National Crime Victimization Survey: Validation of State-Level Estimates
Date
2023
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Publisher
RTI International
Abstract
This report describes an assessment of the redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
sample design to (1) identify potential sources of error that may compromise the validity of state-level
estimates (i.e., internal validation) and (2) evaluate how NCVS estimates compare with and augment
estimates from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program (i.e.,
external context). The internal validation assessed potential errors with coverage, nonresponse,
measurement, data processing, and sampling. The external context focused on comparing NCVS
victimization estimates for crimes reported to the police with analogous estimates from the UCR. No
overarching issues were identified during this examination that would call into question the validity of
state-level victimization estimates produced from the redesigned NCVS sample. The NCVS State-Level
Analysis User’s Guide provides guidance on generating victimization estimates and standard errors. BJS
also released Criminal Victimization in the 22 Largest U.S. States, 2017–2019, which details selected
state-level estimates of violent and property victimization in 2017–19 in the 22 most populous U.S.
states.
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Keywords
crime victimization, data, state-level victimization
Citation
Moore, A., Zimmer, S., Berzofsky, M., Trotta, M., & Krebs, C. (2023). National Crime Victimization Survey: Validation of State-Level Estimates. RTI International.