Victimization, 2021 (NCJ 305101, BJS, September 2022) for person populations. See appendix table 2 for standard errors. Download CSV (3K) |
During 2017–21, a greater number of violent incidents with white victims involved white offenders (8,721,450 incidents) than offenders of any other race or Hispanic origin or whose race or Hispanic origin was unknown (table 2). More violent incidents with black victims involved black offenders (1,884,250 incidents) than white offenders (371,540). Similarly, a greater number of violent incidents with Hispanic victims involved Hispanic offenders (1,423,520 incidents) than white offenders (1,006,400).
Offender race/Hispanic origin
|
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victim race/ |
Total |
White*a |
Blacka |
Hispanicb |
Asian/Native Hawaiian/ |
Othera,d |
Unknowne |
Whitea |
15,795,650 |
8,721,450 |
2,382,400† |
1,535,050† |
187,150† |
513,140† |
1,821,890† |
Blacka |
3,095,610 |
371,540 |
1,884,250† |
243,880‡ |
11,850! |
86,100† |
341,240† |
Hispanic |
4,057,480 |
1,006,400 |
741,600† |
1,423,520† |
55,410† |
65,770† |
548,520† |
Asian/Native Hawaiian/ |
829,570 |
219,520 |
191,970 |
57,530† |
113,220† |
5,760! |
122,640! |
Othera,d |
1,412,090 |
681,920 |
234,750† |
127,740† |
27,830† |
178,530† |
139,760† |
Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding and because total includes incidents where the number of offenders was unknown. An incident is a specific criminal act involving one or more victims. Offender race/Hispanic origin is based on victims’ perceptions of offenders. Includes violent incidents in which the perceived offender race/Hispanic origin was reported. See appendix table 3 for standard errors. Download CSV (3K) |
Figure 1 features trend estimates of 2-year moving averages and standard errors by race and Hispanic origin. Offender characteristics in the NCVS are based on victims’ perceptions of offenders. Tables 1 and 2 show an aggregate period of multiple data years. These approaches increase the reliability and stability of the estimates. For more information on the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), see the Methodology section in Criminal Victimization, 2021 (NCJ 305101, BJS, September 2022).
Total
|
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
95% Confidence interval
|
||||||
Year |
Rate per 1,000 |
Standard error |
Lower bound |
Upper bound |
||
2008 |
26.3† |
1.45 |
23.44 |
29.12 |
||
2009 |
23.8† |
1.48 |
20.92 |
26.72 |
||
2010 |
20.8† |
1.32 |
18.20 |
23.38 |
||
2011 |
20.9† |
1.33 |
18.32 |
23.54 |
||
2012 |
24.4† |
1.22 |
21.97 |
26.75 |
||
2013 |
24.6† |
1.46 |
21.78 |
27.49 |
||
2014 |
21.6† |
1.22 |
19.24 |
24.02 |
||
2015 |
19.3† |
1.10 |
17.18 |
21.49 |
||
2016 |
19.1† |
1.02 |
17.12 |
21.13 |
||
2017 |
20.1† |
0.93 |
18.32 |
21.95 |
||
2018 |
21.9† |
0.92 |
20.10 |
23.71 |
||
2019 |
22.1† |
1.11 |
19.91 |
24.27 |
||
2020 |
18.7‡ |
0.92 |
16.89 |
20.49 |
||
2021* |
16.4 |
0.87 |
14.73 |
18.13 |
||
Note: Rates are per 1,000 persons age 12 or older. Standard errors were generated using generalized variance function parameters. For more information, see the Methodology section in Criminal Victimization, 2021 (NCJ 305101, BJS, September 2022). Estimates are based on 2-year moving averages centered on the most recent year (e.g., a 2008 estimate includes data for 2007 and 2008). Therefore, estimates and standard errors may differ from previously published reports where only 1 year was used for annual rates. Download CSV (2K) |
Rate per 1,000
|
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type of crime |
Total |
White |
Black |
Hispanic |
Asian/Native Hawaiian/ |
Other |
Total violent crime |
0.58 |
0.81 |
1.30 |
1.12 |
1.02 |
4.49 |
Rape/sexual assault |
0.09 |
0.12 |
0.19 |
0.17 |
0.21 |
0.75 |
Robbery |
0.11 |
0.12 |
0.31 |
0.25 |
0.20 |
0.90 |
Assault |
0.54 |
0.75 |
1.17 |
1.01 |
0.93 |
4.22 |
Aggravated assault |
0.16 |
0.20 |
0.39 |
0.34 |
0.23 |
3.39 |
Simple assault |
0.46 |
0.65 |
0.97 |
0.83 |
0.85 |
3.75 |
Violent crime excluding |
0.24 |
0.30 |
0.59 |
0.51 |
0.40 |
1.83 |
Note: Standard errors were generated using generalized variance function parameters. For more information, see the Methodology section in Criminal Victimization, 2021 (NCJ 305101, BJS, September 2022). Download CSV (3K) |
Offender race/Hispanic origin
|
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victim race/Hispanic origin |
Total |
White |
Black |
Hispanic |
Asian/Native Hawaiian/ |
Other |
Unknown |
White |
668,821 |
444,155 |
183,322 |
136,676 |
35,860 |
67,058 |
76,792 |
Black |
218,756 |
54,705 |
156,654 |
42,143 |
7,444 |
22,599 |
32,225 |
Hispanic |
262,887 |
103,506 |
84,890 |
130,013 |
17,519 |
19,331 |
39,154 |
Asian/Native Hawaiian/ |
91,274 |
39,514 |
36,418 |
17,898 |
26,545 |
5,061 |
27,330 |
Other |
129,322 |
80,424 |
41,168 |
28,514 |
11,881 |
34,852 |
112,831 |
Note: Standard errors were generated using generalized variance function parameters. For more information, see the Methodology section in Criminal Victimization, 2021 (NCJ 305101, BJS, September 2022). Download CSV (2K) |
The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime, and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports improvements to state and local criminal justice information systems, and participates with national and international organizations to develop and recommend national standards for justice statistics. Alexis R. Piquero, PhD, is the director.
This report was written by Alexandra Thompson and Susannah N. Tapp, PhD. Erika Harrell, PhD, verified the report.
Brigit Baron edited the report. Priscilla Fauntleroy produced the web version of this report. John Popham and Priscilla Fauntleroy oversaw development of the interactive graphic.
July 2023, NCJ 305262