NCVS Fact Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

Resources for Victims

What is this survey about?

National Center for Victims of Crime
1-202-467-8700

The NCVS asks whether people experienced
crime in the last 6 months and asks about those
experiences, regardless of whether they were
reported to the police.

Who is conducting this survey?

C

Victim Connect
1-855-4VICTIM (1-855-484-2846)

The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the NCVS on
behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau
of Justice Statistics (BJS).

Boys Town National Hotline
1-800-448-3000

How is the information collected?

Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline
1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453)

A Census Bureau representative will come to
your home or call to interview you and any other
household members aged 12 or older. Generally,
people from each selected address are interviewed
once every 6 months over a 3-year period for a
total of seven interviews.

How was I selected for this survey?
We select addresses, not you personally, to
represent all households in the United States. If you
move away while this address is still in the survey,
we will interview the residents who move in.

Why should I participate?
Your cooperation is important to help ensure
accurate and reliable information about crime and
safety in neighborhoods like yours. We think you will
find the survey interesting, and your participation
will help the public understand crime and safety
issues in different communities around the country.

How will my privacy be protected?
The Census Bureau is required by law to protect
your information (Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9
and Title 34, U.S. Code, Sections 10231 and 10134).
Your answers will not be connected to your name.
The Census Bureau and the BJS are not allowed to
publicly release your responses in a way that could
identify you or your household.

Eldercare Locator
1-800-677-1116

National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233)
1-800-787-3224 (TTY)

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
988

The National Sexual Assault Hotline
1-800-656-HOPE (1-800-656-4673)

The Trevor Project
1-866-488-7386

Survey sponsored by the U.S. Department of
Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
bjs.ojp.gov
U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
census.gov

Issued December 2022
NCVS-110 (12-22)
Connect with us
@uscensusbureau
@BJSgov

Bureau of
Justice Statistics

What is the National Crime
Victimization Survey?

What information is collected
in this survey?

The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
is a nationwide survey based on a sample of
U.S. households. The survey is designed to obtain
detailed information about people and whether
they were victims of certain types of crime, such
as theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft, robbery,
assault, rape, and purse snatching/pocket picking.

The NCVS collects information about crime
incidents from the victim’s perspective, whether or
not they were reported to the police. This includes:

NCVS data, like those shown in Figures 1 and 2,
are used to track trends and patterns in crime
and safety and to develop policies. More
examples are available at
.

• Types and numbers of crimes experienced
• Characteristics of persons and households
• Crime details, including:
• When and where crimes occur
• Economic loss to the victim
• Injuries
• Police involvement
• Weapons used
• Victim services used

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

(Percentage of total victimizations)

(Percentage of total victimizations)

Victimizations by Type of Crime
Personal Crimes

Victimizations Reported to the Police

Accuracy of the data
Data presented in this factsheet are based
on people and households that responded to
the NCVS. The estimates are representative of
the entire population. However, the data are
subject to sampling and nonsampling error. More
information is available in the NCVS Technical
Documentation: .

Who can I contact with
questions?
Contact the Bureau of Justice Statistics via:
E-mail:
Phone: 202-307-0765
For more information about this survey, please
visit by link
or QR code:

Personal Crimes
82.0% Assault

57.9% Not reported

9.4% Robbery

39.9% Reported

6.9% Rape/Sexual assault

2.1% Information not
available

1.7% Purse snatching/
Pocket picking
Property Crimes

Property Crimes
81.1% Theft
14.4% Burglary
4.5% Motor vehicle theft

65.6% Not reported
33.0% Reported

1.4% Information not
available

Note: Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Note: Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime
Victimization Survey, 2020.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime
Victimization Survey, 2020.

For more information from the U.S. Census
Bureau and to verify the person contacting you
to participate in the survey is a Census Bureau
employee, please visit by link
or QR code: