Victim/offender relationship

Males were more likely to be violently victimized by a stranger than a nonstranger, and females were more likely to be victimized by a friend, an acquaintance, or an intimate.

During 2005 :-

• About seven in ten female rape or sexual assault victims stated the offender was an intimate, other relative, a friend or an acquaintance.
• Seventy-four percent of males and 48% of females stated the individual(s) who robbed them was a stranger.

Intimates were identified by the victims of workplace violence as the perpetrator in about 1% of all workplace violent crime. About 40% of the victims of nonfatal violence in the workplace reported that they knew their offender.

For murder victims, 43% were related to or acquainted with their assailants; 14% of victims were murdered by strangers, while 43% of victims had an unknown relationship to their murderer in 2002.

Two thirds of murders of children under the age of 5 were committed by a parent or other family member.

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Intimate violence

• About 1 in 320 households were affected by intimate partner violence.
• Female victims are more likely to be victimized by intimates than male victims. In 2005, of offenders victimizing females, 18% were described as intimates and 34% as strangers. By contrast, of offenders victimizing males, 3% were described as intimates and 54% as strangers.
• The rate of nonfatal intimate violence against females declined by nearly half between 1993 and 2001.
• Between 1976 and 2002, about 11% of murder victims were determined to have been killed by an intimate.
• The sharpest decrease in number of intimate murders has been for black male victims. An 81% percent decrease in the number of black men murdered by intimates occurred between 1976 and 2002.

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Time of occurrence

In 2005 :-
• 53% of incidents of violent crime occurred during the day between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• Almost two-thirds of the rapes/sexual assaults occurred at night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

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Place of occurrence

In 2005 :-

• The location of about a quarter of incidents of violent crime was at or near the victim's home. Among common locales for violent crimes were on streets other than those near the victim's home (19%), at school (12%), or at a commercial establishment (8%).
• For violent crime, about half occurred within a mile from home and 76% within five miles. Only 4% of victims of violent crime reported that the crime took place more than fifty miles from their home.
• Of victims of violent crime, 22% were

involved in some form of leisure activity away from home at the time of their victimization, 22% said they were at home, and another 20% mentioned they were at work or traveling to or from work when the crime occurred.

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Workplace violence

Of selected occupations examined from 1993 to 1999, police officers were the most vulnerable to be victims of workplace violence, as well as correctional officers, taxicab drivers, private security workers, and bartenders.

While working or on duty, U.S. residents experienced 1.7 million violent victimizations annually from 1993 to 1999 including 1.3 million simple assaults, 325,000 aggravated assaults, 36,500 rapes and sexual assaults, 70,000 robberies, and 900 homicides. Workplace violence accounted for 18% of all violent crime between 1993 to 1999.

Police officers were victims of a nonfatal violent crime while they were working or on duty between 1993 to 1999 at a rate of 261 per 1,000 officers.

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School violence

• Between 1992 and 2005, crime in the Nation's schools for students ages 12-18 fell, a pattern consistent with the decline in the national crime rate.
• In every year from 1992 to 2005, students ages 12-18 were more likely to experience a serious violent crime away from school than at school.
• In 2005, about 28% of public and private school students ages 12-18 reported that they have been bullied at school within the past six months.
• Among high school students in grades 9-12, about 14% said they got into a fight on school property in 2005.
• In 2005, 10% of male students and 6% of female student reported experiencing a threat or injury with a weapon on school property.

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Urban, suburban and rural

Urban residents had the highest violent victimization rates, followed by suburban resident rates. Rural residents had the lowest rates.

In 2005 :-

• Six urban residents, four suburban residents and four rural residents per 1,000 were victims of an aggravated assault.
• Suburban and rural residents were victims of violence other than rape/sexual assault at similar rates during 2005.

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Weapon use

In 2005, 24% of the incidents of violent crime, a weapon was present.

Offenders had or used a weapon in 48% of all robberies, compared with 22% of all aggravated assaults and 7% of all rapes/sexual assaults in 2005.

Homicides are most often committed with guns, especially handguns. In 2005, 55% of homicides were committed with handguns, 16% with other guns, 14% with knives, 5% with blunt objects, and 11% with other weapons.

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The role of alcohol in crime victimization

About 1 million violent crimes occurred in 2002 in which victims perceived the offender to have been drinking at the time of the offense. Among those victims who provided information about the offender's use of alcohol, about 30% of the victimizations involved an offender who had been drinking.

Two-thirds of victims who suffered violence by an intimate (a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend) reported that alcohol had been a factor. Among spouse victims, 3 out of 4 incidents were reported to have involved an offender who had been drinking. By contrast, an estimated 31% of stranger victimizations where the victim could determine the absence or presence of alcohol were perceived to be alcohol-related.

For about 1 in 5 violent victimizations involving perceived alcohol use by the offender, victims also reported they believed the offender to have been using drugs as well.

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Property crime

Property crimes include burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft.

Trends

Property crime makes up slightly more than three-quarters of all crime in the United States.

Overall, in about 84% of all burglaries, the offender gained entry into the victims residence or other building on the property.

In about 79% of all motor vehicle thefts, the vehicle was stolen.

Of the 13 million completed thefts of property in 2005, there were 4.1 million property thefts of less than $50, 4.7 million between $50 and $249, and 3.2 million of $250 or more.

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Home ownership

Property crime, regardless of the type, occurred more often to those living in rented property.

In 2005 :-

• Households in rented property experienced 192 property crimes per 1,000 households, while those that own their homes experienced 137 property crimes per 1,000 households.
• Households in rented property had more than twice the rate of motor vehicle theft than those in owned property.

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Region

The Western portion of the nation experiences the highest rates of property crime overall in the nation.

In 2005 :-

• Western households had higher rate motor vehicle theft of all regions.

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Urban, suburban and rural

Urban households have historically been and continue to be the most vulnerable to property crime, burglary, motor vehicle theft and theft in the United States.

In 2005 :-

• Urban households experienced overall property crime at rates higher than those for suburban or rural households.

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Information Provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics