National Crime Victimization Survey
{{Short description|National survey administered by the United States Census Bureau}}
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), administered by the US Census Bureau under the Department of Commerce, is a national survey of approximately 49,000{{Cite web |title=National Crime Victimization Survey |url=https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/pages/NACJD/NCVS/index.html |access-date=2022-12-17 |website=icpsr.umich.edu}}{{Contradict-inline|reason=A different source says "150,000" instead of "49,000"|date=December 2022}} to 150,000{{Cite web |url=https://bjs.ojp.gov/programs/ncvs |title=National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics |access-date=2022-03-31}} households - with approximately 240,000{{Cite web |url=https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/sheets/samplesize.xls |title=Participation Rates, National Crime Victimization Survey |access-date=2022-03-31}} persons aged 12 or older - twice a year in the United States, 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, motor vehicle theft, rape, and robbery. The survey results are used for the purposes of building a crime index. It has been used in comparison with the Uniform Crime Reports and the National Incident-Based Reporting System to assess the dark figure of crime.{{cite book | title=Introduction to Criminology: A Text/Reader | publisher=SAGE Publications, Inc. | last1=Walsh | first1=Anthony | last2=Hemmens | first2=Craig | year=2014 | location=Thousand Oaks, CA | isbn=978-1-4522-5820-1 | edition=3rd}} The NCVS survey is comparable to the British Crime Survey conducted in the United Kingdom.
The NCVS began in 1972 and was developed from work done by the National Opinion Research Center 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.{{Cite journal|url=http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/183781.pdf |title=Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey |author=Tjaden, P. and N. Thoennes |publisher=National Institute of Justice |year=2000 |id={{NCJ|183781}}}} 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.{{cite book |author=Wallace, Harvey |year=2004 |title=Family Violence: Legal, Medical, and Social Perspectives |publisher=Allyn & Bacon |isbn=0-205-41822-8 |pages=8}}
NCVS also includes supplemental questions, which allow periodic questions to be asked regarding such topics as school violence or attitudes toward crime or police.{{cite web |url=http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/manual.pdf |title=National Crime Victimization Survey: Interviewing Manual for Field Representatives |publisher=Bureau of Justice Statistics |date=February 2003 |accessdate=2007-06-21|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070612050745/http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/manual.pdf |archivedate = 2007-06-12}}
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.{{cite web |url=http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/redesfs.pdf |title=National Crime Victimization Survey Redesign - Fact Sheet |publisher=Bureau of Justice Statistics |date=October 1995 |accessdate=2007-06-21|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070612030904/http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/redesfs.pdf |archivedate = 2007-06-12}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- Lynch, J. P., & Addington, L. A. (2007). Understanding crime statistics: revisiting the divergence of the NCVS and UCR. Cambridge studies in criminology. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-86204-2}}
External links
- [http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=kfa Crime Statistics] - Bureau of Justice Statistics
- [http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/series/95 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) Series] - ICPSR (data distributor)
Category:United States Department of Justice