NCJ Number
121908
Date Published
1987
Length
54 pages
Annotation
Characteristics of crime victims in California were examined using data from 23,843 victims of personal crimes and 8,689 business victims of 15,737 felons who were received in State prisons with determinate sentences during 1983.
Abstract
Victim information was incomplete in many cases. Among the personal victims, 21.5 percent were victimized by an offender armed with a firearm, 13.9 percent were vulnerable due to age or infirmities, and 15.5 percent either knew or were related to the offender. Victims and offenders tended to come from the same ethnic groups. More than half were not injured, but male victims were more seriously injured than female victims. Twenty-six percent of the victims incurred financial losses. Businesses were victimized by strangers in 92 percent of the cases. The median financial loss was just over $400. Robbery accounted for 29.3 percent of the total business victims. Burglary was the second most frequent business offense. Data tables.