U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Embargoed for release to the public until Thursday, August 9, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. EDT August 2012 Special Report N at io nal C ri me Vi c ti mi z ati on s ur vey ncj 238536 Victimizations Not Reported to the Police, 2006-2010 Lynn Langton, BJS Statistician Marcus Berzofsky, Christopher Krebs, and Hope Smiley-McDonald, RTI International D uring the period from 2006 to 2010, 52% of all violent victimizations, or an annual average of 3,382,200 violent victimizations, were not reported to the police. Of these, over a third (34%) went unreported because the victim dealt with the crime in another way, such as reporting it to another official, like a guard, manager, or school official (figure 1). Almost 1 in 5 unreported violent victimizations (18%) were not reported because the victim believed the crime was not important enough. When crimes are not reported to the police, victims may not be able to obtain necessary services to cope with the victimization, offenders may go unpunished, and law enforcement and community resources may be misallocated due to a lack of accurate information about local crime problems. Understanding the characteristics of crimes unknown to police, victims who do not report crimes, and the reasons these crimes are not reported may help identify gaps in the provision of criminal justice services and inform police practice and policies. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, this report examines trends in the types of crime not reported to police, the characteristics of unreported victimizations, and the victims' rationale for not reporting these crimes. Figure 1 Most important reason violent victimizations were not reported to the police, 2006-2010 Fear of reprisal or getting o ender in trouble Police would not or could not help Not important enough to victim to report Other reason or not one most important reason Dealt with in another way/personal matter 0 5 10 15 20 Percent 25 13 16 18 18 34 30 35 Note: See appendix table 1 for detailed response categories for the most important reason for not reporting to police. See appendix table 3 for standard errors. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. HigHligHts ? From 1994 to 2010, the percentage of serious violent crime--rape or sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault--that was not reported to police declined from 50% to 42%. The percentage of unreported violent crime victimizations that were not reported because the victim believed the police would not or could not do anything to help doubled from 10% in 1994 to 20% in 2010. From 2006 to 2010, the highest percentages of unreported crime were among household theft (67%) and rape or sexual assault (65%) victimizations, while the lowest percentage was among motor vehicle theft (17%) victimizations. About 3 in 10 (31%) victimizations involving a weapon and an injury to the victim went unreported to police between 2006 and 2010. ? From 2006 to 2010, a greater percentage of victimizations perpetrated by someone the victim knew well (62%) went unreported to police, compared to victimizations committed by a stranger (51%). Among unreported intimate partner violent victimizations, 38% went unreported because the victim was afraid of reprisal or getting the offender in trouble. About 76% of violent crime victimizations that occurred at school were not reported to police. From 2006 to 2010, victimizations against youth ages 12 to 17 were more likely to go unreported than victimizations against persons in other age categories. ? ? ? ? ? ? BJS Although caution is warranted when comparing data from 2006 to other years, this report examines aggregate data from 2006 to 2010. (See Methodology for more information about the 2006 data collection.) The combination of five years of data diminishes the potential variation between data from 2006 and later years. Percentage of victimizations not reported to police declined from 1994 to 2010 From 1994 to 2010, the percentage of serious violent crime-- rape or sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault--that was not reported to police declined overall from 50% to 42% (figure 2). Unreported serious violent victimizations reached one of the lowest levels in 2002, when 34% of these victimizations were not reported to police. The decline in the percentage of unreported rape or sexual assault and aggravated assault victimizations from 1994 to 2010 contributed to the overall decline in unreported serious violent victimizations during this period (appendix table 2). No change was detected in the percentage of unreported robberies from 1994 to 2010. The percentage of property and simple assault victimizations not reported to police declined from 1994 to 2010. Despite an increase in 2006 and 2007, the percentage of simple Figure 2 Victimizations not reported to the police, by type of crime, 1994-2010 Percent 100 assaults not reported declined from 63% in 1994 to 51% in 2010. The percentage of property crime victimizations not reported declined from 67% in 1994 to 60% in 2010. Percentage of unreported violent crime victimizations not reported because the victim believed the police would not or could not help doubled from 1994 to 2010 Victims gave a variety of reasons for not reporting violent crime victimizations to the police. From 1994 to 2010 the most common reason was that the victim dealt with the victimization in another way, such as reporting it to another official or addressing it privately (figure 3). In 1994, the percentage of unreported violent crime victimizations that were not reported because the victim believed the crime was not important enough to report (21%) was more than double the percentage that went unreported because the victim believed the police would not or could not help (10%). From 2005 to 2010, the percentage of victimizations that went unreported due to the belief that the police would not or could not help increased from 7% to 20%. In 2010, a greater percentage of unreported victimizations was not reported because the victim believed the police would not or could not help (20%), than was not reported because the victim did not think that the crime was important enough to report (15%). Figure 3 Most important reason violent victimizations were not reported to police, 1994-2010 Percent 100 Dealt with it another way/personal matter Not important enough to victim to report Police would not or could not help Fear of reprisal or getting o ender in trouble 80 Property crimea Simple assault 40 Serious violent crimeb 80 60 60 40 20 20 0 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06* '07 '08 '09 '10 0 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06* '07 '08 '09 '10 Note: Includes victims of unreported rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. Within-year percentages do not sum to 100% because some victims gave other reasons or could not pick one reason that was the most important. See appendix 5 for standard errors. *Due to methodological changes, use caution when comparing 2006 NCVS criminal victimization estimates to other years. See Criminal Victimization 2007, http://www.bjs.gov, for more information. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994-2010. Note: Personal larceny is not shown. See appendix table 2 for percentages by type of crime. See appendix table 4 for standard errors. *Due to methodological changes, use caution when comparing 2006 NCVS criminal victimization estimates to other years. See Criminal Victimization 2007, http://www.bjs.gov, for more information. aIncludes burglary, motor vehicle theft, and other household theft. bIncludes rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 2 Trends in police-related reasons for not reporting violent crime The percentage of unreported violent victimizations that were not reported because of a police-related reason (i.e., the police would not or could not do anything to help) nearly tripled from 2005 to 2010 (not shown in figure). Within the general category of policerelated reasons for not reporting crime, victims gave a number of more specific reasons why violent crimes went unreported. An examination of trends in these more specific police-related reasons for not reporting a violent victimization provides a clearer understanding of the overall increase. The increase in the percentage of unreported violent crime victimizations not reported for police-related reasons was driven by a rise in the percentage of victims who reported that the police would not think the crime was important enough to address, from 5% in 2005 to 12% in 2010 (figure 4). The percentage of victims who said that the police would be ineffective or inefficient also increased from 2% in 2005 to 4% in 2010, as did the percentage who thought that the police would be biased (from 1% in 2005 to 3% in 2010). The percentage of unreported victimizations that were not reported because the victim believed that the police could not do anything to help remained stable. Figure 4 Trends in the percent of unreported violent victimizations not reported because the police would not or could not do anything to help, 1994-2010 Percent 30 Police would not think it was important enough Police could not do anything Police would be ine cient or ine ective Police would be biased/o ender was a police o cer 20 10 0 Note: Percentages based on 2-year rolling averages. Last year in the period is the reference year. Includes victims of unreported rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault victimizations who gave police-related reasons for not reporting. See appendix table 13 for standard errors. * Due to methodological changes, use caution when comparing 2006 NCVS criminal victimization estimates to other years. See Criminal Victimization 2007, http://www.bjs.gov, for more information. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 94 19 95 95 19 96 96 19 97 97 19 98 98 19 99 99 20 00 00 20 01 01 20 02 02 20 03 03 20 04 04 20 -05 05 20 06* 06 -0 20 7* 07 20 08 08 20 09 09 -1 0 19 3 2 in 3 (65%) rape or sexual assault victimizations were not reported to police from 2006 to 2010 From 2006 to 2010, the two highest percentages of unreported crime were among household theft (67%) and rape or sexual assault (65%) victimizations, and the lowest percentage was among motor vehicle theft (17%) victimizations (table 1). About 46% of serious violent victimizations were not reported to police. In general, the percentage of unreported victimizations was lower for serious violent crime than simple assault (simple assault does not involve an injury or a weapon). However, a higher percentage of rape or sexual assault victimizations (65%) compared to simple assault victimizations (56%) went unreported during the five-year period. The rationale for not reporting to police varied depending on the type of criminal victimization. For example, among unreported violent crime victimizations, the most common reason the crime was not reported was that the victim dealt with it in another way (34%). Among unreported property crime victimizations, the most common reason was that the victim believed the police would not or could not do anything to help (36%). A lower percentage of unreported serious violent crime (13%) was not reported because the victim believed that the crime was not important enough to report, compared to simple assault (21%) and property crime (30%) victimizations. A greater percentage of unreported rape or sexual assault (28%) and aggravated assault (22%) victimizations compared to any other type of criminal victimization were not reported because the victim was afraid of reprisal or getting the offender in trouble. Table 1 Victimizations not reported to the police and the most important reason they went unreported, by type of crime, 2006-2010 Average annual number not reported* 13,998,600 3,382,200 1,016,000 211,200 297,100 507,700 2,366,200 69,200 10,547,200 1,584,700 140,600 8,821,900 Percent not reported 58% 52% 46 65 41 44 56 41% 60% 45 17 67 Most important reason victimizations went unreported Dealt with in Not important Fear of reprisal or Other reason or another way/ enough to Police would not getting offender not one most personal matter victim to report or could not help in trouble important reason 20% 27% 31% 5% 17% 34% 18% 16% 13% 18% 25 13 21 19 21 20 6 13 28 33 20 13 34 10 23 31 16 17 22 15 38 21 14 11 17 17% 24% 43% 2% ! 14% 15% 30% 36% 3% 16% 12 27 40 4 17 16 26 30 7 21 16 31 35 3 16 Type of crime Total crime Violent Serious violent Rape/sexual assault Robbery Aggravated assault Simple assault Personal larceny Household property Burglary Motor vehicle theft Theft Note: See appendix table 6 for standard errors. *Rounded to the nearest hundred. ! Interpret with caution; estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 4 From 2006 to 2010, 3 in 10 victimizations involving a weapon and an injury to the victim went unreported to police Violent crime victimizations in which the victim was injured (43%), the offender had a weapon (42%), or both (31%) were less likely to go unreported to police than victimizations in which there was neither an injury nor a weapon (59%) (table 2). About 3 in 10 victimizations (29%) involving a serious injury (e.g., the victim was knocked unconscious or sustained a broken bone, a gunshot or stab wound, or internal injuries) went unreported to police. About 4 in 10 victimizations (38%) involving a firearm went unreported. When the unreported victimization resulted in an injury and the perpetrator had a weapon, the most common reason the police were not notified was that the victim was afraid of reprisal or of getting the offender into trouble (42%). In comparison, when the unreported victimization involved an injury but no weapon (30%), a weapon without an injury (30%), or neither (38%), the most common reason for not reporting was that the victimization was dealt with in another way. Table 2 Violent victimizations not reported to the police and the most important reason they went unreported, by type of injury sustained and whether the offender had a weapon, 2006-2010 Average annual number not reporteda 2,654,200 728,000 604,900 78,800 43,000 2,595,200 590,000 179,300 191,600 219,100 197,000 128,800 555,400 461,100 2,039,700 Percent not reported 56% 43 45 29 59 56% 42 38 49 42 46 31% 47% 47% 59% Most important reason victimizations went unreported Dealt with in Not important Fear of reprisal or another way/ enough to Police would not getting offender personal matter victim to report or could not help in trouble 36% 28 31 18 14 ! 36% 28 14 33 35 24 21% 30% 30% 38% 21% 9 10 5! 1! 19% 14 7 17 19 23 5% ! 10% 17% 21% 15% 18 17 17 28 ! 14% 21 25 20 19 21 25% 15% 20% 14% 9% 29 26 50 28 12% 20 37 12 12 12 42% 26% 13% 8% Other reason or not one most important reason 19% 16 16 10 28 18% 17 18 19 16 20 7% 18% 20% 18% Attributes of victimization Injury No injury Any injury Minorb Seriousc Rape without other injury Weapon No weapon Any weapon Firearm Knife Other/unknown type Don't know Injury Weapon No weapon No injury Weapon No weapon Note: Includes victims of rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. See appendix table 7 for standard errors. aRounded to the nearest hundred. bExamples include bruises, scratches, and black eyes. cExamples include gunshot or stab wounds, broken bones, internal injuries, and unconsciousness. ! Interpret with caution; estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 5 Among unreported intimate partner violence victimizations, the most common reason for not reporting to police was fear of reprisal or getting the offender in trouble (38%) From 2006 to 2010, victimizations perpetrated by someone who was well known to the victim (62%)--a neighbor, coworker, patient, or teacher--or by someone with whom the victim was casually acquainted (60%) were most likely to go unreported to police (table 3). About 46% of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimizations were not reported to police between 2006 and 2010. The percentage of IPV victimizations not reported to police was about the same, regardless of whether the victimization was a simple assault (44%) or a serious violent crime (47%) (not shown in table). Among the unreported IPV victimizations, 38% went unreported because the victim was afraid of reprisal or getting the offender in trouble. From 2006 to 2010, over half (51%) of violent crime victimizations committed by a stranger went unreported to police. Of those, about 18% went unreported because the victim believed that the police would not or could not do anything to help. About three-quarters of violent crime victimizations that occurred at school were not reported to police From 2006 to 2010, violent crime victimizations that took place at school (76%), in a public location (55%), or at work (56%) were more likely to go unreported to police than violent crime victimizations that took place in the home (42%) (table 4). The greatest percentage of unreported violent crime victimizations that occurred at school (50%) or work (47%) were not reported because the victim dealt with the crime in some other way, such as reporting it to another official such as a manager or school staff. Unreported violent crime victimizations that occurred in the home (27%) were more likely than unreported violent victimizations at school (6%), work (4%), or in a public location (7%) to go unreported because the victim was afraid of reprisal or getting the offender in trouble. Table 3 Violent victimizations not reported to the police and the most important reason they went unreported, by victim-offender relationship, 2006-2010 Most important reason victimizations went unreported Average annual Dealt with in Not important Fear of reprisal or number not Percent not another way/ enough to Police would not getting offender reported* reported personal matter victim to report or could not help in trouble 1,221,000 51% 28% 27% 18% 6% 611,400 60 48 18 13 7 570,800 62 43 13 15 11 204,400 46 36 8 13 32 467,800 46 19 10 17 38 Other reason or not one most important reason 22% 14 18 11 16 Victim-offender relationship Stranger Casual acquaintance Well known Relative Intimate partner Note: Includes victims of rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. Does not include victimizations in which the relationship between the victim and offender was unknown. See appendix table 8 for standard errors. *Rounded to the nearest hundred. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. Table 4 Violent victimizations not reported to the police and the most important reason they went unreported, by location, 2006-2010 Average annual number not reporteda 669,600 451,300 842,100 785,200 Most important reason victimizations went unreported Dealt with in another Not important Fear of reprisal or Percent not way/personal enough to Police would not getting offender reported matter victim to report or could not help in trouble 56% 47% 13% 9% 4% 76 50 22 13 6 42 28 13 19 27 55 25 28 20 7 Other reason or not one most important reason 27% 9 14 21 Location At work At school At home In a public locationb Note: Includes victims of rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. See appendix table 9 for standard errors. aRounded to the nearest hundred. bIncludes vicitmizations that occurred on the way to school or work, while running errands or engaging in leisure activities outside of the home, or in other public locations outside of school or work. ! Interpret with caution; estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 6 A greater percentage of unreported violent victimizations against women (20%) than men (8%) were not reported because the victim was afraid of reprisal or getting the offender in trouble The demographic characteristics of violent crime victims contributed to differences in the percentage of unreported victimizations and reasons for not reporting the crime to the police. From 2006 to 2010, a greater percentage of victimizations against men (55%) were not reported to police than victimizations against women (49%) (table 5). A greater percentage of victimizations against white non-Hispanics (54%) than black non-Hispanics (46%) went unreported to police. The rationale for not reporting a victimization to the police also varied depending on the demographic characteristics of violent crime victims. For example, from 2006 to 2010, a greater percentage of unreported violent victimizations against women (20%) than men (8%) were not reported to police because the victim was afraid of reprisal or getting the offender in trouble. In addition, from 2006 to 2010, unreported violent crimes against victims age 65 or older (33%) were more likely than violent crimes against victims ages 12 to 17 (10%) to go unreported because the victim believed that the police would not or could not do anything to help. A greater percentage of unreported crimes against victims age 17 or younger (42%) than victims age 65 or older (19%) were not reported to police because the victim handled it in another way. Table 5 Violent victimizations not reported to the police and the most important reason they went unreported, by victim characteristics, 2006-2010 Average annual Percent not number not reported reporteda 1,859,800 1,522,400 2,308,600 441,700 394,600 35,200 89,300 112,800 844,300 1,379,600 1,100,300 58,000 564,400 1,370,000 1,422,600 55% 49 54% 46 51 39 66 60 68% 51 47 46 66% 49 51 Most important reason victimizations went unreported Dealt with in Not important Police would Fear of reprisal or Other reason or another way/ enough to not or could getting offender not one most personal matter victim to report not help in trouble important reason 36% 32 35% 31 32 22 ! 32 38 42% 30 34 19 40% 34 32 22% 14 19% 17 20 21 ! 19 13 22% 18 15 21 21% 16 19 16% 15 15% 18 19 21 ! 19! 14 10% 16 20 33 14% 16 16 8% 20 13% 18 12 23 ! 8! 17 12% 16 12 9 9% 16 13 18% 18 19% 16 17 12 ! 22 18 14% 21 18 18 16% 17 20 Victim characteristic Sex Male Female Race/Hispanic origin Whiteb Black/African Americanb Hispanic/Latino American Indian/Alaska nativeb Asian/Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islanderb Two or more racesb Age 12-17 18-34 35-64 65 or older Education Less than high school degree High school diploma/ some college College degree Note: Includes victims of rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. See appendix table 10 for standard errors. aRounded to the nearest hundred. bExcludes persons of Hispanic or Latino origin. ! Interpret with caution; estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 7 Over 20% of unreported violent victimizations against persons living in urban areas were not reported because the victim believed the police would not or could not help During the period from 2006 to 2010, victimizations against persons living in households with two or more children under age 12 were less likely to go unreported to police (46%) than victimizations involving households with no children (54%) or one child (53%) (table 6). A greater percentage of violent victimizations against persons in households with an income of $50,000 or more (56%) went unreported, compared to households with an income of less than $25,000 (50%). Household characteristics associated with violent crime victimizations also contributed to differences in the rationale for not reporting victimizations to police. For instance, unreported violent victimizations against persons living in urban areas (21%) were more likely to not be reported because the victim believed that the police would not or could not do anything to help, in comparison to unreported victimizations against people living in suburban (12%) and rural (16%) areas. Table 6 Violent victimizations not reported to the police and the most important reason they went unreported, by victim household characteristics, 2006-2010 Average annual number not Percent not reported* reported 849,900 745,700 996,400 790,200 1,262,100 1,535,600 584,500 2,219,400 644,100 518,700 50% 54 56 50 51% 54 51 54% 53 46 Most important reason victimizations went unreported Dealt with in Not important Police would Fear of reprisal or Other reason or another way/ enough to not or could getting offender not one most personal matter victim to report not help in trouble important reason 31% 35 38 31 30% 37 36 34% 35 35 18% 17 20 19 18% 19 18 20% 12 20 21% 16 12 16 21% 12 16 16% 18 13 15% 15 8 17 13% 13 15 13% 15 14 16% 17 22 17 18% 19 15 18% 20 17 Household characteristic Income Less than $25,000 $25,000-$49,999 $50,000 or more Not reported Location of residence Urban Suburban Rural Household members under age 12 None One Two or more Note: Includes victims of rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. See appendix table 11 for standard errors. *Rounded to the nearest hundred. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 8 Methodology Survey coverage The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is an annual data collection conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The NCVS is a selfreport survey in which interviewed persons are asked about the number and characteristics of victimizations experienced during the prior six months. The NCVS collects information on nonfatal personal crimes (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault, and personal larceny) and household property crimes (burglary, motor vehicle theft, and other theft) both reported and not reported to police. In addition to providing annual level and change estimates on criminal victimization, the NCVS is the primary source of information on the nature of criminal victimization incidents. Survey respondents provide information about themselves (such as age, sex, race and ethnicity, marital status, education level, and income) and if they experienced a victimization. For crime victims, information about the offender (such as age, race and ethnicity, gender, and victimoffender relationship), characteristics of the crime (including time and place of occurrence, use of weapons, nature of injury, and economic consequences), whether the crime was reported to police, reasons why the crime was or was not reported, and experiences with the criminal justice system are collected about each victimization incident. The NCVS is administered to persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of households in the United States. Once selected, households remain in the sample for 3 years, and eligible persons in these households are interviewed every six months for a total of seven interviews. New households rotate into the sample on an ongoing basis to replace outgoing households that have been in sample for the 3-year period. The sample includes persons living in group quarters, such as dormitories, rooming houses, and religious group dwellings, and excludes persons living in military barracks and institutional settings, such as correctional or hospital facilities, and the homeless. (For more detail, see the Survey Methodology for Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2007, NCJ 227669, March 2010, on the BJS website at www.bjs.gov.) In 2010, about 147,000 persons age 12 or older from 82,000 households across the country were interviewed during the course of the year. From 2006 to 2010--the primary reference period for this report--a total of 701,000 persons from about 394,000 households were interviewed. This equates to an annual average of 140,000 persons age 12 or older in 79,000 households interviewed each year from 2006 to 2010. Nonresponse and weighting adjustments The 82,000 households that participated in the NCVS in 2010 represents a 92% household response rate. The personlevel response rate--the percentage of persons age 12 or older in participating households who completed an NCVS interview--was 88% in 2010. Estimates in this report use data from the 1994 to 2010 NCVS data files weighted to produce annual estimates for persons age 12 or older living in U.S. households. Because the NCVS relies on a sample rather than a census of the entire U.S. population, weights are designed to inflate sample point estimates to known population totals and to compensate for survey nonresponse and other aspects of the sample design. The NCVS data files include both household and person weights. The household weight is commonly used to calculate estimates of property crimes, such as motor vehicle theft or burglary, which are identified with the household. Person weights provide an estimate of the population represented by each person in the sample. Person weights are most frequently used to compute estimates of crime victimizations of persons in the total population. Both household and person weights, after proper adjustment, are also used to form the denominator in calculations of crime rates. The victimization weights used in this analysis account for the number of persons present during an incident and for repeat victims of series incidents. The victimization weight counts series incidents as the actual number of incidents reported by the victim, up to a maximum of ten incidents. Series victimizations are victimizations that are similar in type but occur with such frequency that a victim is unable to recall each individual event or to describe each event in detail. Survey procedures allow NCVS interviewers to identify and classify these similar victimizations as series victimizations and collect detailed information on only the most recent incident in the series. In 2010, about 3% of all victimization were series incidents. The approach to weighting series incidents as the number of incidents up to a maximum of ten incidents produces more reliable estimates of crime levels, while the cap at 10 minimizes the effect of extreme outliers on the rates. Additional information on the series enumeration is detailed in the report Methods for Counting High Frequency Repeat Victimizations in the National Crime Victimization Survey, NCJ 237308, April 2012, on the BJS website at http://www.bjs.gov. For this report, prior to applying the weights to the data, all victimizations that occurred outside of the U.S. were excluded. From 2006 to 2010, about 1% (304) of the total 37,457 unweighted victimizations occurred outside of the U.S. and was excluded from the analyses. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 9 Standard error computations When national estimates are derived from a sample, as is the case with the NCVS, caution must be taken when comparing one estimates to another estimate or when comparing estimates over time. Although one estimate may be larger than another, estimates based on a sample have some degree of sampling error. The sampling error of an estimate depends on several factors, including the amount of variation in the responses, the size of the sample, and the size of the subgroup for which the estimate is computed. When the sampling error around the estimates is taken into consideration, the estimates that appear different may, in fact, not be statistically different. One measure of the sampling error associated with an estimate is the standard error. The standard error can vary from one estimate to the next. In general, for a given metric, an estimate with a smaller standard error provides a more reliable approximation of the true value than an estimate with a larger standard error. Estimates with relatively large standard errors are associated with less precision and reliability and should be interpreted with caution. In order to generate standard errors around numbers and estimates from the NCVS, the Census Bureau produces generalized variance function (GVF) parameters for BJS. The GVFs take into account aspects of the NCVS complex sample design and represent the curve fitted to a selection of individual standard errors based on the Jackknife Repeated Replication technique. The GVF parameters were used to generate standard errors for each point estimate (such as counts, percentages, and rates) in the report. For average annual estimates, standard errors were based on the ratio of the sums of victimizations and respondents across years. In this report, BJS conducted tests to determine whether differences in estimated numbers and percentages were statistically significant once sampling error was taken into account. Using statistical programs developed specifically for the NCVS, we tested the significance of all comparisons in the text. The primary test procedure used was Student's t-statistic, which tests the difference between two sample estimates. To ensure that the observed differences between estimates were larger than might be expected due to sampling variation, we set the significance level at the 95% level. Data users can use the estimates and the standard errors of the estimates provided in this report to generate a confidence interval around the estimate as a measure of the margin of error. The following example illustrates how standard errors can be used to generate confidence intervals: According to the NCVS, in 1994, 50% of serious violent victimizations were not reported to police (see appendix table 2). Using the GVFs, BJS determined that the estimate has a standard error of 1.3% (see appendix table 4). A confidence interval around the estimate was generated by multiplying the standard errors by ?1.96 (the t-score of a normal, two-tailed distribution that excludes 2.5% at either end of the distribution). Thus, the confidence interval around the 50% estimate from 1994 is 50% ? 1.3% X 1.96 or (47.45% to 52.55%). In others words, if different samples using the same procedures were taken from the U.S. population in 1994, 95% of the time the percentage of serious violent crime victimizations that went unreported would fall between 47.45 and 52.55%. In this report, a coefficient of variation (CV), representing the ratio of the standard error to the estimate, was also calculated for all estimates. CV's provide a measure of reliability and a means to compare the precision of estimates across measures with differing levels or metrics. In cases where the CV was greater than 50%, or the unweighted sample had 10 or fewer cases, the estimate was noted with a "!" symbol (interpret data with caution; estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or the coefficient of variation exceeds 50%). Methodological changes to the NCVS in 2006 Methodological changes implemented in 2006 may have affected the crime estimates for that year to such an extent that they are not comparable to estimates from other years. Evaluation of 2007 and later data from the NCVS conducted by BJS and the Census Bureau found a high degree of confidence that estimates for 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 are consistent with and comparable to estimates for 2005 and previous years. The reports, Criminal Victimization, 2006, NCJ 219413, December 2007; Criminal Victimization, 2007, NCJ 224390, December 2008; Criminal Victimization, 2008, NCJ 227777, September 2009; Criminal Victimization, 2009, NCJ 231327, October 2010; and Criminal Victimization, 2010, NCJ 235508, September 2011, are available on the BJS website at http://www.bjs.gov. Although caution is warranted when comparing data from 2006 to other years, the combination of five years of data in this report diminishes the potential variation between 2006 and later years. In general, findings do not change significantly if the year 2006 is excluded from the analysis. For total victimizations, violent victimizations, and serious violent victimizations, the annual average number of victimizations and the percentage of victimizations not reported to the police during the period from 2006 to 2010 were not significantly different from the annual average number and the percentage not reported during the period from 2007 to 2010. Similarly, the distribution of the reasons given for why unreported violent victimizations were not reported to police did not differ significantly across the two periods. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 10 appendix Table 1 Detailed response categories for the most important reason violent victimizations were not reported to police, 2006-2010 Reason Total not reported Dealt with it another way Reported to another official Private or personal matter handled informally Not important enough to report Minor or unsuccessful crime/small loss/recovered property Child offender or "kids' stuff" Not clear it was a crime or harm was intended Loss was less than insurance deductible Police would not or could not do anything Police could not do anything Crime discovered too late Could not recover property Could not identify offender/lack of proof Police would not help Police would not think it was important enough Police would be inefficient or ineffective Police would be biased or could cause respondent trouble or offender was a police officer Fear of reprisal or getting offender in trouble Afraid of reprisal by offender or others Did not want to get offender in trouble with the law Other reason or not one most important reason Advised not to report to police Too inconvenient to take the time Do not know why crime was not reported Not one reason more important than the others Other reasons Note: Numbers rounded to the nearest hundred. See appendix table 12 for standard errors. ! Interpret with caution; estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. --Less than 0.5%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. Unreported violent victimizations Average annual number Percent 3,382,200 100% 1,143,500 34% 538,700 16 603,900 18 619,100 18% 465,900 14 72,600 2 80,500 2 900 -- ! 535,900 16% 77,000 2 7,800 -3,100 -- ! 66,200 2 459,000 14 305,400 9 99,500 3 54,100 2 452,700 13% 283,900 8 158,100 5 610,700 18% 10,700 -108,300 3 30,300 1 85,800 3 386,400 11 Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 11 appendix Table 2 Victimizations not reported to the police, by type of crime, 1994-2010 Year 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006* 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total 50% 49 53 44 44 48 47 41 34 40 37 40 49 43 43 50 42 Serious violent crime Rape/sexual assault Robbery 66% 46% 77 43 67 51 75 45 68 41 74 40 57 48 59 41 45 32 44 36 70 39 65 44 70 53 58 30 61 41 77 39 51 41 Aggravated assault 48% 46 52 38 42 45 44 35 32 41 30 34 42 49 37 50 39 Simple assault 63% 62 61 64 58 59 56 54 54 55 55 59 54 59 57 57 51 Total 67% 67 65 66 66 66 65 63 60 61 60 60 61 61 59 61 60 Property crime Motor Burglary vehicle theft 51% 21% 50 24 51 22 50 19 53 21 51 16 51 20 47 17 42 16 46 23 45 14 44 18 48 18 48 15 44 20 46 15 41 16 Theft 74% 73 71 72 71 73 70 70 67 68 66 67 67 68 65 68 68 Note: Excludes victims who did not know whether the victimization was reported to police. Personal larceny is not shown in table. See appendix table 4 for standard errors. *Due to methodological changes, use caution when comparing 2006 NCVS criminal victimization estimates to other years. See Criminal Victimization 2007, http://www. bjs.gov, for more information. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994-2010. appendix Table 3 Standard errors for figure 1: Most important reason violent victimizations were not reported to the police, 2006-2010 Most important reason victimizations were not reported Dealt with it another way/personal matter Not important enough to victim to report Police would not or could not help Fear of reprisal or getting offender in trouble Other reason or not one most important reason Percent 1.2% 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 12 appendix Table 4 Standard errors for figure 2: Victimizations not reported to the police, by type of crime, 1994-2010 Year 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total 1.3% 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.9 1.8 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.5 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.7 Serious violent crime Rape/sexual assault Robbery 3.1% 2.2% 3.0 2.4 3.8 2.4 3.5 2.8 4.5 3.1 3.4 2.9 4.9 3.3 4.3 3.7 5.0 3.5 5.3 3.6 5.8 4.0 7.2 4.1 4.8 3.8 6.2 3.4 5.7 4.2 5.1 4.2 6.1 4.3 Aggravated assault 1.6% 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.2 2.3 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.8 2.6 3.1 2.8 3.1 3.5 3.5 3.5 Simple assault 1.0% 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.9 2.1 2.1 Total 0.6% 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.9 Property crime Burglary Motor vehicle theft 1.2% 1.5% 1.2 1.7 1.3 1.8 1.4 1.8 1.5 2.0 1.5 1.9 1.6 2.1 1.7 2.0 1.7 2.0 1.7 2.3 1.7 2.0 1.8 2.2 1.8 2.5 1.7 2.1 1.9 2.7 1.8 2.5 1.8 2.8 Theft 0.6% 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.0 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994-2010. appendix Table 5 Standard errors for figure 3: Most important reason violent victimizations were not reported to police, 1994-2010 Year 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Dealt with in another way/personal matter 1.0% 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.5 1.4 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 2.0 1.8 1.9 2.1 2.0 2.2 Not important enough to victim to report 0.8% 0.9 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.5 1.6 Police would not or could not help 0.6% 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.8 1.8 Fear of reprisal or getting offender in trouble 0.5% 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.7 1.1 1.0 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 Other reason or not one most important reason 0.9% 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.7 1.7 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.7 2.0 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 13 appendix Table 6 Standard errors for table 1: Victimizations not reported to police and the most important reason they went unreported, by type of crime, 2006-2010 Average annual Percent not Type of crime number not reported reported Total crime 452,671 0.6% Violent 192,199 1.0 Serious violent 95,818 1.5 Rape/sexual assault 40,343 3.3 Robbery 48,501 2.4 Aggravated assault 65,021 2.0 Simple assault 155,796 1.2 Personal larceny 22,340 4.6 Household property 258,055 0.5 Burglary 93,331 0.9 Motor vehicle theft 25,706 1.3 Theft 235,394 0.5 Most important reason victimizations went unreported Dealt with in Not important Fear of reprisal or another way/ enough to Police would not getting offender personal matter victim to report or could not help in trouble 0.5% 0.6% 0.7% 0.3% 1.2 0.9 0.9 0.8 1.8 1.3 1.7 1.6 3.4 1.9 2.8 3.8 2.8 2.4 3.4 2.1 2.6 2.0 2.1 2.3 1.4 1.1 0.9 0.8 5.4 6.1 7.2 2.0! 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.2 0.8 1.2 1.3 0.5 3.0 3.6 3.7 2.0 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.2 Other reason or not one most important reason 0.5% 0.9 1.7 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 5.0 0.4 1.0 3.3 0.4 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. appendix Table 7 Standard errors for table 2: Violent victimizations not reported to the police and the most important reason they went unreported, by type of injury sustained and whether the offender had a weapon, 2006-2010 Average annual number not reported 166,629 79,437 71,649 23,913 17,437 164,446 70,660 36,949 38,285 41,146 38,866 30,988 68,336 61,667 142,889 Dealt with in another way/personal matter 1.3% 2.1 2.4 5.1 6.3 1.3% 2.4 3.1 4.2 4.0 3.7 4.3% 2.5% 2.7% 1.5% Most important reason victimizations went unreported Not important enough to Fear of reprisal or Other reason or victim to Police would not getting offender not one most report or could not help in trouble important reason 1.1% 1.3 1.5 2.9 2.1 1.1% 1.8 2.2 3.3 3.2 3.6 2.2% 1.6% 2.2% 1.2% 1.0% 1.8 1.9 5.0 8.1 0.9% 2.1 3.9 3.5 3.2 3.5 4.6% 1.9% 2.3% 1.0% 0.7% 2.2 2.3 6.8 8.1 0.9% 2.1 4.4 2.8 2.6 2.8 5.3% 2.4% 2.0% 0.8% 1.0% 1.7 1.9 4.0 8.1 1.0% 2.0 3.5 3.4 3.0 3.4 2.7% 2.1% 2.3% 1.2% Attributes of victimization Injury No injury Any injury Minor Serious Rape without other injury Weapon No weapon Any weapon Firearm Knife Other/unknown type Don't know Injury Weapon No weapon No injury Weapon No weapon Percent not reported 1.1% 1.7 1.8 3.4 6.9 1.1% 1.8 2.8 3.2 2.7 3.1 2.9% 1.9% 2.1% 1.3% Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 14 appendix Table 8 Standard errors for table 3: Violent victimizations not reported to the police and the most important reason they went unreported, by victim-offender relationship, 2006-2010 Average annual number not reported 106,359 72,075 69,375 39,637 62,152 Percent not reported 1.5% 2.1 2.1 3.0 2.1 Most important reason victimizations went unreported Dealt with in Not important Fear of reprisal or Other reason or another way/ enough to Police would not getting offender not one most personal matter victim to report or could not help in trouble important reason 1.7% 1.7% 1.4% 0.8% 1.5% 2.6 1.9 1.7 1.3 1.8 2.7 1.7 1.9 1.6 2.0 4.1 2.2 2.8 4.0 2.6 2.3 1.7 2.1 2.8 2.1 Victim-offender relationship Stranger Casual acquaintance Well known Relative Intimate partner Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. appendix Table 9 Standard errors for table 4: Violent victimizations not reported to the police and the most important reason they went unreported, by location of occurrence, 2006-2010 Average annual number not reported 75,812 60,942 86,191 82,874 Percent not reported 2.0% 2.3 1.5 1.8 Dealt with in another way/ personal matter 2.5% 3.0 2.0 2.0 Most important reason victimizations went unreported Not important Fear of reprisal or enough to Police would not getting offender victim to report or could not help in trouble 1.6% 1.4% 0.9% 2.4 1.9 1.3 1.4 1.7 2.0 2.1 1.8 1.1 Other reason or not one most important reason 2.2% 1.7 1.5 1.9 Location At work At school At home In a public location Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 15 appendix Table 10 Standard errors for table 5: Violent victimizations not reported to the police and the most important reason they went unreported, by victim characteristics, 2006-2010 Average annual number not reported 135,436 120,673 153,571 60,220 56,610 15,711 25,542 28,889 86,316 114,043 100,247 20,375 68,942 113,586 116,067 Percent not reported 1.3% 1.3 1.2% 2.1 2.4 6.2 5.0 4.4 1.8% 1.4 1.5 5.4 2.2% 1.4 1.4 Most important reason victimizations went unreported Dealt with in Not important Fear of reprisal or Other reason or another way/ enough to Police would not getting offender not one most personal matter victim to report or could not help in trouble important reason 1.5% 1.6 1.4% 2.8 2.9 8.2 5.9 5.5 2.2% 1.6 1.9 6.1 2.6% 1.7 1.7 1.3% 1.2 1.1% 2.2 2.5 8.0 5.0 3.7 1.8% 1.4 1.4 6.4 2.2% 1.3 1.4 1.1% 1.2 1.0% 2.3 2.4 8.1 4.9 3.9 1.3% 1.3 1.6 7.3 1.8% 1.3 1.3 0.8% 1.4 0.9% 2.3 2.0 8.4 3.4 4.2 1.4% 1.3 1.3 4.4 1.5% 1.3 1.1 1.2% 1.3 1.1% 2.2 2.4 6.5! 5.2 4.3 1.5% 1.4 1.5 5.9 1.9% 1.3 1.4 Victim characteristic Sex Male Female Race/Hispanic origin White Black/African American Hispanic/Latino American Indian/ Alaska native Asian/Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander Two or more races Age 12-17 18-34 35-64 65 or older Education Less than high school degree High school diploma/ some college College degree Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. appendix Table 11 Standard errors for table 6: Violent victimizations not reported to the police and the most important reason they went unreported, by victim household characteristics, 2006-2010 Most important reason victimizations went unreported Average annual Dealt with in Not important Fear of reprisal or Other reason or number not Percent not another way/ enough to Police would not getting offender not one most reported reported personal matter victim to report or could not help in trouble important reason 86,638 80,512 94,767 83,171 108,386 121,271 70,294 150,081 74,191 65,801 1.7% 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.4% 1.4 2.0 1.2% 1.9 2.0 2.1% 2.3 2.0 2.1 1.7% 1.7 2.5 1.4% 2.4 2.7 1.7% 1.8 1.6 1.8 1.4% 1.3 2.0 1.2% 1.6 2.2 1.8% 1.7 1.3 1.7 1.5% 1.1 1.9 1.0% 1.9 1.8 1.6% 1.7 1.1 1.7 1.2% 1.1 1.8 0.9% 1.8 1.9 1.6% 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.4% 1.3 1.9 1.1% 2.0 2.1 Household characteristic Income Less than $25,000 $25,000-$49,999 $50,000 or more Not reported Location of residence Urban Suburban Rural Household members under age 12 None One Two or more Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2006-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 16 appendix Table 12 Standard errors for appendix table 1: Detailed response categories for the most important reason violent victimizations went unreported to police, 2006-2010 Reason Total not reported Dealt with it another way Reported to another official Private or personal matter handled informally Not important enough to report Minor or unsuccessful crime/small loss/recovered property Child offender or "kids' stuff" Not clear it was a crime or harm was intended Loss was less than insurance deductible Police would not or could not do anything Police could not do anything Crime discovered too late Could not recover property Could not identify offender/lack of proof Police would not help Police would not think it was important enough Police would be inefficient or ineffective Police would be biased or could cause respondent trouble or offender was a police officer Fear of reprisal or getting offender in trouble Afraid of reprisal by offender or others Did not want to get offender in trouble with the law Other reason or not one most important reason Advised not to report to police Too inconvenient to take the time Do not know why crime was not reported Not one reason more important than the others Other reasons ~Not applicable. --Less than 0.5%. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994-2010. Unreported violent victimizations Average annual Percent of violent number not reported victimizations 192,199 ~ 102,463 1.2% 67,190 0.9 71,581 0.9 72,574 0.9% 62,015 0.8 22,914 0.3 24,184 0.3 2,391 -66,998 0.9% 23,623 0.3 7,250 -4,530 -21,818 0.3 61,505 0.8 49,229 0.7 27,034 0.4 19,638 0.2 61,041 0.8% 47,316 0.6 34,551 0.5 72,030 0.9% 8,534 -28,263 0.4 14,544 0.2 25,005 0.3 55,963 0.7 appendix Table 13 Standard errors for appendix table 2: Trends in the percent of unreported violent victimizations not reported because the police would not or could not do anything to help, 1994-2010 Year 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Police would not think it was important enough 0.3% 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.1 Police could not do anything 0.2% 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 Police would be inefficient or ineffective 0.2% 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.6 Police would be biased/ offender was a police officer 0.1% 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2! 0.2 0.2! 0.3 0.5 0.5 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994-2010. Victimizations not reported to the police, 2006-2010 | august 2012 17 The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. James P. Lynch is the director. This Special Report was written by Lynn Langton, BJS, Marcus Berzofsky, RTI International, Christopher Krebs, RTI International, and Hope Smiley-McDonald, RTI International. Erika Harrell verified the report. Vanessa Curto and Jill Thomas edited the report, and Barbara Quinn produced the report under the supervision of Doris J. James. August 2012, NCJ 238536 Office of Justice Programs Innovation o Partnerships o Safer Neighborhoods www.ojp.usdoj.gov