U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics This report has been superceded by Crimes against Persons Age 65 or Older, 1992-97 at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cpa6597.htm Selected Findings from Bureau of Justice Statistics Elderly Crime Victims: National Crime Victimization Survey March 1994, NCJ-147002 Full text with tables available from: Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse 800-732-3277 (fax number for report orders and mail list signup only: 410-792-4358) Box 179 Annapolis Junction, MD. 20701-0179 In 1992, persons 65 or older experienced about 2.1 million criminal victimizations The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) asks about 100,000 people every 6 months about the crimes they sustained. By interviewing a large sample of households selected to represent the U.S. population, BJS is able to draw accurate conclusions about crime in the Nation. The NCVS includes the violent crimes of rape, robbery, and assault; personal theft; and crimes that occur in households such as burglary, household larceny, and motor vehicle theft. Persons age 65 or older comprise about 14% of persons age 12 or older interviewed in the NCVS but report less than 2% of all victimizations. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented here are from a special analysis of the NCVS for elderly victims that aggregated data from 1987 to 1990. Trend data and information on the current rates of elderly victimizations are from the 1992 NCVS. Crime victimization rates among the elderly have generally been declining *Over 20 years, the lowest rate of violent crime against the elderly was recorded in 1990, 3.5 per 1,000 persons age 65 or older. This was 61% lower than the 9 crimes per 1,000 persons in 1974, the peak year. *The rates for personal theft and household crime among the elderly in 1992 were the lowest ever recorded in the 20-year history of NCVS. Persons age 65 or older are the least likely of all age groups in the Nation to experience crime Number of victimizations per 1,000 persons or households Age Violent crime Personal theft Household crime 12-24 64.6 112.7 309.3 25-49 27.2 71.2 200.2 50-64 8.5 38.3 133.0 65 or older 4.0 19.5 78.5 Persons between the ages of 12 and 24 have the highest victimization rates for all types of crime, while those age 65 or older have the lowest. *The violent crime rate is nearly 16 times higher for persons under age 25 than for persons over 65 (64.6 versus 4 victimizations per 1,000 persons in each age group). The rate for robbery, one of the crimes of violence, for those under 25 is nearly 6 times higher than for those age 65 or older. *According to the FBI, 5% of the murder victims in 1992 were age 65 or older. *Just as for personal crime victimizations, persons over the age of 65 are significantly less likely to become victims of all forms of household crime than younger age groups. *Personal larceny with contact (purse snatching and pocket picking) is an exception. Those who are 65 or older were about as likely as those under age 65 to be victims of personal larceny with contact. The elderly appear to be particularly susceptible to crimes motivated by economic gain Crimes motivated by economic gain include robbery and personal theft, as well as the household crimes of larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft. Like the general population, the elderly are most susceptible to household crimes and least susceptible to violent crimes. Unlike younger victims of violence, elderly victims of violence are about as likely to be robbed as assaulted. Robberies are 38% of the violent crimes against the elderly but 20% of the violence experienced by persons younger than age 65. Injured elderly victims of violent crime are more likely than younger victims to suffer a serious injury Violent offenders injure about a third of all victims. Among the violent crime victims age 65 or older, 9% suffer serious injuries like broken bones and loss of consciousness. By comparison, 5% of younger victims suffer serious injuries. In addition, when injured, almost half the older victims but a fourth of the younger ones receive medical care in a hospital. Percent of violent crime victims Under 65 or Outcome 65 older Injured 31% 33% Serious 5 9 Minor 26 24 Received medical care 15 19 Hospital care 8 14 Note: Serious injuries are broken bones, loss of teeth, internal injuries, loss of consciousness, rape or attempted rape injuries, or undetermined injuries requiring 2 or more days of hospitalization. Minor injuries are bruises, black eyes, cuts, scratches, swelling, or undetermined injuries requiring less than 2 days of hospitalization. Elderly violent crime victims are more likely than younger victims to face assailants who are strangers Most victims of violent crime are attacked by a stranger rather than by a relative or someone whom the victim knows. Robbery victims age 65 or older are more likely than younger victims to be particularly vulnerable to offenders whom they do not know. Percent of violent crime victims whose offenders are: Acquaint- Relationship Relatives ances Strangers unknown Crimes of violence Under 65 8% 33% 56% 3% 65 or older 8 20 64 8 Robbery Under 65 5 7 74 4 65 or older 3 5 83 9 Assault Under 65 9 36 52 3 65 or older 13 32 47 8 Elderly victims of violent crime are almost twice as likely as younger victims to be raped, robbed, or assaulted at or near their home Half of the elderly victims of violence and a quarter of those under age 65 are victimized at or near their home. Place of occurrence In public or At Near On the business Total home home street facility Elsewhere Crimes of violence Under 65 100% 14% 11% 39% 21% 15% 65 or older 100 25 25 31 9 10 Robbery Under 65 100 13 9 52 16 10 65 or older 100 20 21 37 13 10 Assault Under 65 100 14 12 36 21 15 65 or older 100 27 29 27 7 10 The vulnerability of the elderly to violent crime at or near their home may reflect their lifestyle. Often living alone and not working away from home, persons age 65 or older are also less likely than younger persons to go out after dark to social gatherings. Public opinion surveys conducted over the last 20 years among national samples of persons age 50 or older consistently show that about half of those persons feel afraid to walk alone at night in their own neighborhood. About 38% of elderly victims of violent crime and 35% of younger victims report facing an armed offender When facing an armed offender, older victims are somewhat more likely to face an offender with a gun (41% versus 36%). Percent of violent crime victims Under 65 or 65 older Unarmed offenders 65% 62% Armed offenders 35 38 Type of weapon used Guns 36% 41% Knives or sharp instruments 30 29 Blunt objects 19 18 Other weapons 15 12 Most victims of violent crime, regardless of age, face lone assailants, but the likelihood of encountering multiple offenders varies by type of crime About half the robbery victims age 65 or older are accosted by multiple robbers; more than half of the robbery victims under 65 face single offenders. For aggravated assault, the reverse is true. Younger victims of aggravated assault are more likely than older victims to face multiple offenders (29% versus 20%). Elderly victims less often than younger victims act to protect themselves during a violent crime Victims age 65 or older take self-protective measures in 58% of their victimizations, compared to 73% of the younger victims. Moreover, the older victims are less likely to use physical action such as attacking or chasing the offender or resisting in some other way. Those persons age 65 or older who do protect themselves use nonphysical action, including arguing or reasoning with the offender, screaming, or running away. Elderly victims of robbery and personal theft are more likely than younger victims to report those crimes to the police Seven out of ten elderly victims and just over 5 out of 10 victims under age 65 report a robbery or attempted robbery to the police. No measurable difference, however, distinguishes older from younger victims in reporting aggravated assault or household crimes to the police. Among the elderly, certain groups were generally more likely to experience a crime than others Number of victimizations per 1,000 Households headed Person 65 by a person 65 or older or older Victim characteristics Violence Theft Household crime Sex Male 4.9 19.8 82.2 Female 3.4 19.4 74.3 Age 65 to 75 4.7 22.9 82.2 75 and over 3.0 14.2 74.3 Race White 3.6 19.5 70.9 Black 7.6 19.6 154.1 Family income Less than $7,500 12.0 29.1 76.3 $7,500-$14,999 8.4 30.4 70.2 $15,000-$24,000 6.5 40.3 81.3 $25,000 or more 6.1 60.8 96.0 Marital status Never married 3.0 18.2 77.6 Widowed 4.2 4.2 75.1 Married 7.6 26.3 71.1 Divorced/separated 11.3 35.4 110.4 Place of residence Urban 7.1 26.4 112.6 Suburban 2.9 19.6 61.2 Rural 2.2 11.4 64.5 Form of tenure Own 3.1 17.8 82.0 Rent 7.7 26.7 66.8 *Elderly men generally have higher victimization rates than elderly women. Elderly women, however, have higher rates of personal larceny with contact such as purse snatching. *The elderly age 65 to 74 have higher rates of victimization than those age 75 or older. *Elderly blacks are more likely than elderly whites to be crime victims. However, rates of personal larceny that did not involve contact between the victim and offender were greater for whites. *The elderly with the lowest incomes experience higher violence rates than those elderly with higher family incomes. Those elderly with the highest family income have the highest rates of personal theft or household crime. *Elderly persons who are either separated or divorced, from among all marital statuses, have the highest rates of victimization for all types of crime. *Elderly residents in cities have the highest rates of victimization for all types of crime, compared to suburban or rural elderly. *Elderly renters are more likely than owners to experience both violence and personal theft. However, elderly homeowners are more likely than renters to be victims of household crime. Number of victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older White women age 65 or older have the lowest violent crime rates Violence Teenage black males 113 Teenage black females 94 Teenage white males 90 Young adult black males 80 Young adult black females 57 Teenage white females 55 Young adult white males 52 Young adult white females 38 Adult black males 35 Adult white males 18 Adult white females 15 Adult black females 13 Elderly black males 12 Elderly black females 10 Elderly white males 6 Elderly white females 3 Note: Teenage = age 12-19 Young adult = age 20-34 Adult = age 35-64 Elderly = age 65 and older Number of victimizations per 1,000 person age 12 or older Black women age 65 or older have the lowest personal theft rates Personal theft Teenage white males 106 Young adult black males 105 Teenage white females 92 Young adult white males 89 Teenage black males 84 Young adult white females 78 Young adult black females 69 Teenage black females 66 Adult black males 52 Adult white females 48 Adult white males 44 Adult black females 43 Elderly white females 18 Elderly white males 15 Elderly black males 13 Elderly black females 9 Note: Teenage = age 12-19 Young adult = age 20-34 Adult = age 35-64 Elderly = age 65 and older Sources Most of the information in this came from the BJS Special Report, Elderly Victims by Ronet Bachmsn, Ph.D., released in October 1992 (NCJ-138330). Other sources include: BJS, Criminal Victimization in the U.S., 1992, forthcoming (NCJ-145125); BJS Highlights from 20 Years of Surveying Crime Victims: The National Crime Victimization Survey, October 1993 (NCJ-144525): FBI, Crime in the United States, 1992, October 1993; and National Opinion Research Center data presented in the BJS Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 1992 (NCJ-143496). ----------- Owning Topic : T= 202 E= 642 Type = d T=Victims - 203 E= 642 Type = e