U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin September 2019, NCJ 253043 Criminal Victimization, 2018 Rachel E. Morgan, Ph.D., and Barbara A. Oudekerk, Ph.D., BJS Statisticians HIGHLIGHTS The number of violent-crime victims age 12 or older rose from 2.7 million in 2015 to 3.3 million in 2018, an increase of 604,000 victims. The portion of white persons age 12 or older who were victims of violent crime increased from 0.96% in 2015 to 1.19% in 2018 (up 24%), while the portion of males who were victims increased from 0.94% to 1.21% (up 29%). The rate of violent victimizations not reported to police rose from 9.5 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 2015 to 12.9 per 1,000 in 2018, while the rate of violent victimizations reported to police showed no statistically significant change. The number of violent incidents increased from 5.2 million in 2017 to 6.0 million in 2018. The offender was of the same race or ethnicity as the victim in 70% of violent incidents involving black victims, 62% of those involving white victims, 45% of those involving Hispanic victims, and 24% of those involving Asian victims. The rate of rape or sexual assault increased from 1.4 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 2017 to 2.7 per 1,000 in 2018. Property victimizations fell from 118.6 per 1,000 households in 2016 to 108.2 per 1,000 in 2018. T he longstanding general trend of declining violent crime in the United States, which began in the 1990s, has reversed direction in recent years. The 2018 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the third consecutive iteration of the NCVS to find that the number of violent-crime victims was higher than in 2015. According to the NCVS, the number of U.S. residents age 12 or older who were victims of violent crime decreased from 2014 to 2015 (the most recent year that a decline was observed). The number of violent-crime victims then increased from 2015 to 2016, before increasing again from 2016 to 2018. There was no statistically significant one-year change in the number of victims from 2016 to 2017 or from 2017 to 2018. The increase from 2015 to 2018 in the number of violent-crime victims age 12 or older, from 2.7 million to 3.3 million, was driven by increases in the number of victims of rape or sexual assault, aggravated assault, and simple assault. From 2015 to 2018, the number of persons who were victims of violent crime, as well as the percentage of persons who were victims of violent crime (figure 1), increased among the total population and also among whites, males, females, those ages 25 to 34, those ages 50 to 64, and those age 65 or older (figure 2). FIGURE 1 Percent of U.S. residents age 12 or older who were victims of violent crime, 1993-2018 Note: See table 16 for definitions and appendix table 1 for estimates. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCVS, 1993-2018. 0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5% 3.0% 3.5% 18 15 10 05 00 95 93 FIGURE 2 Comparison of percent of U.S. residents age 12 or older who were victims of violent crime, 2015 and 2018 Note: See table 17 for estimates. Differences shown are significant at a 95% confidence level except where otherwise indicated. Significant difference from 2015 to 2018 at 90% confidence level. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCVS, 2015 and 2018. 0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% White Female Male Total 2018 2015 2.0%CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION, 2018 | SEPTEMBER 2019 2 While the portion of the population who have been victims of violent crime has increased in recent years, the portion who have been victims of serious crimes has decreased (figure 3). Serious crimes are those that are generally prosecuted as felonies; these include most completed or attempted violent crimes apart from simple assault, and completed burglaries and motor-vehicle thefts. From 2014 to 2018, the portion of U.S. residents age 12 or older who were victims of serious crimes decreased from 1.89% to 1.68% (figure 4). 1This decrease was driven by a decline in the portion of the population who were victims of completed burglary. The NCVS is a self-reported survey that is 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 2018 survey covers crimes experienced from July 1, 2017 to November 30, 2018, and March 15, 2018 is the middle of the reference period. Crimes are classified by the year of the survey and not by the year of the crime. 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 victimizations committed against persons or households. 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 victimthe 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 20.) FIGURE 3 Percent of U.S. residents age 12 or older who were victims of total serious, serious violent, and serious property crime, 1993-2018 Note: Estimates include 95% confidence intervals. See table 19 for serious-crime definitions and appendix table 3 for estimates and standard errors. Estimates for 2006 should not be compared to other years (see Criminal Victimization, 2007 (NCJ 224390, BJS web, December 2008). Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993-2018. 0.0% 1.0% 2.0% 3.0% 4.0% 5.0% 6.0% Serious property crime Serious violent crime Total serious crime 18 15 10 05 00 95 93 1 In this report, significance is reported at both the 90% and 95% confidence levels. See figures and tables for testing on specific findings. FIGURE 4 Comparison of percent of U.S. residents age 12 or older who were victims of serious crime, 2014 and 2018 Note: See table 20 for serious-crime definitions and estimates and appendix table 4 for standard errors. Differences shown are significant at a 95% confidence level except where otherwise indicated. Significant difference from 2014 to 2018 at the 90% confidence level. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2014 and 2018. 0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5% 2018 2014 Hispanic Female Male Total 3.0% 3.5% 4.0%CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION, 2018 | SEPTEMBER 2019 3 FIGURE 5 Rate of violent victimization and rate of violent victimization reported to police, 1993-2018 Note: Estimates include 95% confidence intervals. See appendix table 5 for estimates and standard errors. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993-2018. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Violent victimizations reported to police Violent victimizations 18 15 10 05 00 95 93 Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older Victimization estimates Based on the 2018 survey, there were 23.2 violent victimizations per 1,000 U.S. residents age 12 or older (figure 5). From 1993 to 2018, the rate of violent victimization declined 71%, from 79.8 to 23.2 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older. The rate of violent victimization reported to police also declined 71% during this period, from 33.8 to 9.9 victimizations reported to police per 1,000 persons age 12 or older. 2 Violent crime excluding simple assault was called serious violent crime in prior NCVS reports. The rate of violent victimization increased from 2015 to 2018 From 2017 to 2018, there were no statistically significant changes in the rates of total violent victimization, which includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault (table 1). By type of violent crime, the rate of rape or sexual-assault victimization increased from 1.4 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 2017 to 2.7 in 2018. All other crime types did not have a statistically significant change from 2017 to 2018. From 2015 to 2018, statistically significant changes occurred in the total number and rate of violent victimizations and in specific types of violent-crime victimizations. Across that period, the total number of violent victimizations increased 28%, from 5,006,620 to 6,385,520 victimizations. The rate of total violent victimization increased from 18.6 to 23.2 victimizations per 1,000 persons. Excluding simple assault, the rate of violent victimization also increased, from 6.8 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 2015 to 8.6 per 1,000 in 2018. 2 The rate of rape or sexual-assault victimization increased from 1.6 to 2.7 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older from 2015 to 2018. The rate of assault (which includes aggravated and simple assault) increased from 14.8 to 18.4 victimizations during the period, and the rate of simple assault rose from 11.8 to 14.6 victimizations.CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION, 2018 | SEPTEMBER 2019 4 TablE 1 Number and rate of violent victimizations, by type of crime, 2014-2018 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018* Type of violent crime Number Rate per 1,000 a Number Rate per 1,000 a Number Rate per 1,000 a Number Rate per 1,000 a Number Rate per 1,000 a Violent crime b 5,359,570 20.1 5,006,620 18.6 5,353,820 19.7 5,612,670 20.6 6,385,520 23.2 Rape/sexual assault c 284,350 1.1 431,840 1.6 298,410 1.1 393,980 1.4 734,630 2.7 Robbery 664,210 2.5 578,580 2.1 458,810 1.7 613,840 2.3 573,100 2.1 Assault 4,411,010 16.5 3,996,200 14.8 4,596,600 16.9 4,604,850 16.9 5,077,790 18.4 Aggravated assault 1,092,090 4.1 816,760 3.0 1,040,580 3.8 993,170 3.6 1,058,040 3.8 Simple assault 3,318,920 12.4 3,179,440 11.8 3,556,020 13.1 3,611,680 13.3 4,019,750 14.6 Violent crime excluding simple assault d 2,040,650 7.7 1,827,170 6.8 1,797,790 6.6 2,000,990 7.3 2,365,770 8.6 Selected characteristics of violent crime Domestic violence e 1,109,880 4.2 1,094,660 4.1 1,068,120 3.9 1,237,960 4.5 1,333,050 4.8 Intimate partner violence f 634,610 2.4 806,050 3.0 597,200 2.2 666,310 2.4 847,230 3.1 Stranger violence 2,166,130 8.1 1,821,310 6.8 2,082,410 7.7 2,034,100 7.5 2,493,750 9.1 Violent crime involving injury 1,375,950 5.2 1,303,290 4.8 1,220,640 4.5 1,248,480 4.6 1,449,530 5.3 Violent crime involving a weapon 1,306,900 4.9 977,840 3.6 1,203,200 4.4 1,260,810 4.6 1,329,700 4.8 Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. 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. Other violent-crime categories in this table, including domestic violence and violent crime involving injury, are not mutually exclusive from these categories or from each other. See appendix table 6 for standard errors. *Comparison year. Significant difference from comparison year at the 95% confidence level. Significant difference from comparison year at the 90% confidence level. a Rate is per 1,000 persons age 12 or older. See appendix table 26 for person populations. b Excludes homicide because the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is based on interviews with victims. c See Methodology for details on the measurement of rape or sexual assault in the NCVS. d Includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault; this category was called serious violent crime in previous years. e Includes the subset of violent victimizations that were committed by intimate partners or family members. f Includes the subset of violent victimizations that were committed by current or former spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2014-2018.CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION, 2018 | SEPTEMBER 2019 5 The rate of completed violent victimization increased from 2016 to 2018 The NCVS measures completed, attempted, and threatened violent victimizations experienced by persons age 12 or older. From 2016 to 2018, the rate of completed violent victimizations increased from 5.1 victimizations per 1,000 persons to 6.9 per 1,000 (table 2). It also increased from 2017 (5.6 victimizations per 1,000 persons) to 2018 (6.9 victimizations per 1,000 persons). The rate of threatened violent victimization increased from 6.1 victimizations per 1,000 persons in 2015 to 9.2 per 1,000 in 2018. Property victimization rates decreased between 2014 and 2018 Based on the 2018 survey, U.S. households experienced an estimated 13.5 million property victimizations, which include burglaries, residential trespassing, motor-vehicle thefts, and other thefts (table 3).The property victimization rate remained relatively stable from 2017 (108.4) to 2018 (108.2). Compared to 2014 (118.1 victimizations per 1,000 households) and 2016 (118.6 per 1,000 households), the property crime rate was lower in 2018. The burglary rate declined to 13.8 per 1,000 households in 2018, from 15.8 per 1,000 in 2014 and from 15.5 per 1,000 in 2016. The rate of other theft declined to 82.7 per 1,000 households in 2018, from 90.8 per 1,000 in 2014 and 90.3 per 1,000 in 2016. TablE 2 Rate of completed, attempted, and threatened violent victimizations, 2014-2018 Violent victimizations 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018* Total 20.1 18.6 19.7 20.6 23.2 Completed 6.4 6.0 5.1 5.6 6.9 Attempted 7.0 6.4 6.0 6.8 7.2 Threatened 6.7 6.1 8.5 8.2 9.2 Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Rate is per 1,000 persons age 12 or older. See appendix table 26 for person populations. Violent-victimization categories include rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. See appendix table 7 for standard errors. *Comparison year. Significant difference from comparison year at the 95% confidence level. Significant difference from comparison year at the 90% confidence level. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2014-2018. TablE 3 Number and rate of property victimizations, by type of crime, 2014-2018 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018* Type of property crime Number Rate per 1,000 a Number Rate per 1,000 a Number Rate per 1,000 a Number Rate per 1,000 a Number Rate per 1,000 a Total 15,288,470 118.1 14,611,040 110.7 15,815,310 118.6 13,340,220 108.4 13,502,840 108.2 Burglary/trespassing b 2,993,480 23.1 2,904,570 22.0 3,160,450 23.7 2,538,170 20.6 2,639,620 21.1 Burglary c 2,051,570 15.8 1,888,720 14.3 2,071,660 15.5 1,581,570 12.8 1,724,720 13.8 Trespassing d 941,910 7.3 1,015,850 7.7 1,088,800 8.2 956,600 7.8 914,910 7.3 Motor-vehicle theft 534,370 4.1 564,160 4.3 618,330 4.6 516,810 4.2 534,010 4.3 Other theft e 11,760,620 90.8 11