Go to the NCVS page and use the analysis tool that allows you to examine the National Crime Victimization 
Survey (NCVS) data on both violent and property victimization. You can select the victim, household, and incident 
characteristics. 
You can instantly generate tables with national estimates of the numbers, rates, and percentages of victimization 
from 1993 to the most recent year that NCVS data are available. The pre-set Quick Tables show you trends in 
crime and reporting to the police. If you would like more detail, use the Custom Tables analyze victimization by 
excellent characteristics. 
https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=nvat 
As with any data source, there are challenges and limitations to victimization surveys. Respondents may 
have issues recalling victimization, which can lead to underreporting or overreporting. If an individual was 
traumatized the event may blur together, and it may have occurred in 2017 rather than 2018, but gets 
reported as 2018. Other times respondents may lie or omit information for various reasons such as shame, 
fear, confusion, and a lack of trust. If the respondent is uncomfortable with the interviewers, they may 
not want to tell them that their partner abused them, out of fear it will get reported to police. However, 
methodological techniques can attempt to minimize these challenges buy bounding to mitigate the chances 
of this happening. 
3 
3. Lab, S., Holcomb, J., & King, W. (2013). Criminal justice: The Essentials. Oxford University Press: Oxford. 
ALISON S. BURKE, DAVID CARTER, BRIAN FEDOREK, TIFFANY MOREY, LORE RUTZ-BURRI, AND SHANELL
SANCHEZ
78