Catherine J. Whitaker, Ph.D., Bureau of Justice Statistics

April 1, 1990    NCJ 122562

In addition, violent crimes committed against blacks tended to be more serious than those committed against whites. Moreover, black victims of violent crime were more likely than white victims to report the crimes to the police. During the 8-year period studied, the violent crime victimization rate for persons age 12 or older was 44 per 1,000 blacks and 34 per 1,000 whites. Blacks experienced higher rates of rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, but whites had higher rates of simple assault and personal theft. In central cities, blacks also had higher robbery and household burglary rates than whites regardless of the age or family income of the victim or household head. Furthermore, offenders were more likely to have weapons in violent crime committed against blacks than in those against whites, and black victims were more likely to be physically attacked during a violent crime. Figures, tables, and description of the survey methodology.

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