The National Crime Survey, sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, is a complex survey having a wide range of applications for administrators, planners, and policymakers at all levels of government and in the private sector. Begun in 1973, the survey is designed to measure the levels of criminal victimization of persons and households for the crimes of rape, robbery, assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and larceny. A large national sample (nearly 132,000 persons) is interviewed on a staggered schedule, twice a year, about crimes suffered during the previous 6 months. The survey distinguishes between crimes reported to the police and those not reported. Detailed information is collected about the victim, the crime, and the circumstances surrounding the crime that is used to predict which groups of people are more likely than others to be crime victims.
National Crime Survey - Working Papers, Volume 1 - Current and Historical Perspectives
NCJ Number
75374
Editor(s)
R G Lehnen,
W G Skogan
Date Published
1981
Length
85 pages
Annotation
Selections are presented pertaining to the objectives and design of the National Crime Survey (NCS), accounts of the early methodological and organizational steps establishing the design, and a discussion of conceptual issues associated with measuring victimization. Examples of problems and prospects for using NCS data are also presented.
Abstract