National Crime Victimization Survey - Crime Data - Brief Article

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,The, Feb, 2003

The U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has announced that the nation's violent crime rate fell 10 percent in 2001, continuing a trend observed since 1994. Violent victimization and property crime rates in 2001 are the lowest recorded since the National Crime Victimization Survey's inception in 1973. There were an estimated 44 million personal and household crimes that year, compared to 24.2 million during 2001.

In 2001, there were approximately 18.3 million property crimes (burglary, motor vehicle theft, and household theft) and 5.7 million violent personal crimes (rape, sexual assault, robbery, and simple and aggravated assault). The decline in violent crimes in 2001 was attributable primarily to a drop in simple assaults.

According to victim self-reports, most male victims of violence were victimized by strangers, whereas the majority of females were victimized by someone they knew. About 1 in 3 victims of violence faced an offender armed with a weapon; 1 in 11 victims of violence said the offender had a firearm. Firearm use in crime has significantly declined; it accounted for 12 percent of all violent crime in 1994 and 9 percent in 2001. Additionally, between 1993 and 2000, FBI murder data show a decrease of 42 percent in the per capita rate of murder, a drop from 95 murders per 100,000 U.S. residents to 5.5 per 100,000 residents.

The report, "Criminal Victimization 2001, Changes 2000-2001 with Trends 1993-2001" (NCJ 194610), was written by BJS statistician Callie Rennison. It may be obtained from the BJS clearinghouse at 1-800-732-3277 or from the BJS Web site at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cv01.htm.>

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