The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), administered by the

US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

under the Department of Commerce, is a national survey of approximately 49,000 to 150,000 households - with approximately 240,000 persons aged 12 or older - twice a year in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, on the frequency of crime victimization, as well as characteristics and consequences of victimization. The survey focuses on gathering information on the following crimes: assault, burglary,

larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

, motor vehicle theft,

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

, and robbery. The survey results are used for the purposes of building a

crime index Crime statistics refer to systematic, quantitative results about crime, as opposed to crime news or anecdotes. Notably, crime statistics can be the result of two rather different processes: * scientific research, such as criminological studies, vi ...

. It has been used in comparison with the Uniform Crime Reports and the

National Incident-Based Reporting System National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) is an incident-based reporting system used by law enforcement agencies in the United States for collecting and reporting data on crimes. Local, state and federal agencies generate NIBRS data from t ...

to assess the

dark figure of crime In criminology and sociology, the dark figure of crime, or hidden figure of crime, is the amount of unreported or undiscovered crime. Methodology This gap between reported and unreported crimes calls the reliability of official crime statist ...

. The NCVS survey is comparable to the

British Crime Survey The Crime Survey for England and Wales (previously called the British Crime Survey) is a systematic victim study, currently carried out by Kantar Public (formally known as BMRB Ltd) on behalf of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Curated b ...

conducted in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The NCVS began in 1972 and was developed from work done by the

National Opinion Research Center NORC at the University of Chicago is one of the largest independent social research organizations in the United States. Established in 1941 as the National Opinion Research Center, its corporate headquarters is located in downtown Chicago, with o ...

and the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. A key finding of the survey was the realization that many crimes were not reported to the police.

Methodology

NCVS surveys households randomly selected from a stratified multistage cluster sample, with the interviews administered by the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

. This methodology has some disadvantages for surveying domestic violence crimes, since the entire selected household (above age 12) is interviewed instead of just one member selected. The selected household remains in the survey sample for three years, with interviews conducted every six months. NCVS also includes supplemental questions, which allow periodic questions to be asked regarding such topics as

school violence School violence includes violence between school students as well as attacks by students on school staff. It encompasses physical violence, including Fistfighting, student-on-student fighting, corporal punishment; Psychological abuse, psychologica ...

or attitudes toward crime or police. In response to criticism of the survey design, the NCVS was redesigned in the late 1980s. The survey redesign also incorporated improved survey methodology and asks more direct questions. The redesign went through testing and evaluation before being fully implemented in the 1992–1993 survey.

References

External links

Crime Statistics
- Bureau of Justice Statistics
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) Series
- ICPSR (data distributor) United States Department of Justice Crime statistics United States Census Bureau Surveys (human research)

Methodology

See also

References

Further reading

External links