Barbara A. Oudekerk, Ph.D., Jennifer L. Truman, BJS Statisticians

August 31, 2017    NCJ 250567

Presents national data on the prevalence of repeat violent victimization and the characteristics of repeat violence, including type of crime (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault), demographic characteristics of repeat victims, and victim-offender relationship (intimate partner, well-known or casual acquaintance, relative, and stranger). Data are from BJS’s National Crime Victimization Survey from 2005 to 2014, which collects information on nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. Repeat violent victimization is defined as experiencing two or more violent victimizations during the year. 

Highlights:

• The total nonfatal violent crime prevalence rate decreased 62% from 1993 to 2014, from 29.3 violent crime victims per 1,000 persons age 12 or older to 11.1 per 1,000.
• In 2014, the prevalence of persons who experienced a single violent victimization (8.9 per 1,000) was 4.2 times higher than the rate of repeat violent victimization (2.1 per 1,000).
• In 2014, the 5% of victims who experienced six or more violent victimizations accounted for more than a quarter (27%) of total violent victimizations that year.
• During 2005-14, about 19% of violent crime victims experienced two or more violent victimizations per year.
• During 2005-14, a greater percentage of intimate partner violence victims (33%) experienced repeat violent crime than victims of violence by other types of offenders.

Part of the Criminal Victimization: National Crime Victimization Survey Series

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