Library Index

Victims of Crime - Trends In Victimization

rate violent percent rates

Trends, 1973–2000

The NCVS, like the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, found that the overall level of crime decreased from 1973 FIGURE 3.2
Adolescent victims and nonvictims of violence, percentage expected to experience adult problem outcomes to 2000. (Although the 1993–2000 survey results cannot be directly compared to earlier statistics, adjusted data can be used to highlight trends.) More than 41 million personal and household crimes were committed in 1981. The 1981 adjusted rate of approximately 52.5 violent crimes per 1,000 persons was significantly higher than at any time before 1977. The victimization rate for violent crimes increased between 1977 and 1981 and then declined until 1986. From 1986 to 1994 the violent crime rate increased, reaching 51.8 per 1,000 in 1994. From 1994 to 2000, however, violent crime rates fell 44.1 percent, and property crime rates declined by 44.2 percent.

Property crime rates fell dramatically between 1973 (adjusted data) and 1995. After a slight increase from 1973 to 1975, the rates dropped more or less consistently through 1995. Only motor vehicle theft remained relatively stable over this period.

Violent victimizations by age dropped from 1973 to 2000. The proportion of victimizations across age groups has varied. For example, in 1973, 16- to 19-year-olds were about twice as likely to be victimized by violent crime as persons 35 to 49 years of age; this rate increased to about three times as likely by 2000. For those ages 16–19, the violent victimization rate dropped by one-fifth between 1973 and 2000. For 12- to 15-year-olds, the rate

TABLE 3.6
Number of victimizations and victimization rates by type of crime and race of head of household, 2002

Rate per 1,000 households
All races White Black Other
Type of crime Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate
Property crimes 17,539,220 159.0 14,527,440 157.6 2,434,780 173.7 576,990 139.8
Household burglary 3,055,720 27.7 2,396,810 26.0 578,880 41.3 80,030 19.4
Completed 2,597,310 23.5 2,080,340 22.6 444,040 31.7 72,930 17.7
Forcible entry 1,017,660 9.2 727,180 7.9 260,680 18.6 29,800* 7.2*
Unlawful entry without force 1,579,650 14.3 1,353,160 14.7 183,360 13.1 43,130 10.4
Attempted forcible entry 458,410 4.2 316,470 3.4 134,840 9.6 7,100* 1.7*
Motor vehicle theft 988,760 9.0 695,410 7.5 241,670 17.2 51,670 12.5
Completed 780,630 7.1 549,730 6.0 191,610 13.7 39,300 9.5
Attempted 208,120 1.9 145,690 1.6 50,060 3.6 12,380* 3.0*
Theft 13,494,750 122.3 11,435,220 124.1 1,614,240 115.2 445,290 107.9
Completed 13,039,920 118.2 11,054,970 119.9 1,556,620 111.1 428,320 103.8
Less than $50 4,186,570 37.9 3,646,500 39.6 409,720 29.2 130,360 31.6
$50–$249 4,455,080 40.4 3,717,980 40.3 598,290 42.7 138,810 33.6
$250 or more 3,270,530 29.6 2,766,820 30.0 396,330 28.3 107,390 26.0
Amount not available 1,127,740 10.2 923,680 10.0 152,290 10.9 51,760 12.5
Attempted 454,830 4.1 380,240 4.1 57,620 4.1 16,970* 4.1*
Total number of households 110,323,840 … 92,182,320 … 14,013,850 … 4,127,670 …
Note: Detail may not add to total shown because of rounding.
*Estimate is based on about 10 or fewer sample cases.
…Not applicable.
SOURCE: "Table 16: Property Crimes, 2002: Number of Victimizations and Victimization Rates by Type of Crime and Race of Head of Household," in Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2002 Statistical Tables, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC, 2003

of violent victimization dropped by one-quarter. For those ages 20–24, the rate fell over 40 percent. Rates of victimization remained within a much narrower range for those 50 to 64 years of age yet still dropped 20 percent between 1973 and 2000. (See Table 3.5.)

Trends, 1994–2000

The 2000 rates of violent victimization continued the general decline of the previous several years. From 1994 to 2000 the rate of violent crime decreased by 46.1 percent. In 1994 there were 51.8 violent victimizations per 1,000 population compared to 27.9 per 1,000 in 2000. The robbery rate fell 49.2 percent and the aggravated assault rate dropped 52.1 percent. Personal theft declined 50 percent from 1994 to 2000.

The rates of all property crime categories continued to decrease from 1994 to 2000. Motor vehicle theft showed a 52.8 percent decline. Theft rates fell 41.2 percent, continuing a steady decline that began in 1979.

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