Criminal Victimization, 2019

1 Department of Department of JusticeOffice of Justice ProgramsOffice of Justice ProgramsBurBureau of Justice Statisticseau of Justice StatisticsBulletinSeptember 2020, NCJ 255113 YEARS OF STATISTICSC riminal Victimization, 2019 Rachel E. Morgan, , and Jennifer L. Truman, , BJS StatisticiansAfter rising from million in 2015 to million in 2018, the number of persons who were victims of violent crime excluding simple assault dropped to million in 2019. This is the first statistically significant decrease in the number of persons who were victims of violent crime excluding simple assault since 2015, and it corresponds with a decline in the number of victims of rape or sexual assault from 2018 to 2019.

2 Based on the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the nation's largest crime survey, the portion of residents age 12 or older who were victims of one or more violent crimes excluding simple assault declined from (about 1 in 200 persons) in 2018 to (about 1 in 230 persons) in 2019, a 12% decrease (figure 1).FIGURE 1 Percent of residents age 12 or older who were victims of violent crime excluding simple 19 15 10 05 00 95 19 18 17 16 15 Percent1993-20192015-2019 Note: Estimates include 95% confidence intervals. See table 18 for definitions and appendix table 1 for estimates and standard errors. Estimates for 2006 should not be compared to other years and are excluded from the 1993-2019 figure.

3 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, The rate of violent crime excluding simple assaultdeclined 15% from 2018 to 2019, from to per 1,000 persons age 12 or older. Among females, the rate of violent victimizationexcluding simple assault fell 27% from 2018to 2019. There were 880,000 fewer victims of seriouscrimes (generally felonies) in 2019 than in 2018,a 19% drop. From 2018 to 2019, 29% fewer black personsand 22% fewer white persons were victims ofserious crimes. The rate of violent victimization in urban areas based on the NCVS s new classifications of urban,suburban, and rural areas declined 20% from2018 to 2019.

4 Based on the 2019 survey, less than half (41%) ofviolent victimizations were reported to police. The percentage of violent victimizations reportedto police was lower for white victims (37%) thanfor black (49%) or Hispanic victims (49%). The portion of violent incidents involving blackoffenders (25%) was times the portioninvolving black victims (11%), while the portioninvolving Asian offenders ( ) was timesthe portion involving Asian victims ( ). The rate of property crime declined 6% from2018 ( victimizations per 1,000 households)to 2019 ( per 1,000). The percentage of households that wereburglarized declined to the lowest level since theNCVS was redesigned in VICTIMIZATION, 2019 | SEPTEMBER 2020 2 The percentage of households that experienced burglary ( ), which is unlawful or forcible entry or attempted entry of places in connection with a completed or attempted theft, was the lowest since the NCVS was redesigned in 1993.

5 After peaking in 1994 ( ), this type of crime has generally declined over time, hitting a new low in 2019 (figure 2).1 The burglary prevalence rate fell 23% from 2018 to NCVS is a self-reported survey administered annually from January 1 to December 31. Annual NCVS estimates are based on the number and characteristics of crimes respondents experienced during the prior 6 months, not including the month in which they were interviewed. Therefore, the 2019 survey covers crimes experienced from July 1, 2018 to November 30, 2019, and March 15, 2019 is the middle of the reference period. Crimes are classified by the year of the survey and not by the year of the crime.

6 NCVS data can be used to produce Prevalence estimates: The number or percentage of unique persons who were crime victims, or of unique households that experienced crime. Victimization estimates: The total number of times that people or households were victimized by crime. For personal crimes, the number of victimizations is the number of victims of that crime. Each crime against a household is counted as having a single victim the affected household. Incident estimates: The number of specific Criminal acts involving one or more victims.(See Measurement of crime in the National Crime Victimization Survey, page 29.) 1In this report, significance is reported at both the 90% and 95% confidence levels.

7 See figures and tables for testing on specific 2 Percent of households who were victims of burglary, 19 15 10 05 00 95 93 PercentNote: Estimates include 95% confidence intervals. Burglary is the unlawful or forcible entry or attempted entry of places, including a permanent residence, other residence ( , a hotel room or vacation residence), or other structure ( , a garage or shed) where there was a completed or attempted theft. See appendix table 2 for estimates and standard errors. Estimates for 2006 should not be compared to other years and are excluded from this figure (see Criminal Victimization, 2007 (NCJ 224390, BJS, December 2008)).

8 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, VICTIMIZATION, 2019 | SEPTEMBER 2020 3 Victimization estimatesVictimizations reflect the total number of times that people or households were victimized by crime. From 1993 to 2019, the rate of violent victimization excluding simple assault declined 75%, from to victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older (figure 3).2 (Simple assault is the category of violent victimization captured by the NCVS that is least likely to be prosecuted as a felony.) Similarly, the rate of violent victimization reported to police, excluding simple assault, declined 77% during this period, from to victimizations reported to police per 1,000 persons age 12 or rate of violent victimization excluding simple assault decreased from 2018 to 2019 After increasing 27% from 2015 to 2018 (from to victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older), the rate of violent victimization excluding simple assault declined 15% in 2019 (to per 1,000) (table 1).

9 This decrease was driven partly by a decline in rape or sexual assault victimizations, which declined from per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 2018 to per 1,000 in crime excluding simple assault was called serious violent crime in NCVS reports prior to Criminal Victimization, 1 Number and rate of violent victimizations, by type of crime, 2015-201920152016201720182019*Type of violent crimeNumberRate per 1,000aNumberRate per 1,000aNumberRate per 1,000aNumberRate per 1,000aNumberRate per 1,000aViolent crimeb5,006,620 ,353, ,612, ,385, ,813, assaultc431, ,410 393, ,630 459, , , , , , ,996,200 4,596, ,604, ,077, ,819, assault816,760 ,040, , ,058, ,019, assault3,179,440 ,556, ,611, ,019, ,800, crime excluding simple assaultd1,827, ,797, ,000, ,365,770 2,013, : Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.

10 Violent-crime categories include rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault, and they include threatened, attempted, and completed occurrences of those crimes. Year-to-year statistically significant differences may vary from those previously reported. Previously, BJS created standard errors and presented testing for statistically significant differences among National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) estimates in this table using generalized variance function parameters, while this table uses the Balanced Repeated Replication method. See Methodology for more information on the differences between these methods of variance estimation.