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Statistical Overviews and Resources
Special thanks to the Office for Victims of Crime within the U.S. Department of Justice for providing the statistical information below as part of its National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide.
Cost of Crime and Victimization
Campus Crime
In 2005, 189,448 crimes were reported on college and university campuses; 97 percent were property crimes, and three percent violent crimes.
Of the violent crimes reported on college campuses, 1,445 (53 percent) were aggravated assaults, 761 (28 percent) were robberies, 1,000 (18 percent) were forcible rapes, and 5 (0.1 percent) were murders.
Theft was the most prevalent form of property crime (77,372), accounting for 83.5 percent, followed by 12,128 burglaries (13.1 percent), 3,058 motor vehicle thefts (3.3 percent), and 433 incidents of arson (0.5 percent).
In 2001, more than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 were victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. More than 696,00 students between the ages of 18 and 24 were assaulted by another student who had been drinking.
Thirteen percent of the college women were stalked at some point between fall of 1996 and spring of 1997. Four in five campus stalking victims knew their stalkers, and three in ten college women reported being injured emotionally or psychologically from being stalked.
From 1995 to 2002, college students ages 18 to 24 experienced violence at average annual rates lower than those for non-students in the same age group.
About four in ten violent crimes against college students were committed by offenders who were perceived by victims to be using drugs or alcohol.
Male college students were twice as likely to be victims of overall violence as female students.
White college students had higher rates of violent victimization than students of other races.
Victims of sexual assault were about four times more likely to be victimized by someone they knew than by a stranger.
Eight in ten robberies of college students were committed by strangers, compared to about six in ten assaults and about two in ten sexual assaults.
Nine percent of violent victimizations involved offenders armed with firearms; 7 percent were committed with knives; and 10 percent were committed with other types of weapons, such as a blunt object.
About 35 percent of violent victimizations against college students were reported to the police.
Most crimes against students (93 percent) occurred off campus; 72 percent of those crimes occurred at night.
In 2003, crimes occurring in on-campus residence halls included 955 assaults, 1,808 forcible sex offenses, and 24 non-forcible sex offenses.
Hate and bias crimes reported on school and college campuses made up almost 12 percent of all hate and bias crimes reported throughout the United States in 2004.
Child Victimization
In 2004, 872000 children were victims of child abuse or neglect.
During 2004, 1,490 children died due to child abuse or neglect. More than for-fifths (81 percent) of children who were killed were younger than 4 years of age.
During 2004, 62.4 percent of child victims experienced neglect, 17.5 percent were physically abused, 9.7 percent were sexually abused, 7.0 percent were psychologically maltreated, and 2.1 percent were medically neglected. In addition, 14.5 percent of child victims experienced such "other" types of maltreatment as "abandonment," "threats of harm to the child," or "congenital drug addiction."
Fifty-two percent of child abuse or neglect victims were girls, and 48 percent were boys.
The youngest children had the highest rate of victimization and accounted for the largest percentage of victims. Children younger than one accounted for 10.3 percent of victims.
One-half (53.8 percent) of all victims were white, one quarter (25.2 percent) were African American, and 17 percent were Hispanic. African American children, Pacific Islander children, and American Indian or Alaska Native children had the highest rates of victimization.
Mothers were the sole abuser in 39 percent of substantiated cases, fathers in 18 percent. Both parents were perpetrators of child maltreatment in 18 percent of the cases. Child victims maltreated by one parent and a non-parental perpetrator accounted for 10 percent of the total.
Child who had a reported disability were 68 percent more likely to be victims of maltreatment than children with no reported disability.
Twenty-six children were killed by their babysitter in 2005.
The most significant predictor of whether a battered woman will physically abuse her child is having been physically abused by her own mother, not being battered by her partner.
The direct cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States totals more than $24 billion annually. (This figure includes law enforcement, judicial system, child welfare, and health care costs.) When factoring in indirect costs (special education, mental health and health care, juvenile delinquency, lost productivity, and adult criminality), the figure rises to more than $94 billion annually.
Victims of child abuse constituted 18 percent of the recipients of crime victim compensation.
Based on extrapolations from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, approximately 2,900 criminal incidents of pornography with juvenile involvement were known to state and local police in 2000.
Cost of Crime and Victimization
In 2004, fifteen percent of violent crimes and 95 percent of property crimes resulted in economic losses involving theft or damage loss.
In 2004, the total economic loss to victims was $1.1 billion for violent crime and almost $15 billion for property crime.
The average loss to telemarketing scam victims was $2,892 in 2005, compared to $1,974 in 2004. The total loss in 2005 was $4.9 million, compared to $2.6 million in 2004.
The average loss to Internet scam victims was $1,917 in 2005, compared to $895 in 2004. The total loss in 2005 was $13.9 million, significantly higher than the $5.8 million reported lost in 2004.
In 2003, the United States (at federal, state, and local levels) spent a record $185 billion for police protection, corrections, and judicial and legal activities. Since 1982, expenditures for operating the criminal justice system increased 418 percent, not accounting for inflation.
In 2005, $367 million worth of property was stolen during robberies. The average dollar value of property stolen per robbery offense was $1,230.
The average value for property stolen during the commission of a larceny-theft was $764 per offense. The total value of stolen property was $3.9 billion.
In 2005, the average dollar loss due to arson was $14,910.
In 2005, the average dollar loss per burglary offense was $1,725. The total amount lost to burglaries was $3 billion.
A total of $56.6 billion in identity fraud losses occurred in 2005; this figure includes both individual and corporate losses.
Victims of violent crime and their families received compensation benefits totaling $427 million in 2004.
Victim compensation programs paid $16.8 million for forensic sexual assault exams in 2004, an almost 50 percent increase from 2003.
Victims of child abuse constituted 18 percent of the recipients of crime victim compensation in 2004.
In 2004, domestic violence victims made up 20 percent of all adult victims compensated by victim compensation programs; 34 percent of all assault claims were paid to domestic violence victims.
In 2004, medical expenses constituted 53 percent of all victim compensation payments; economic support for lost wages for injured victims and for lost support in homicides made up 19 percent of the total; 11 percent of total payments were for funeral bills; and 8 percent went toward mental health counseling for crime victims.
The direct cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States totals more than $24 billion annually. When factoring in indirect costs, the figure rises to more than $94 billion annually.
Insurance fraud (non-health insurance) costs the average family between $400 and $700 per year, with a total cost exceeding $40 billion.
Many school districts report losses in excess of $250,000 because of school closings due to bomb threats and costs of bomb search squads.
Disabilities and Victimization
More than 25 percent of persons with severe mental illness have been victims of a violent crime in the past year, a rate more than 11 times higher than that for the general population, even after controlling for demographic differences.
Depending on the type of violent crime (rape, robbery, assault, and their subcategories), prevalence was 6 to 23 times greater among persons with severe mental illness than among the general population.
In 2004, child victims of abuse and neglect with a reported disability accounted for 7.3 percent of all child abuse victims. Disabilities considered risk factors included mental retardation, emotional disturbance, visual impairment, learning disability, physical disability, behavioral problems, or another medical problem.
Children who had a reported disability were 68 percent more likely to be victims of maltreatment than children with no reported disability.
Child victims of abuse and neglect with a reported disability were 61 percent more likely to experience recurrence than child victims without a disability. Recurrence was defined as a second substantiated or indicated maltreatment occurring within a six-month period (183 days).
A study of North Carolina women found that women with disabilities were not significantly more likely than women without disabilities to have experienced physical assault alone within the past year. However, women with disabilities were four times more likely to have experienced sexual assault in the past year compared to women without disabilities.
The same study found that the variables of age, education, mobility, social isolation, and depression can be used to identify with 84 percent accuracy whether or not a woman with a disability may have experienced physical, sexual, or disability-related violence or abuse during the past year.
In response to a survey of women with physical disabilities, 56 percent reported abuse, a number consistent with similar studies. Of this group, 87 percent reported physical abuse, 66 percent reported sexual abuse, 35 percent were refused help with a physical need, and 19 percent were prevented from using an assistive device.
In this same survey, 74 percent of the adult women reported chronic abuse and 55 percent reported multiple abuse situations. The abuser was their male partner 80 percent of the time.
Only 33 percent of the abused women with physical disabilities who were surveyed sought assistance to address the abuse; reactions were "mixed" as to whether the assistance had been a positive experience.
More than half of all abuse of people with disabilities is estimated to be perpetrated by family members and peers with disabilities. Disability professionals (i.e., paid or unpaid caregivers, doctors, and nurses) are generally believed responsible for the other half. In addition, approximately 67 percent of perpetrators who abused individuals with severe cognitive disabilities accessed them through their work in disability services.
In a national survey of domestic violence and rape-crisis agencies, 67 percent of the survey participants reported that their center had served people with mental illness over the past year. Despite the high incidence of violence against people with disabilities, few participants reported that their center served people with cognitive disabilities (7 percent); with physical disabilities (6 percent); or who are blind, deaf, or have hearing loss (1 percent).
Domestic Violence / Intimate Partner Violence
In 2005, 389,100 women and 78,180 men were victimized by an intimate partner. These crimes accounted for 9 percent of all violent crime.
Of female murder victims, 33.4 percent were killed by their husbands or boyfriends; 2.4 percent of male murder victims were killed by their wives or girlfriends.
Three percent of all murders committed in the workplace were committed by the victim's intimate partner (either husband, wife, or boyfriend).
A 2004 study found that women living in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more than twice as likely to be the victims of intimate partner violence than women in more affluent neighborhoods.
In 2004, 16 percent of rejected firearms applications were denied because of prior domestic violence misdemeanor convictions or prior restraining orders against the applicant.
A recent study found that in states with laws restraining abusers from possessing firearms, intimate partner homicide rates decreased by 9 to 12 percent. These laws were most effective when states cross-checked restraining orders with firearm purchases.
Of the 757 suspects referred to U.S. Attorneys for a domestic violence offense between 2000 and 2002, 83.2 percent were suspected of violating the federal law that prohibits firearm possession by someone with a prior misdemeanor domestic violence conviction or violating the law that prohibits firearm possession by someone subject to a protection order. The remaining 16.8 percent were investigated for interstate domestic violence/stalking. Violation of a protective order across state lines was suspected in 28 incidents.
Domestic violence victims constituted 25 percent of all adult victims compensated by victim compensation programs in 2004. They received compensation for 34 percent of all assault claims.
One study found that women who have experienced any type of personal violence (even when the last episode was 14 to 30 years ago) reported a greater number of chronic physical symptoms than those who have not been abused. The risk of suffering from six or more chronic physical symptoms increased with the number of forms of violence experienced.
Approximately 1 in 5 high school girls reported being abused by a boyfriend.
For 6 percent of adults on probation, domestic violence was the most serious offense of which they had been convicted.
Although 96 percent of patients believe physicians should inquire about family conflict, two-thirds report that their physician has never asked them about intimate partner violence. Sixty-seven percent of those whose physician has inquired about family conflict reported that the same physician did indeed help them receive assistance.
In 2003, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, or trans gender people (LGBT) experienced 6,523 incidents of domestic violence. Six of these incidents resulted in murder.
In 2003, 44 percent of these victims were men, 36 percent women, and 2 percent trans gender. Gender identity was not recorded for 9 percent of the victims.
In cases where the age of the victim was recorded, 58 percent were over the age of 30, while 42 percent of the victims of LGBT domestic violence were under 30.
Drunk and Drugged Driving
Nearly 1.5 million driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) arrests occur in the United States each year.
Of the 43,443 people killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2005, 39 percent, or 16,885, were attributed to alcohol.
In 2005, an estimated 233,000 people were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present.
Three-fourths (75%) of drivers in fatal crashes who had alcohol present in their system had blood alcohol content (BAC) levels of 0.10 or 0.11, greater than the legal limit in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Twenty-five percent of these drivers had BAC levels of 0.21, which is more than twice the legal limit in all states.
The 16,885 fatalities in alcohol-related crashes during 2005 represent an average of one alcohol-related fatality every 31 minutes.
In 2004, 21 percent of the children under age 15 killed in crashes were killed in alcohol-related crashes.
In 2002 and 2003, 16.6 percent of adult drivers age 21 or older (an estimated 30.7 million people) reported that they had driven while under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs during the past year.
In 2002 and 2003, 21 percent of people ages 16 to 20 reported that they had driven in the past year while under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs.
Among the estimated 4.2 million people ages 16 to 20 in 2002 and 2003 who reported driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or illicit drugs in the past year, approximately four percent (169,000 people) indicated that they had been arrested and booked for DUI.
Between 1994 and 2003, the number of juvenile arrests for driving under the influence increased 33 percent, and adult arrests decreased six percent. The increase in the number of arrests was far greater for female juveniles (83 percent) than male juveniles (25 percent).
A boat operator with a BAC level above 0.10 percent is estimated to be more than 10 times as likely to die in a boating accident than an operator with a BAC of zero.
From 1998-2003, about 45 percent of all fatalities during the Christmas and New Year holidays occurred in crashes where at least one of the drivers was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as compared to about 30 percent of all fatalities during the rest of December.
During the 30 days preceding a recent survey, 30.2 percent of ninth- through 12th-grade students interviewed nationwide said they had ridden in a vehicle with a driver who had been drinking alcohol, and 12.1 percent of the students reported having driven a vehicle one or more times after drinking alcohol.
Alcohol-related crashes cost the American public more than $50 billion in 2000.
A study of repeat impaired-driving offenders found that the majority of respondents (54 percent) were alcohol-dependent. In addition, many of the respondents had at least one lifetime disorder in addition to alcohol abuse or dependence. Among those, the most prevalent was major depressive or dysthymic disorder (31 percent), followed by posttraumatic stress disorder (15 percent).
Elder Victimization
In 2005, 84,040 persons over the age of 65 were victims of non-fatal violent crime.
Elderly males were 39 percent more likely to be victims of violent crime than elderly females.
Crime victims over the age of 65 lost a total of $1.2 billion to all types of crime.
Crime victims over 65 years of age had the highest reporting rate (70 percent) of personal crimes to police.
In 2005, 633 people over the age of 65 were murdered.
The most recent survey of Adult Protective Services found that 191,908 reports of elder abuse and neglect were substantiated in 2004.
Twenty percent of elder maltreatment substantiated by Adult Protective Services involved caregiver neglect; 15 percent involved emotional, psychological, or verbal abuse; 15 percent involved financial exploitation; 11 percent involved physical abuse; and 1 percent involved sexual abuse.
More than 65 percent of elder maltreatment victims were women.
The majority of elder maltreatment victims were Caucasian(77.1 percent), followed by African American (21.2 percent), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.6 percent), Asian (0.5 percent), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (0.2 percent), and "Other" (0.2 percent).
Domestic settings were the most common locations of abuse in substantiated reports.
More than half of alleged perpetrators of elder abuse were women.
Of alleged perpetrators of elder abuse, a third (32.6 percent) were adult children, 21.5 percent were other family members, 16.3 percent were strangers, and 11.3 percent were spouses/ intimate partners.
The largest number of alleged perpetrators was between 30 and 50 years of age.
People over the age of 60 made up 9 percent of identity theft victims who reported the crime to the Federal Trade Commission in 2005.
More than 8 percent of Internet fraud victims who filed a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center in 2005 were over the age of 60.
In 2005, Internet fraud complainants over the age of 60 reported average financial losses of $543 per person.
Of all victims reporting telemarketing fraud to the National Fraud Information Center in the first half of 2005, 35 percent were 60 or older.
The elderly (65 or older) are about as likely to face an offender with a weapon as younger people.
Hate and Bias Crime Victimization
In 2004, 7,649 hate crime incidents were reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In 2004, 5,642 hate crimes were committed against persons (as opposed to businesses). Of these crimes, 50.1 percent were intimidation, 31 percent were simple assault, and 18.4 percent were aggravated assault.
In 2004, racial bias motivated 53.9 percent of single-bias hate crime incidents; bias based on religious beliefs motivated 16.4 percent; bias based on sexual orientation motivated 15.6 percent; bias based on ethnicity or nationality motivated 13.3 percent; and bias based on disability motivated 0.8 percent.
Of the 4,863 single-bias incidents motivated by race, 67.5 percent were motivated by an anti-black bias. An anti-white bias motivated 20.5 percent.
Single-bias anti-Hispanic incidents accounted for 50.9 percent of 1,201 reported offenses of ethnicity-based bias.
Of the 1,480 religious bias-related offenses, 67.8 percent were motivated by an bias against gay males.
Of the 1,406 reported offenses involving homosexual bias, 60.8 percent involved bias against gay males.
In 2004, there were 7,145 known offenders who committed crimes motivated by their perceived biases. The majority of these offenders (60.6 percent) were white and 19.7 percent were black.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, in 2005, anti-Semitic incidents in the United States fell 3 percent to 1,757 from their 2004 level of 1,821. Among the anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2005, there were 617 incidents of vandalism and 1,140 incidents of harassment.
On college campuses in 2005, there were 98 anti-Semitic incidents nationwide compared to the 2004 level of 74.
In the eight states with the highest overall totals of anti-Semitic acts in 2005, 13 percent of all incidents were school based (the same level reported in 2004.)
In 2005, 1,985 hate and bias incidents against lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans gender (LGBT) victims were reported to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, a decrease of 12 percent from 2004.12 These incidents affected 2,306 victims and were committed by 3,245 offenders.
In 2005, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs recorded 11 homicides against LGBT individuals. There were 675 incidents of assault or attempted assault and 107 sexual assaults.
In 2003, 12 percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported that someone at school had used hate-related words against them, and more than one-third (36 percent) of students ages 12 to 18 had seen hate-related graffiti at school.
Female students reported gender-related hate words more often than males (incident reporting ratio of 4:1). White students were less likely to report race-related hate words than students of other races/ethnicities (2 percent of white students compared to 7 percent of black students, 5 percent of Hispanics, and 9 percent of students of other races).
The homeless population is especially vulnerable to hate and bias victimization. Between 1999 and 2005, 169 homeless people were murdered by people who were not homeless. During this same time period, there were 303 non-lethal attacks against homeless people. Victims ranged in age from four months to 74 years. The majority of perpetrators were teens and young adults.
Homicide
An estimated 16,692 persons were murdered nationwide in 2005, an increase of 3.4 percent from 2004.
In 2005, 10 percent of murder victims were under 18; 34 percent were between the ages of 20 and 29; 20 percent were between the ages of 30 and 39; 14 percent were between 40 and 49; 9 percent were between 50 and 64; and 4 percent were over the age of 65.
Teenagers (ages 13 to 19) accounted for 12 percent of murder victims in 2005.
Twenty-six children were killed by their babysitter in 2005.
In 2005, 78.7 percent of murder victims were male and 21.3 percent female.
In single victim/single offender incidents in 2005, homicide offenders were most often males (90 percent) and adults (94 percent).
In 2005, for murder victims whose race was known, 48.7 percent were white and 48.6 percent were black; the remaining victims were from other or unknown races.
In 2005, homicide was generally intra racial.
For homicides in which the type of weapon was specified in 2005, firearms were used in 72.6 percent of the offenses. Knives were used in 13 percent of murders, and personal weapons (e.g., hands, fists, or feet) were used in approximately 6 percent of murders.
Where the victim-offender relationship was known in 2005, 22.4 percent of victims were killed by family members and 25.4 percent were murdered by strangers.
In single victim/single offender incidents where the age of the offender was known in 2005, 94.2 percent of the victims were slain by adults (individuals age 18 or older).
Of female murder victims in 2005, 33.4 percent were killed by their husbands or boyfriends. In contrast, 2.4 percent of the male victims were murdered by their wives or girlfriends.
In 2005, homicides occurred in connection with another felony (such as rape, robbery, or arson) in 23 percent of incidents.
Six percent of murder victims in 2005 were robbed prior to being killed. Of female murder victims, 1.3 percent were raped prior to being killed.
In 2005, arguments constituted 27.1 percent of reported circumstances surrounding murders. Circumstances were unknown for 37.8 percent of reported homicides.
During 2004, 1,490 children died due to child abuse or neglect. More than four-fifths (81 percent) of these children were younger than 4 years of age.
Law enforcement cleared (by arrest or exceptional means)62.1 percent of the murders that occurred nationwide.
In 2004, 57 law enforcement officers were killed in 50 separate incidents; these incidents occurred in 22 states, the District of Columbia, and in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Thirty-nine of the slain officers were employees of city police departments; 12 were part of county law enforcement agencies; and 3 were employed by state agencies. Three of the officers killed were employed in U.S. territories.
Seventy-six law enforcement officers accidentally killed while on duty in 2004 were male and 6 were female.
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons for the purpose of exploitation. It is done by means of: the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion; abduction; fraud; deception; the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability; or the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to obtain the consent of a person having control over another person. Exploitation includes, at a minimum, sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs.
Due to the "hidden" nature of trafficking activities, gathering statistics on the magnitude of the problem is a complex and difficult task. Given these complexities, the following statistics are the most accurate available, but may represent an underestimation of trafficking on a global and national scale.
An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year. The majority of transnational victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. These numbers do not, however, include the millions of victims around the world who are trafficked within their own national borders.
Of the 600,000 to 800,000 people trafficked across international borders each year, 80 percent are female and 50 percent are children.
Human trafficking is the third most profitable criminal activity, following only drug and arms trafficking. An estimated $9.5 billion is generated in annual revenue from all trafficking activities, with at least $4 billion attributed to the worldwide brothel industry.
Each year, an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country each year is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry.
The United States is primarily a destination country. The main regions from which trafficking victims originate are reported to be the Commonwealth of Independent States, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
United States Response to Trafficking
In 2005, the U.S. federal government advanced an aggressive anti-trafficking campaign to address trafficking crimes and victims identified in the United States. This coordinated effort includes several federal agencies and approximately $25 million of funding in Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 for domestic programs to boost anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts, identify and protect victims of trafficking, and raise awareness of trafficking as a means of preventing new incidents.
In 2005, the Department of Justice charged 116 individuals with human trafficking, almost doubling the number charged in FY 2004. Approximately 80 percent of those defendants were charged under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000. Forty-five traffickers were convicted, of which 35 were implicated in sexual exploitation.
As of May 2006, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had certified 1,000 victims of human trafficking since the TVPA was signed into law in October 2000. In FY 2005, HHS certified 230 foreign victims of human trafficking from a diverse array of countries. Certification allows human trafficking survivors to access most crime victim services and benefits, comparable to assistance provided by the U.S. to refugees.
U.S Government Trafficking Related Links:
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/10492.pdf
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection and
Reauthorization Act of 2003
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/28225.pdf
Office for Victims of Crime Trafficking Efforts
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/help/tip.htm
Office of Refugee Resettlement Trafficking Efforts
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/orr/programs/astvict.htm
Identity Theft and Financial Crime
In 2004, 3.6 million households, representing 3 percent of the households in the United States, discovered that at least one member of the household had been the victim of identity theft during the previous six months.
The households most likely to experience identity theft earned $75,000 or more, were headed by persons 18-24, and were in urban or suburban areas.
In 2004, 70 percent of identity theft victims reported that the misuse of their identity had stopped by the time of the interview, while 24 percent reported the problems persisted.
Rural households were less likely than urban or suburban households to have a member experience identity theft (2 percent versus 4 percent and 3 percent, respectively).
The average identity theft loss amounted to $6,383.
Lost or stolen wallet, checkbook, or credit card was the primary source of personal information theft in the 30 percent of cases where the victim can identify the source of data compromise.
Of identity theft cases where the perpetrator was identified, almost half (47 percent) were perpetrated by someone known to the victim, including friends, neighbors, in-home employees, or family members.
In cases where the victim identified the source of data compromise, 90 percent were perpetrated through traditional, offline channels, and not via the Internet.
Forty-three percent of victims discovered the misuse of information less than one month after the first occurrence. Sixty-six percent of victims discovered it within the first year, and 12 percent of identity theft victims discovered the crime in two to four years.
Of identity theft victims who made complaints to the Federal Trade Commission in 2005, 61 percent did not notify a police department. Of the 30 percent of victims who filed a report with criminal authorities, 9 percent had their identity theft claim rejected by the police.
The average time to resolve identity fraud cases increased from 33 hours in 2003 to 40 hours in 2005.
The average loss to Internet fraud victims was $1,917 in 2005, compared to $895 in 2004. The total loss in 2005 was $13.9 million, significantly higher than the $5.8 million reported lost in 2004.
In 2003, fifteen percent of identity theft victims reported that the perpetrator had used their information in non-financial ways such as using the victim's name when caught committing a crime, using the victim's name to obtain government documents, or using the victim's name to rent housing, obtain medical care or employment, or to file a fraudulent tax return.
In 2005, online auction fraud constituted 42 percent of all Internet fraud complaints. (In the fall of 2003, eBay, an online auction company, removed the link to the National Fraud Information Center, www.fraud.org, from its Web site. The number of auction complaints reported to NFIC dropped to one-sixth its previous level. Based on statistics prior to eBay's removal of the link, it is estimated that there would have been 30,720 auction complaints in 2005, representing 71 percent of all complaints).
In 2005, 25 percent of Internet fraud perpetrators initiated contact with the victim via e-mail; fraudulent Web sites made up the other 75 percent of online sources of fraud.
The average loss to telemarketing scam victims was $2,892 in 2005, compared to $1,974 in 2004. The total loss in 2005 was $4.9 million, compared to $2.6 million in 2004
Thirty-three percent of telemarketing fraud complaints were made by victims ages 60 and older.
In 2005, phishing was one of the top 10 scams in both Internet and telemarketing fraud categories. The average loss for victims of all phishing scams was $600.
Internet Victimization
In 2005, approximately 1 in 7 youth (13 percent) received unwanted sexual solicitations online.
In 2005, 4 percent of youth received aggressive sexual solicitations online, in which the solicitor asked to meet the youth in person, called the youth on the telephone, or sent the youth mail, money, or gifts.
Nine percent of youth Internet users had been exposed to distressing sexual material while online.
One in eleven, or 9 percent, of youth Internet users reported being harassed online.
In 2005, the CyberTipline operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received 64,250 reports of child pornography and 2,664 reports of online enticement of children to sexual acts.
Thirty-four percent of U.S. Internet users (47 million people) have reported computer infiltration by spy ware—self-installing software programs that invade a computer by piggy-backing onto a file, program, or Web site downloaded from the Internet that allow access to the computer's information by an unauthorized party. High-speed Internet connections increase the risk of spy ware because of their permanent, static Internet Protocol (IP) address: 44 percent of home broadband users reported having spy ware on their computers, compared to 30 percent of home dial-up users.
In 2005, the Internet Crime Complaint Center processed 228,400 complaints regarding possible online criminal activity. Of these, 97,076 were referred to federal, state, and local law enforcement for further consideration.
In 2005, the total amount of money lost from all cases of Internet fraud referred to law enforcement for investigation was $183 million, with a median dollar loss of $424 per complaint.
A pilot Computer Security Survey of U.S. businesses found that nearly 75 percent of responding companies had detected at least one incident of cyber crime in 2001. Over half of the victimized businesses experienced multiple incidents of computer viruses, denial of service, and fraud.
In the same survey, 68 percent of the companies reported financial effects due to cyber crime, resulting in $61 million in losses and recovery costs. Estimated recovery costs for computer viruses were nearly $22 million. Costs from computer fraud were an estimated $18 million, and denial of service caused losses of approximately $14 million.
The most common forms of cyber crime detected by companies in 2001 were computer virus infections (64.1 percent), denial of service attacks (25.3 percent), and vandalism or sabotage (18.7 percent). Hacking and spamming were other common breaches of computer security.
In 2005, phishing (e-mails from a perpetrator posing as a reputable agent who requests confirmation of personal information for fraudulent purposes) was one of the top 10 scams in Internet fraud.
In 2005, online auction fraud constituted 42 percent of all Internet fraud complaints. (In the fall of 2003, eBay, an online auction company, removed the link to the National Fraud Information Center, www.fraud.org, from its Web site. The number of auction complaints reported to NFIC dropped to one-sixth its previous level. Based on statistics prior to eBay's removal of the link, it is estimated that there would have been 30,720 auction complaints in 2005, representing 71 percent of overall complaints.)
Mental Health Consequences of Crime
Crime victims have a much higher lifetime incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than people who have not been victimized (25 percent versus 9.4 percent).
Almost 27 percent of women and 12 percent of men who were molested developed PTSD later in life.
Women who experienced a homicide of a family member or close friend had higher levels of PTSD than non-homicide survivors; 22 percent experienced lifetime PTSD, and 8.9 percent currently had PTSD.
Of crime victims diagnosed with PTSD, 37 percent also suffer from depression.
The most comprehensive comorbidity study to date showed that lifetime prevalence of other psychological disorders in male and female crime victims with PTSD was 88.3 and 79 percent, respectively. The most common comorbid disorders were depression, substance abuse, and phobia.
The estimated risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder is 49 percent for survivors of rape, 32 percent for survivors of severe beating or physical assault, 24 percent for survivors of other sexual assault, 15 percent for survivors of a shooting or stabbing, and 7 percent for those who witness a murder or an assault.
Major depressive disorder affects an estimated one-third of all rape victims, often for an extended period of time. One-third of women who are raped contemplate suicide and 17 percent attempt suicide.
Inner city homicide survivors experience elevated levels of clinical distress compared to the general population of inner cities.
Intimate partner victimization against American women ages 18 and older results in more than 18.5 million mental healthcare visits each year.
Physical and mental health effects of stalking are not gender-related. Both male and female victims experience impaired health, depression, and injury, and are more likely to engage in substance abuse than their non-stalked peers.
About one-third (30 percent) of female stalking victims and one-fifth (20 percent) of male stalking victims sought psychological counseling as a result of their stalking victimization.
In 2004, 8 percent of medical expense payments made through victim compensation funds were for mental health counseling for crime victims.
Roughly one-third of mental healthcare bills for rape, physical assault, and stalking victims were paid for out-of-pocket.
School Crime and Victimization
In 2003, students ages 12 to 18 were victims of 154,200 serious violent crimes at school.
In the 2001 – 2002 school year, there were a total of 38 student, staff, and non-student school-associated violent deaths.
Younger students (ages 12-14) were more likely than older students (ages 15-18) to be victims of crime at school.
In 2003, 9 percent of students reported being threatened or injured with a weapon such as a gun, knife, or club on school property in the preceding 12 months.
In the 1999 – 2000 school year, 20 percent of all public schools experienced one or more serious violent crimes such as rape, sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault.
Middle schools were more likely than elementary and high schools to experience a violent incident during the 1999 – 2000 school year.
In 2003, 7 percent of all school-age children reported being bullied at school. In the same year, 10 percent of rural students reported being bullied versus 7 percent each of urban and suburban students.
In 2003, teachers were the victims of approximately 183,400 total nonfatal crimes at school, including 118,800 thefts and 64,600 violent crimes (rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault).
In 2003, 21 percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported that street gangs were present at their schools. Students in urban schools were the most likely to report the presence of street gangs at their schools (31 percent), followed by suburban students (18 percent) and rural students (12 percent).
In 2003, 5 percent of students in grades nine through 12 had at least one drink of alcohol, and 6 percent reported using marijuana on school property during the previous 30 days.
In 2003, 29 percent of students in grades nine through 12 reported that drugs were made available to them on school property during the previous 12 months.
In 2003, 17 percent of students in grades nine through 12 had carried a weapon on one or more of the 30 days preceding the survey, including about 6 percent of students who had carried a gun.
Nationwide, 33 percent of students in 2003 had been in a physical fight one or more times during the previous 12 months, and about 4 percent of students had been in a fight that had resulted in injuries necessitating treatment by a nurse or doctor.
Nationwide, 9 percent of students had attempted suicide one or more times during the previous 12 months.
In 2003, 13 percent of students in grades nine through 12 had been in a physical fight on school property one or more times during the 12 months preceding the survey.
In 2005, only 55 percent of high school students felt safe at school.
African American students (41 percent) were far less likely than white students (60 percent) to feel safe at school.
Fewer than half (41 percent) of special education students agreed that they feel safe at school.
From January 1990 to February 2002, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) recorded 1,055 incidents of bombs being placed on school premises. Of these incidents, only 14 were accompanied by a warning to the school or other authorities.
Sexual Violence
In 2005, victims age 12 or older experienced 191,670 rapes/sexual assaults.
Ninety-two percent of rape or sexual assault victims in 2005 were female.
Of female rape or sexual assault victims, 73 percent were assaulted by someone they knew, and 26 percent were assaulted by a stranger. Thirty-eight percent of women assaulted by a known offender were friends or acquaintances of the rapist, and 28 percent were intimate partners.
In 2005, 38.3 percent of all rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement.
People ages 16 to 19 had the highest rate of sexual victimization of any age group (3.2 sexual assaults per 1,000 people).
Divorced or separated people had a higher rate of sexual victimization than those who were married.
Forty-one percent (38,794) of reported forcible rapes were cleared (usually by arrest) by law enforcement.
Almost a third (30.1 percent) of all sexual assaults occurred at or in a victim's home.
Victim compensation programs paid $16.8 million for forensic sexual assault exams in 2004, an almost 50 percent increase from 2003.
Correctional authorities substantiated nearly 885 incidents of sexual violence against inmates.
Within three years of their release from prison in 1994, 5.3 percent of sex offenders were rearrested for a sex crime.
A study of sexual assault of adult males found that more than 10 percent of male victims had cognitive disabilities.
Characteristics associated with a positive legal outcome in sexual assault cases include being examined within 24 hours of the assault, having been assaulted by a partner or spouse, having been orally assaulted, and having anogenital trauma.
A review of sexual assault cases in an emergency department found that 12 percent of cases were identified as suspected drug-facilitated sexual assaults.
Rape survivors who had the assistance of an advocate were significantly more likely to have police reports taken and were less likely to be treated negatively by police officers. These women also reported that they experienced less distress after their contact with the legal system.
A study of North Carolina women found that women with disabilities were not significantly more likely than women without disabilities to have experienced physical assault alone within the past year. However, women with disabilities were more than four times as likely to have experienced sexual assault in the past year as women without disabilities.
Between 1996 and 2000, there was one statutory rape for every three forcible rapes involving a juvenile victim reported to law enforcement. Three of every ten statutory rape offenders were boyfriends or girlfriends, and six in ten were acquaintances.
Between 1992 and 2000, all rapes, 39 percent of attempted rapes, and 17 percent of sexual assaults against females resulted in injuries. Most victims did not receive treatment for their injuries.
During 2004, military criminal investigators received 1,700 allegations of sexual assault involving members of the armed forces worldwide. These allegations included 1,275 incidents involving a service member as a victim and 1,305 incidents involving a service member as an alleged perpetrator.
Stalking
More than one million women and almost 400,000 men are stalked annually in the United States.
Eight percent of women and two percent of men in the United States have been stalked in their lifetime.
Although stalking is a gender-neutral crime, most victims (78 percent) are female and most perpetrators (87 percent) are male.
Twenty-eight percent of female stalking victims and 10 percent of male victims obtained a protective order. Sixty-nine percent of female victims and 81 percent of male victims had the protection order violated.
Eighty-one percent of women who were stalked by a current or former husband or cohabiting partner were also physically assaulted, and 31 percent were also sexually assaulted by that partner.
The average duration of stalking is 1.3 years; most stalking, however, lasts one month.
Two-thirds of stalkers pursue their victims at least once per week.
Seventy-eight percent of stalkers use more than one means of contacting the victim.
Weapons are used to harm or threaten stalking victims in one of five cases.
One-seventh of stalkers are psychotic at the time of stalking.
One-third of stalkers are repeat stalkers.
Over 50 percent of stalkers have had a previous relationship with the victim (commonly referred to as intimate partner stalking).
Intimate partner stalkers use more insults, interfering, threats, and violence, including with weapons, than other types of stalkers.
Stalking is one of the significant risk factors for femicide (homicide of women) in abusive relationships.
An analysis of 13 published studies of 1,155 stalking cases found that the average overall rate of violence experienced by the victims was 38.7 percent.
The same analysis found that a history of substance abuse is one of the strongest predictors of increased rates of violence in stalking crimes.
The prevalence of anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression is much higher among stalking victims than the general population.
One study found that serious violence in stalking was significantly associated with former sexual intimacy, previously appearing at the victim's home, the absence of a criminal record, and a shorter duration of stalking.
A survey of university undergraduates revealed that 20 percent had been stalked or harassed by a former dating partner; 8 percent had initiated stalking or harassment; and 1 percent had been both the target and the initiator.
A recent study identified threats, partner jealousy, and former partner drug abuse as factors that were predictive of stalking violence.
Substance Abuse and Victimization
In 2002, more than two-thirds of jail inmates who committed violent or public-order offenses met the criteria for substance dependence or abuse.
Nearly half (47 percent) of all jail inmates convicted of violent offenses were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs at the time of the offense.
In 2002, 42 percent of homicide offenders, 37 percent of sexual assault offenders, 38 percent of robbery offenders, and 40 percent of assault offenders were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the offense.
In 2002, 22 percent of inmates convicted of violent offenses were under the influence of drugs at the time of the offense— 20 percent of homicide offenders, 14 percent of sexual assault offenders, 40 percent of robbery offenders, and 18 percent of assault offenders.
In 2005, 120 people were murdered in a brawl due to the influence of alcohol, and 97 people were murdered in a brawl due to the influence of narcotics.
Between 1992 and 2001, about 62 percent of American Indian victims experienced violence by an offender using alcohol, compared to 42 percent for the national average.
Two-thirds of homicide and attempted-homicide offenders used alcohol, drugs, or both during the incident compared to fewer than one-fourth of the homicide or attempted-homicide victims.
Victims of rape are 13 times more likely to develop two or more alcohol-related problems and 26 times more likely to have two or more serious drug abuse-related problems than non-crime victims.
About 1 in 5 victims of violence who perceived the offender to have been using alcohol at the time of the offense (approximately 400,000 victims per year) suffered a financial loss attributable to medical expenses, broken or stolen property, or lost wages—totaling an annual loss of $400 million.
Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring sites found that between one-fourth and one-half of adult male arrestees were at risk for dependence on drugs.
In 2003, nearly nine million youths reported engaging in at least one delinquent behavior during the past year. The percentage of youths who engaged in delinquent behavior increased significantly with the level of reported alcohol use.
In 2005, 9 percent of eighth-graders, 17 percent of 10th-graders, and 23 percent of 12th-graders reported illicit drug use in the past 30 days.
According to results of a 2003 national survey of students in grades nine through 12, 9 percent of students had used a form of cocaine one or more times during their lifetime, and 4 percent of students had used a form of cocaine one or more times in the 30 days preceding the survey.
The same study found that 3.3 percent of students had used heroin, 8 percent had used methamphetamines, and 11 percent had used ecstasy one or more times in their lifetime.
Nationwide, 12 percent of students had sniffed glue, breathed the contents of aerosol spray cans, or inhaled paints or sprays to get high one or more times during their lifetime.
A recent study found that girls who have been sexually or physically abused are twice as likely to smoke (26 percent versus 10 percent), drink (22 percent versus 12 percent) or use drugs (30 percent versus 13 percent) than girls who have not been abused.
Teen Victimization
In 2005, teenagers experienced 1.5 million violent crimes, this including 175,392 robberies and 73,354 sexual assaults and rapes.
In 2005, teens ages 12 to 19 and young adults ages 20 to 24 had the highest violent victimization rates.
Teenagers (ages 13-19) accounted for 12 percent of murder victims in 2005.
Teenage victims of violent crime have the lowest rate of reporting to the police of any age group (36 percent).
Older teens (15-17) were about 3 times more likely than younger teens (12-14) to be victims of violent crimes involving firearms.
Among victims of violent crimes, both younger teens (12-14) and older teens (15-17) were more likely to have been victimized by someone they knew—63 percent and 55 percent, respectively, were victimized by non-strangers.
Among youth ages 17 or younger, black youth were 5 times as likely as white youth to be victims of homicide.
About 3 in 10 violent victimizations against youth ages 12 to 17 resulted in an injury. For both younger and older teens, nearly 25 percent of victimizations resulted in minor injuries, such as bruises and cuts. Older teens were more likely than younger teens to experience serious injuries, such as gunshot or knife wounds, loss of consciousness, or undetermined injuries requiring two or more nights in the hospital. Older teens were also more likely than younger teens to have rape injuries.
School was the most common place for violent victimizations against teens to occur. A higher percentage of violent crimes against younger teens than against older teens occurred at or in school (53 percent versus 32 percent). Older teens (17 percent) were somewhat more likely than younger teens (15 percent) to be victimized at home.
Among older teens, the percentage of violent crime involving an intimate partner was 10 times higher for females than males (9 percent versus 0.6 percent). For younger teens, the percentage of females was not statistically different from that of males.
Approximately 1 in 7 youth (13 percent) received unwanted sexual solicitations online.
Four percent of youth received aggressive solicitations online whereby the solicitor asked to meet the youth in person, called the youth on the telephone, or sent the youth mail, money, or gifts.
Nine percent of youth Internet users have been exposed to distressing sexual material while online.
One in 11, or 9 percent, of youth Internet users said they have been harassed online.
Almost 40 percent of American adolescents have witnessed violence. Furthermore, 17 percent have been victims of physical assault; 9 percent have been victims of physically abusive punishment; and 8 percent have been victims of sexual assault.
Three in four American adolescents who have been sexually assaulted were victimized by someone they knew well. Thirteen percent of sexual assaults were reported to police, 6 percent to Child Protective Services, 5 percent to school authorities, and 1.3 percent to other authorities. Eighty-six percent of sexual assaults against adolescents went unreported.
Terrorism
In 2005, 11,111 terrorist attacks occurred, resulting in 14,602 deaths, 24,705 injuries, and 34,780 abductions.
Almost 30 percent (approximately 3,500) of the worldwide attacks occurred in Iraq, accounting for 55 percent of the fatalities (approximately 8,300). Another 6,000 attacks (50 percent) were against facilities and resulted in no loss of life.
In 2005, 56 American citizens abroad were killed in acts of terrorism, less than 1 percent (0.4 percent) of the worldwide total.
The leading cause of death in terrorist attacks was armed attack followed by bombing.
There were eight acts of terrorism in the United States in 2005. Five were arsons attributed to an eco-terrorist group. Six homes, an apartment complex, and nine luxury cars were burned. One person was injured. Responsibility for the other three events– an anthrax exposure, a school bombing, and an attack on the United Kingdom consulate in New York City–went unclaimed. No injuries were reported.
There are 42 foreign terrorist organizations officially designated by the Secretary of State, and another 40 recognized terrorist organizations throughout the world, centered on religious, ethnic, environmental, racial, and political ideologies.
Twenty-seven people are wanted by the FBI in connection with international terrorist incidents affecting U.S. citizens or property.
Four eco-terrorists, one animal rights activist, one white supremacist, one communist, and four extremists are wanted by the FBI for domestic terrorism.
Since September 11, 2001, the Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve at the Office for Victims of Crime and the American Red Cross has assisted nearly 82,000 victims, crisis responders, and family members through state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and local programs.
Workplace Violence
For each year between 1993 and 1999, an average of 1.7 million people were victims of violent crime while working or on duty. An estimated 75 percent of these incidents were simple assaults, while an additional 19 percent were aggravated assaults.
An average of 1.3 million simple assaults, 325,000 aggravated assaults, 70,100 robberies, 36,500 rapes and sexual assaults, and 900 homicides occur in the United States each year.
In 2005, 564 workplace homicides occurred in the United States. This is an increase from 551 in 2004, which was the lowest level of workplace homicides ever recorded.
Of the 564 workplace homicides in 2005, 439 involved a firearm.
Nearly 80 percent of workplace homicides are committed by criminals otherwise unconnected to the workplace.
Three percent of all murders committed in the workplace were committed by the victim's intimate partner (husband, wife, or boyfriend).
Men are the majority of victims of workplace violence for all crimes except rape or sexual assault.
Women are victims of 80 percent of rapes or sexual assaults in the workplace.
Twelve percent of workplace violence victims sustain injuries. More than half of these victims are not treated or do not receive medical care.
Of the occupations measured, police officers are at the greatest risk of being victims of workplace violence. Other occupations at risk are private security workers, correctional officers, bartenders, and taxicab drivers.
Of the 6,316 homicides that occurred in the workplace between 1993 and 1999, 5,274 were committed by a stranger; 721 were committed by a work associate; 194 were committed by an intimate partner; 65 were committed by an acquaintance; and 38 were committed by a relative.
Homicide accounts for 40 percent of all workplace deaths among female workers.
Female workers are also at risk for nonfatal violence. Women were the victims in nearly two-thirds of the injuries resulting from workplace assaults. Most of these assaults (70 percent) were directed at women employed in service occupations, such as health care, while an additional 20 percent of these incidents occurred in retail locations, such as restaurants and grocery stores.
2007 NCVRW Resource Guide