The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), managed by the FBI, create a complementary picture of crime in 2022, according to research carried out by the statisticians of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Rachel E. Morgan and Erica L. Smith.

Both the survey and the police registry measure a similar, but not identical, set of crimes, which leads to differences in estimates between the two data sources. The NCVS interviews people aged 12 and older about crimes they may have experienced, whether or not they have reported it to the police. The NIBRS collects data on crimes recorded by the various enforcement agencies, and these results are weighted to correct for possible under-reporting. Together, these two measures provide a complete picture of the crime map in the United States.

The report presented by Morgan and Smith describes the similarities and differences between the two forms of data collection and makes a comparison between the years 2021 and 2022.

According to the NCVS, the total violence victimisation rate during 2022 was 23.5 per 100,000 people aged 12 or older, a figure well above the previous year’s rate of 16.5.

As for the household victimisation chapter during 2022, it was 101.9 per 100,000 dwellings, a figure that is also higher than the 2021 rate of 90.3.

Violent crime grew almost two points from 2021 to 2022: from 2.9 victimisations per 1,000 people in 2021 to 4.7 the following year. During the same period, the rate of property crimes reported to the police also increased from 27.8 to 32.4 reports per 1,000 households.

In this regard, it should be noted that the overall estimates of crime from these two sources tend to evolve similarly over time. However, the NIBRS and NCVS estimates in a given year may differ because the two data collections use different methods to measure an overlapping, but not identical, set of crimes.

For example, when cross-referencing the data from the two areas under study, it is necessary to take into account many aspects, but not to fall into errors or unfortunate comparisons. The NIBRS includes murder, involuntary manslaughter and commercial burglary, the three crimes that the NCVS excludes.

Similarly, if we focus on crimes of a sexual nature, the definitions of rape and sexual assault from the survey and the police registry differ slightly. While the NIBRS considers rape to be carnal knowledge of a person without the victim’s consent, including cases in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of age or temporary and permanent physical or mental incapacity, the NCVS includes a wide range of victimisations in this classification, other than rape, attempted or threatened rape. According to the NCVS, this would include sexual assaults that may or may not involve force, i.e., it also includes caressing or touching without the victim’s consent.

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