NCVS Redesign 2025 Supporting Statement A 08.29.24

NCVS Redesign 2025 Supporting Statement A 08.29.24.docx

National Crime Victimization Survey

OMB: 1121-0111

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National Crime Victimization Survey

OMB Control Number 1121-0111

OMB Expiration Date: 11/30/2026



Updates from previous approved package in yellow.


SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR

NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMIZATION SURVEY


  1. JUSTIFICATION


1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), of the U.S. Department of Justice, requests a revision of a currently approved collection, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) (OMB No. 1121-0111). The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) current approval of the NCVS expires November 30, 2026. Through this submission, BJS is seeking approval for the full-scale implementation of the new NCVS instrument in 2025. BJS, in consultation with Westat (Award 2013-MU-CX-K054 National Crime Victimization Survey Instrument Redesign and Testing Project) and the U.S. Census Bureau, has worked to redesign the NCVS instruments. Activities supporting the development of the new instrument, including cognitive testing, usability testing, and an operational pilot test have been approved through the OMB generic clearance agreement (OMB No. 1121-0339) for Cognitive, Pilot and Field Studies for BJS Data Collection Activities. BJS implemented a split-sample design of the existing core NCVS instrument and the new NCVS instrument from January–December 2024. This split was intended to allow BJS to maintain the ability to report criminal victimization data during the phase-in of the new NCVS instrument, and informed the full-scale implementation of the new NCVS instrument.

During 2024, BJS coordinated with the Census Bureau to concurrently administer the new and current NCVS instruments through a split-sample design. The sample was divided so that approximately half of NCVS households were interviewed using the current instrument and half were interviewed using the new instrument. This split-sample design should allow for comparison between the current and new designs and provide a basis for measuring the redesign’s impact on victimization rates. The split-sample approach should also inform whether statistical adjustments are needed to maintain the historical trend of victimization rates between the old and new instruments, which allows data users to compare estimates over time. In 2025, BJS will coordinate with the Census Bureau to administer the new NCVS instrument (Attachment 1).

Title 34, United States Code, Section 10132 authorizes BJS to collect statistics on victimization (Attachment 2). Since 1972, the NCVS has been providing national data on personal and household victimization, both reported and not reported to police. The data collection allows BJS to fulfill its mission of collecting, analyzing, publishing, and disseminating information on victims of crime. Together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) statistics on crimes reported to law enforcement agencies, the NCVS provides an understanding of the nature of and changes in the nation’s crime problems.

The NCVS is currently the only source of annual national data on a number of policy relevant subjects related to criminal victimization, including intimate partner violence, hate crime, workplace violence, injury from victimization, guns and crime, the cost of crime, reporting to police, and crime against vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, juveniles, and persons with disabilities. The NCVS is also a vehicle for the implementation of routine survey supplements that provide detailed information on timely and relevant topics such as identity theft, school crime, and contacts between the police and the public.

The NCVS was last redesigned in 1992, more than three decades ago. Since that time, much has changed, both in the level of public acceptance of surveys and in the nature of crime. For the past decade, BJS and its partners have been conducting a wide array of research projects to investigate ways to increase survey cooperation, reduce costs, improve measurement, and enhance the utility of the data to the NCVS stakeholder communities. The culmination of these efforts is a redesigned NCVS, only the second full redesign in the survey’s history.

The BJS is specifically requesting clearance for the new core NCVS from January 2025 through December 2025. During this period, the BJS will coordinate with the Census Bureau to administer the new NCVS instrument. The new core NCVS includes the administration of the survey to a national representative sample of persons age 12 or older living in households in the United States, including samples of persons representative of the 22 most populous states in the U.S. The new NCVS survey instrument (Attachment 1) includes a household roster and maintains a two-stage measurement approach with a victimization screener (NCVS-1) and crime incident report (NCVS-2). The new NCVS core survey instrument covers nine general areas: 1) incidence of rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault, personal larceny, burglary, motor vehicle theft, other theft, and vandalism; 2) characteristics of these victimizations, including location, time, presence of a weapon, injury, and property/monetary loss; 3) characteristics of victims, including sex, age, race, Hispanic origin, disability, and occupation; 4) relationship between victim and offender; 5) emotional impact of victimization; 6) victim self-defense and bystander intervention; 7) offender characteristics including sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin; 8) reporting to police and police response; and 9) bias- or hate-motivated victimizations.

The new NCVS core instrument also includes two new periodic modules on police performance and community safety. It also features updated crime screening questions and collects expanded information on victimization incidents and help-seeking. More information about the methodology1 for the new NCVS instrument development and testing as well as the summary results2 are available on the BJS NCVS Instrument Redesign webpage.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.


Since 1972, the NCVS and its predecessor, the National Crime Survey (NCS), have provided national data on the level and change of personal and property crimes both reported and not reported to police. It is one of the two main sources of data on crime in the U.S. and the only source that provides detailed information on the nature and consequences of crime. By capturing crimes not reported to police, as well as those known to law enforcement, the NCVS serves as the primary, independent source of information on crime in the U.S. Understanding unreported crime also helps to inform the appropriate allocation of criminal justice system and victim service resources and provides a better understanding of victim decision-making, responses to crime, and the resulting consequences.


BJS offers access to NCVS data through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan. Researchers can download public-use files of the NCVS data and data documentation to conduct their own analyses. The public-use files are produced by the Census Bureau and ICPSR. Additionally, BJS and the Census Bureau provide access to NCVS data files through the standard application process (SAP) portal, ResearchDataGov. The portal currently house data from the NCVS core survey from 2005 to 2019. This allows researchers who submit a justifiable proposal to access the geo-identified, restricted-use NCVS data files. BJS is currently working on making more recent data available in the near future.


  1. Use and Interest in the NCVS

The reports and data generated through the NCVS are of use and interest to a wide range of audiences, including 1) government agencies, 2) the criminal justice community, and 3) the public.


  1. Government Agencies

Because the NCVS is the only ongoing vehicle for producing data related to a broad spectrum of subjects related to crime and crime victimization, legislators and policymakers at all levels of government rely on the NCVS data. For example, Congressional debates on bills concerning victim compensation, gun control, crime and unemployment, and development of crime prevention programs for the elderly have used the NCVS data. Also, Federal executive departments have used the NCVS data to support development of programs related to a broad variety of issues, including violence against women, intimate partner violence, violence against racial and ethnic groups including American Indians or Alaska Natives, school crime, juvenile justice, and crime against the elderly. Some specific examples of government agencies that make use of the NCVS data include the following:


  1. Office for Victims of Crime

Within the Department of Justice, the importance and utility of the NCVS are recognized, and the data are used for various purposes. The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has used the NCVS data to estimate the ratio of victims that receive crime victim fund assistance to the total number of victimizations and to identify vulnerable populations not receiving assistance. OVC has also used NCVS data to discuss improvements and gaps in the provision of victim services for congressional hearings and has links to a number of BJS reports on homicide trends, identity theft, the provision of victim services, and hate crime on their website.


  1. Department of Education

The NCVS is used to measure nonfatal victimizations at school in order to inform the nation on the current nature of crime in schools and the prevalence of students victimized at school. These findings are released in the annual report, Indicators of School Crime and Safety. In addition, the National Center for Education Statistics sponsors the School Crime Supplement to the NCVS, which is generally fielded every other year.


  1. Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) worked with BJS to develop and fund the Identity Theft Supplement (ITS) to the NCVS. The FTC relies on the ITS for data on the prevalence of identity theft, how personal information is obtained by perpetrators, and the characteristics of victims. These types of data assist the FTC in identifying populations that may be particularly vulnerable and appropriately targeting knowledge and prevention campaigns. BJS published a report based on the 2021 ITS in October 2023. The 2021 survey was administered July through December 2021.


In addition, the 2017 Supplemental Fraud Survey (SFS) data on the prevalence of financial fraud and the characteristics of victims can assist agencies like the FTC in identifying populations that may be particularly vulnerable, and appropriately targeting awareness and prevention campaigns. BJS published a report based on the 2017 SFS in April 2021.


  1. Department of Health and Human Services

The Department of Health and Human Services relies on NCVS data on nonfatal workplace victimizations to identify occupations and workplaces at high risk for violence and to develop guidelines for dealing with workplace violence. BJS released a report on workplace violence done in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor in July 2022.

 

  1. Educational Institutions

Many researchers use the NCVS data to prepare reports and scholarly publications. NCVS public-use data files housed at ICPSR are downloaded thousands of times each year. The downloaded data are used in conjunction with research projects in a number of academic disciplines, including sociology, criminology, psychology, and political science. Researchers use the NCVS data to advance the study of various issues including why certain persons are victimized more than others are; the reasons why persons do or do not report crime incidents to the police; victimizations against particular subpopulations, domestic violence, rape, gang crime, multiple victimizations, and more. A list of some of the more recent articles follows:


  • Baumer, E.P., & Xie, M. (2023). Federal–local partnerships on immigration law enforcement: Are the policies effective in reducing violent victimization? Criminology & Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12619.

  • Flores, A.R., Stotzer, R.L., Meyer, I.H., & Langton, L.L. (2022). Hate crimes against LGBT people: National Crime Victimization Survey, 2017-2019. PLOS ONE 17(12): e0279363. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279363A.

  • Flores, A.R., Wilson, B.D.M., Langton, L.L., & Meyer, I.H. (2023). Violent victimization at the intersections of sexual orientation, gender identity, and race: National Crime Victimization Survey, 2017–2019. PLOS ONE 18(2): e0281641. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281641.

  • Gee, K. A., Cooc, N., & Yu, P. (2024). Hate speech against Asian American youth: pre-pandemic trends and the role of school factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, (2024), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-01987-8.

  • Harvey, A., & Mattia, T. (2022). Reducing racial disparities in crime victimization: Evidence from employment discrimination litigation. Journal of Urban Economics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2022.103459.

  • Holder, E. (2022). The Convergence of Hate: An Analysis of UCR–NCVS Hate Crime Trends, 2003 to 2020. Crime & Delinquency. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287221131001.

  • Hullenaar, K., Rowhani-Rahbar, A., Rivara, F., Vavilala, M., & Baumer, E. (2022). Victim–Offender Relationship and the Emotional, Social, and Physical Consequences of Violent Victimization. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 62(5): 763-769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.10.018.

  • Irvin-Erickson, Y. (2024). Consequences of identity theft victimization: Disabilities and mental distress. Crime & Delinquency. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287241227926.

  • Jachimowski, K. G., Pinskey, C., & Donate, G. (2024). LGBTQ+ Hate Crimes: Understanding Victim Reasons for Non-Reporting. Crime & Delinquency. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287241252367.

  • Lantz, B., Wenger, M. R., & Malcom, Z. T. (2022). Severity matters: The moderating effect of offense severity in predicting racial differences in reporting of bias and nonbias victimization to the police. Law and Human Behavior, 46(1), 15–29. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000477.

  • Martin, T. E., Gover, A. R., & Langton, L. (2023). The Relationship Between Formal Help-Seeking and Sexual Orientation Among Victims of Domestic Violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(1–2): 156–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221080150.

  • Massenkoff, M. and Chalfin, A. (2022). Activity-adjusted crime rates show that public safety worsened in 2020. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 119(46): e2208598119. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2208598119.

  • Rezey, M.L., & Lauritsen, J.L. (2022). Crime Reporting in Chicago: A Comparison of Police and Victim Survey Data, 1999-2018. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. 60(5). https://doi.org/10.1177/00224278221098053.

  • Steffensmeier, D., Schwartz, J., Slepicka, J., & Zhong, H. (2023). Twenty-First Century Trends in Girls’ Violence and the Gender Gap: Triangulated Findings from Official and Unofficial Longitudinal Sources. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231169733.

  • Truman, J.L., Morgan, R.E., & Coen, E.J. (2024). Characteristics and Consequences of Violent Victimization in Sexual and Gender Minority Communities: An Analysis of the 2017–2021 National Crime Victimization Survey. LGBT Health. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/lgbt.2023.0110.

  • Whiteford, S.G. (2022). Victimization Portrayals on Popular Crime Shows & Comparisons to the NCVS. Victims & Offenders. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2022.2112639.

  • Worthen, M. G., & Schleifer, C. (2024). # MeToo and sexual violence reporting in the National Crime Victimization Survey. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605241234355.


  1. Others

Independent groups also use the NCVS for policy analysis and recommendations, testimony before Congress, and documentation for use in courts.


Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and Financial Fraud Research Center: Researchers from the Financial Fraud Research Center (FFRC), a joint project of the Stanford Center on Longevity and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation (FINRA Foundation) collaborated with BJS to develop a standardized fraud classification scheme.3 This was then translated into survey questions that were administered on the Supplemental Fraud Survey (SFS) to the NCVS.


National Crime Prevention Council: Uses the NCVS data to develop programs on crime prevention and to train and educate individuals, communities, and organizations throughout the U.S. on effective crime prevention practices.


Victim Advocacy Groups: Use the data to identify vulnerable populations, such as crime victims who do not receive necessary criminal justice system resources, and to draw attention to the emotional, physical, and economic consequences of victimization.


Community Groups: Use the data to develop neighborhood watch programs.

 

Law Enforcement Agencies: Use the NCVS findings to gain a better understanding of the types of crimes that are and are not reported to the police, what percentage of crime goes unreported, and to understand the reasons why victims do not report to the police.


Media: The media have become increasingly familiar with the NCVS data and the public regularly sees news articles and press releases containing NCVS data. Findings from the NCVS appear regularly on a host of crime-related topics in a wide variety of contexts.


  1. BJS Uses

From 2024 through 2025, BJS statisticians will use NCVS data to produce a number of timely and relevant reports and products. These reports are relevant to the priorities of the Department of Justice and the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), expressed needs and interests of other government agencies and the criminal justice community, current events, and methods for improving the usability and reliability of the NCVS.


These resources are widely disseminated through the BJS website, the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, the BJS JUSTSTATS listserv, which has about 54,060 members4, and press releases circulated to the Associated Press and other major news sources. They also demonstrate the breadth of information collected through the NCVS, covering topics that stem from the design of the instrument and relate to each of the major sections of the survey instrument. Examples of recent and planned topical reports and products by each section of the NCVS include:


  1. Enumeration of crime rates

  • Criminal Victimization – Annual reports that present estimates of rates and levels of violent and property crime victimization in the U.S. The 2022 report was published in September 2023, and 2023 report is planned for late 2024.

  • NCVS Data Dashboard (N-DASH) – Online dynamic analysis tool, updated annually, that allows users to examine NCVS data and generate tables on violent and property victimization by select victim, household, and incident characteristics. Data are available for 1993 through 2022. Updated annually.

  1. Incident characteristics

  1. Victim characteristics

  1. Victim-offender relationship and offender characteristics

  • Race and Ethnicity of Violent Crime Offenders and Arrestees – Compares the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program data on incidents of nonfatal violent crime to data from BJS's National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to determine if arrest differences by race and ethnicity can be attributed to differences in criminal involvement. Published 2021.

  • Violent Victimization by Race or Ethnicity – Addresses trends in the number and rate of violent victimization by victim race or ethnicity. Published 2020.

  1. Bias-motivated victimizations

  • Hate Crime – Presents patterns and trends in victimizations motivated by racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, or disability bias. Published 2021.

  1. Subnational Research

  1. Technical/Methodological Research in the last 2 years



3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.


Respondents to the NCVS are individuals living in households. The Census Bureau collects the data using in-person and telephone interviews. The NCVS continues to use computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) to reduce cost, improve data quality, and streamline data processing.


4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item A.2 above.


The NCVS does not duplicate any other effort in the field. There is no other omnibus survey that can be used to generate annual national statistics on a range of crimes and victim responses to crimes regardless of whether the victimization was reported to the police.


The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports data cover a similar range of crimes as the NCVS but are limited to only those crimes known to the police. As of January 1, 2021, the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) became the national standard for law enforcement crime data reporting in the U.S. NIBRS includes similar crimes as the NCVS (as well as a number of additional offense types) and collects basic demographic data on the age, sex, and race of victims and offenders. NIBRS, like the SRS long used by the FBI, includes only crimes known to police. It is also limited by a lack of information on the victim’s response to criminal incidents. As of May 2024, 82% of the U.S. population is covered by NIBRS-reporting law enforcement agencies.5


5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.


N/A. The NCVS is a household-based sample and does not impact small businesses or other small entities.


6. Describe the consequence to federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.


There are several reasons why it is necessary to conduct an ongoing collection of the NCVS data. First, to produce annual estimates and track year-to-year change in crime, data must be collected on an ongoing basis. Second, because of the relative rarity of crime and declining crime rates, aggregate estimates (i.e., aggregated years or rolling averages) often must be used to increase the precision of national estimates that are based on small sample sizes, such as estimates for populations like the elderly and victims of sexual assault.


Rolling averages are also necessary for generating precise state-level estimates of victimization. To produce rolling averages and generate victimization estimates for subpopulations, specific crime characteristics, and at the state and local levels, annual data are necessary. Third, if the data were collected at a single point in time biannually or annually rather than on a continuous basis, the survey would be costlier due to start-up and interviewer training costs.


If the NCVS program were discontinued or conducted on a less frequent basis, executive and legislative branch policymakers would no longer have detailed crime and victimization data, including the demographic, victim response, and incident characteristic information not collected at a national level through the FBI, available when making decisions or formulating legislation. Additionally, there would be no reliable measure of change in the rate of serious crime for the U.S. that includes crimes not known to the police.


7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:


  • requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;


  • requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;


  • requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;


  • requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;


  • in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study;


  • requiring the use of statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;


  • that includes a pledge of confidentially that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or


  • requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentially to the extent permitted by law.


There are no special circumstances.



8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.


Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.


Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years -- even if the collection-of-information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.



The 30-day notice was published in the Federal Register simultaneously with the submission of this OMB package.


Outside consultations:


In the process of developing the subnational program, increasing the efficiency and productivity of the survey methodology, redesigning and modernizing the survey instrument, and planning for the introduction of the redesigned instrument, BJS regularly consults with a variety of data users, as well as the federal government and outside experts with knowledge and experience in criminal justice research and survey methodology.


BJS collaborated with the following outside experts to develop the final content for the new NCVS instrument and procedures –


Name

Affiliation

Fisher, Bonnie

University of Cincinnati

Hansen, Rachel

BJS (formerly of National Center for Education Statistics)

Hartley, Dan

National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health

Holbrook, Allyson

University of Illinois at Chicago

Holtfreter, Kristy

Arizona State University

Hubble, David

Independent Consultant, Retired U.S. Census Bureau

Kreuter, Frauke

Joint Program in Survey Methodology (UMD)

Kurash, Aviva

International Association of Chiefs of Police

Lauritsen, Janet

University of Missouri-St. Louis

Loftin, Colin

University at Albany

Lohr, Sharon

Arizona State University

Lynch, Jim

Retired BJS

Menard, Anne

National Resource Center on Domestic Violence

Neusteter, Rebecca

New York Police Department

Planty, Mike

Research Triangle Institute

Reisig, Michael

Arizona State University

Skogan, Wesley

Northwestern University

Spiegelman, Maura

National Center for Education Statistics

Swan, Deanne

National Center for Education Statistics

Xie, Min

University of Maryland

Zukerberg, Andy

National Center for Education Statistics



9. Explain any decision to provide any payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.


No government funds will be used as payment or for gifts to respondents.


10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.


All NCVS information about individuals or households is confidential by law under Title 34, U.S.C., Sections 10231 and 10134 and Title 13, U.S.C., Section 9. By law, the Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release survey responses in a way that could identify survey respondents or their households. Census Bureau employees who may see the survey responses are sworn to preserve this confidentiality. Even BJS, as the sponsor of the survey, is not authorized to see or handle the data in its raw form. All unique and identifying information is scrambled or suppressed before it is provided to BJS to analyze. Data are maintained in secure environments and in restricted access locations within the Census Bureau. All data provided to BJS must meet the confidentiality requirements set forth by the Disclosure Review Board at the Census Bureau.


In a letter from the Director of the BJS (NCVS-572(L) (Attachment 3), sent to all households in the survey, respondents are informed of these laws and assured that it requires the Census Bureau to keep all information provided by the respondent confidential. The letter also informs respondents that this is a voluntary survey. Furthermore, in addition to the legal authority and voluntary nature of the survey, the letter informs respondents of the public reporting burden for this collection of information, the principal purposes for collecting the information, and the various uses for the data after it is collected which satisfies the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974.


11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.


The NCVS asks about experiences such as rape and other types of victimization that may be sensitive for some respondents. Given the objective of the NCVS — to estimate the amount of nonfatal victimization in the U.S. — this is inevitable as BJS would not be able to provide a complete picture of nonfatal violent victimization without asking about such experiences. NCVS interviewers receive training and guidance on how to ask sensitive questions, and the new instrument training contains a distress protocol for interviewers to follow (Attachment 4). The importance of estimating crime levels, as well as the potential value of detailed information about victimization for designing crime prevention strategies, is explained to any respondent who seems hesitant to answer. All respondents have the option of refusing to answer any question.


In 2015, the OJP Institutional Review Board (IRB) declared the NCVS exempt from review and approval by an IRB. Pursuant to the OJP Instruction for Protection of Human Subjects and Privacy Certification Requirements, the NCVS was declared exempt from further IRB review because the research is covered by provisions of the confidentiality statute at 34 USC 10231 and the respondents’ confidentiality is protected under Title 13 USC 9. The only involvement of human subjects consists of the administration of an interview questionnaire and the only potential harm is release of the information with identifiers.


12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:


  • Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. General, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.


  • If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form.


  • Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 14.


BJS estimates the respondent burden for the NCVS at 156,241 hours. The estimates are based on anticipated 2025 interview/noninterview counts, including the 22-state sample boost that has been in place since January 2016. Each sample household is designated as an interview or noninterview. An NCVS sample address is classified as a noninterview if the living quarters is occupied but the interviewer is unable to obtain a complete interview; if the living quarters is occupied by persons who are not eligible respondents for the NCVS; if the living quarters is vacant; or if the living quarters is not eligible for sample because it is no longer used as a residence, it no longer exists, or it does not qualify based on the current listing and coverage rules. The number of noninterviews is estimated as the expected total sample persons in 2025 minus the total expected interviewed persons in 2025 (based on 82% response rate from 2023 data). The new NCVS annual inventory is based on the estimated hours required to collect the data from the new instrument6 and accounts for a full 12-month cycle of data collection. Reinterviews are used for quality assurance to validate interviewer performance and verify data that were collected from the household. The reinterview annual inventory is based on the estimated eligible sample for reinterviews (4% of total persons).


Table 1. 2025 NCVS Estimated Annualized Respondent Cost and Hour Burden



Activity

Number of Respondents

Frequency

Total Annual Responses

Time Per Response

(minutes)

Total Annual Burden (Hours)

Hourly Rate *

Monetized Value of Respondent Time

Interviewed

113,531

2

227,062

36

136,237

$34.91

$4,756,041

Noninterviewed

57,037

2

114,074

10

19,012

$34.91

$663,721

Reinterview (Interviews)

8,210

1

8,210

7

958

$34.91

$33,448

Reinterview (Non-interviews)

2,053

1

2,053

1

34

$34.91

$1,195









Totals

180,831


351,399


156,241


$5,454,405

* The average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector was $34.91 as of May 2024 per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t19.htm



13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14).


  • The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital

and start up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life); and (b) a

total operation and maintenance and purchase of service component.

The estimates should take into account costs associated with generating,

maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of

methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and record storage facilities.


  • If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of purchasing or contracting out information collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10), utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as appropriate.


  • Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government, or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.


There are no costs to respondents other than that of their time to respond.


14. Provide estimates of the annualized cost to the Federal Government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 into a single table.


There are no capital or start-up costs associated with the data collection.


Table 2 shows a breakdown of the estimated annual cost to the Federal Government for activities associated with the national NCVS data collection. The Census Bureau will act as the data collection agent for the NCVS at an estimated cost of about $60.1 million for the 2025 cycle. Census will develop, test, and finalize the new NCVS instrument, develop all data collection support and training materials, train interviewers and support staff, and collect, process, and disseminate the NCVS data. BJS staff time costs about $1.4 million. BJS bears all costs of the survey. The estimated annual cost to the Federal Government for the NCVS is $61.6 million in FY 2025.





Table 2. Estimated costs for NCVS

2025

BJS Costs



Staff salaries



GS-15 Supervisory Statistician (100%)

$164,000


GS-14 Statistician (100%)

$139,400


GS-13 Statistician (2 @ 100%)

$267,400


GS-12 Statistician (3 @ 100%)

$297,600


GS-11 Statistician (100%)

$82,800


GS-15/SES/SL BJS leadership (3%)

$5,574


GS-14 Lead Technical Editor (5%)

$7,900


Contract Writer/Editor (3%)

$4,200


Subtotal salaries

$968,874


Fringe benefits (30% of salary)

$290,662


Other administrative costs of salary and fringe (15%)

$188,930


Subtotal BJS Costs

$1,448,467

Data collection agent cost (U.S. Census Bureau)



Division



DSMD (Sample Design and Estimation)

$2,268,257


POP (Population Estimate Support)

$3,125


ADSD (Instrument Development)

$1,769,340


DSD (Data Processing)

$2,139,470


FLD (Data Collection)

$45,341,460


LCC (Telephone Centers)

$412,817


NPC (Data Collection Support)

$1,283,537


ADDP (Survey Operations and Project Management)

$6,889,523


Subtotal: estimated costs for Census Bureau

$60,107,529


Sum of BJS and agent costs

$61,555,996



15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.

Updates to the NCVS core survey instrument in 2025


Modernization of the NCVS core survey instrument

In early 2014, BJS initiated the NCVS Instrument Redesign and Testing Project through a competitive award to Westat, Inc. The NCVS Instrument Redesign and Testing Project was a major multi-year effort to overhaul the existing survey instrument. The overarching objective of the project was to provide scientific and technical support for the redesign and testing of the NCVS roster control card, crime screener (NCVS-1), and crime incident (NCVS-2) instruments in support of BJS’s efforts related to increasing the efficiency, reliability, and utility of the NCVS.


Through the project, BJS had three main goals: modernize the organization and content of the NCVS instrument; increase the quality of information collected and efficiency of the instrument flow; and improve the measurement and classification of crime. Findings from the national field test and updates on the implementation are available on the NCVS Instrument Redesign webpage.


The new NCVS instrument retains the two-stage measurement approach of the current instrument for the screening and classification of criminal victimization. It is more conversational in style and promotes recall by asking respondents to consider each subset of examples or probes separately. The new instrument also improves measurement of victimization and incident characteristics.


Several areas of the NCVS instrument underwent significant development, including:

  1. Addition of non-crime questions on perceptions of police and community safety;

  2. Updated crime screening questions to improve the quality of information collected;

  3. Enhanced measures of victim help-seeking;

  4. Improved measurement of sensitive crimes like rape and sexual assault;

  5. Improved measurement of hate crimes; and

  6. Increased understanding of juvenile respondents and proxy reporting. Each of these is discussed below.


Non-crime questions

One key component of the new instrument is a series of questions pertaining to residents’ perception of safety, disorder, police legitimacy, and satisfaction with police, known as ‘non-crime’ questions. This meets a need for data on residents’ perceptions of police and for understanding the relationship between experiencing victimization, reporting crime to police, and perceived police legitimacy.


Questions on satisfaction with police, police legitimacy, fear, perceptions of community disorder, and feelings of safety will be asked of all NCVS respondents, not just those who experienced a victimization. These items are intended to increase the relevance of the survey for the majority of respondents who never experience a victimization. Additionally, because the items are answered by all respondents, the estimates are expected to have stronger precision at the subnational level compared to national-level victimization rates.


The data from these ‘non-crime’ questions will have utility for members of the law enforcement community as well as researchers and policy makers. The ‘non-crime’ questions could be used to assess the relationship between demographic characteristics of residents and their perceptions of neighborhood safety and satisfaction with police. For details on the performance of the police and community items based on findings from a large-scale national field test see National Crime Victimization Survey Redesign: Police Performance and Neighborhood Safety (NCJ 306159, June 2023).



Updated crime screening questions

The new instrument updated crime screening questions to improve the quality of information collected and allow for more efficient flow through the CIR. The victimization screener is easier for respondents to understand and links components of an incident earlier in the instrument. The new instrument includes the following updates to the victimization screener: 1) separating probes into shorter examples with yes/no responses in each screener series; 2) revising probe contents; 3) using more behaviorally specific language; and 4) adding vandalism as a crime screener. For more information on changes to the victimization screener, see National Crime Victimization Survey Redesign: Measuring Crime in the NCVS (NCJ 306156, June 2023).


Victim help-seeking

The new instrument will also better address stakeholder needs with a more extensive series of questions on formal and informal help-seeking behavior. Despite the fact that the Federal Government allocates billions of dollars a year to provide services and compensation to crime victims, very little data currently exists about who receives this money and where there are gaps in the services and compensation provided. The current NCVS instrument asks only two questions related to whether the victim received victim services.


OVC laid out the need for more comprehensive data in their Vision 21 report and BJS’s new instrument will enhance the capacity of the survey to measure both formal and informal victim help-seeking behaviors. The redesigned new instrument includes expanded questions about why victims do or do not receive formal services, and among those that do, the type of assistance they received and their levels of satisfaction with the assistance received. The redesign effort also added questions about informal help-seeking behaviors, such as speaking to a family member, friend, or religious leader and improves current NCVS questions about the consequences of victimization including injuries, receipt of medical and mental health care, and emotional reactions following a victimization. For additional details on these new items see National Crime Victimization Survey Redesign: NCVS Crime Incident Report (CIR) (NCJ 306157, June 2023).


Measurement of rape and sexual assault

BJS is also improving the responsiveness of the NCVS to measurement issues that arise in the collection of data on sensitive topics like intimate partner violence and rape and sexual assault. To this end, BJS initiated several projects to identify, develop, and test the optimal methods for collecting self-report data on rape and sexual assault. The findings from these projects were incorporated into the instrument redesign work.

In September 2011, BJS also made a competitive award to Westat, Inc., to develop and test two different survey designs for collecting self-report data on rape and sexual assault. One design was to be an optimal design identified in collaboration with a panel from the National Research Council’s Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) which was charged by BJS in 2011 to examine the conceptual and methodological issues surrounding survey statistics on rape and sexual assault and to recommend to BJS the best methods for obtaining such statistics on an ongoing basis. The other was similar to designs used in the public health field that collect data on rape and sexual assault (e.g., National Women’s Study and the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Surveillance System).


BJS compared estimates from these two alternative designs with estimates from the current NCVS. Field testing of these alternative designs was completed and findings were released in 2021. The findings of this project were published in the BJS report, Methodological Research to Support the National Crime Victimization Survey: Self-Report Data on Rape and Sexual Assault – Pilot Test, in January 2021. The findings from this report were incorporated into the instrument redesign work. The new instrument improves the measurement of rape and sexual assault by updating the methods used to screen and classify these incidents (e.g., using behaviorally specific language and that defines what is meant by sexual contact). For details on changes to the rape and sexual assault measures in the victimization screener and CIR, see National Crime Victimization Survey Redesign: Measuring Crime in the NCVS (NCJ 306156, June 2023) and National Crime Victimization Survey Redesign: NCVS Crime Incident Report (CIR) (NCJ 306157, June 2023).


Measurement of hate crimes

The current NCVS hate crime series asks about seven different types of potential evidence of a hate crime, and BJS uses one of three of these types (offender used hate language, offender left hate-related signs or symbols at the scene, or police investigators confirmed the incident was a hate crime) to qualify as sufficient evidence to classify the offense as a hate crime. BJS conducted research to understand the limitations of the current measure and examined ways to improve the measurement of hate crime in the NCVS. Findings from this research are available in Enhancing the Measurement of Hate Crime in the NCVS: Developing and Testing Improvements to the Survey Questions (NCJ 301033, September 2021). Findings from this research were incorporated into the instrument redesign work and new instrument.


Juvenile respondents and proxy interviews

As part of the NCVS Redesign Research and Development Program, BJS engaged in several research projects to further understand and improve the measurement of victimization among youth age 12-17. These efforts included cognitive testing with youth and parents. Youth interviews focused on testing comprehension of survey items and youth-specific adjustments to improve comprehension. Parent interviews focused on understanding parents’ decisions to let their children participate in a survey like NCVS. An additional project examined survey responses between parent-child pairs, to measure consistency in responses when the parent serves as a proxy respondent for the child. Findings from this research were released in the NCVS Juvenile Testing and Redesign Report (NCJ 304100, March 2022) and were incorporated into the instrument redesign work and new instrument.


Change in burden


The estimated total annual hours for 2025 (156,246) is slightly higher than the 124,888 requested in the prior OMB package. This change in estimated burden is due to the implementation of the new instrument. The new instrument is estimated to take 36 minutes compared to the estimated 32 minutes based on the large-scale national field test. The estimated burden is now based on five months (February–June 2024) of split sample data collection with the Census Bureau for the new instrument. The increased administration time of the new instrument is also due to the addition of the two new modules on police performance and community safety and updates to the crime screener but is balanced against the significant reduction in administration time for crime incident reports compared to the current instrument.


16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulations, and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.


For collection year 2025, the NCVS is in the field from January 1 through December 31. Interviewing begins on the first of each month. The CAPI interviewing is conducted over the entire interview month. Data processing is conducted on both a monthly and semi-annual basis. Because the survey uses a 6-month recall period, crime incidence data for a given calendar year are not fully collected until June of the following year. However, annual estimates are produced and published based on data collected during a calendar year (collection year) rather than on crimes occurring during a calendar year (data year) starting with the 1996 data. Annual collection year estimates for the nation are typically provided to BJS approximately in April of each year. However, due to the complexities associated with building new data processing systems, analyzing new sets of results, and developing new sets of data products, 2025 estimates may follow a delayed schedule.


BJS releases information collected in the NCVS in a variety of formats. In a typical year BJS releases a bulletin, Criminal Victimization, which provides annual national estimates from the preceding year of survey data collection, including rates and counts of violent and property crime, characteristics of crimes and victims, year-to-year change estimates, and trend estimates. Simultaneous with the release of the annual Criminal Victimization bulletin, the online NCVS Data Dashboard (N-DASH) and the NCVS Restful API are updated with the most recent year of data. BJS will assess what data releases are feasible once findings from the new instrument are analyzed.


Once the data are released by BJS through Criminal Victimization, the N-DASH and the NCVS API, the data are archived at ICPSR. Researchers can download public-use files of the NCVS data and data documentation to conduct their own analyses. The public-use files are produced by the Census Bureau and ICPSR. All information that might identify individual respondents is removed from the files prior to being sent to the ICPSR.


To further enhance the utility of the data, in addition to the public-use files housed at ICPSR, the geographically identified NCVS files are also available in the Census Bureau’s secure federal statistical research data centers (FSRDC). Researchers can access NCVS data files through the standard application process (SAP) portal, ResearchDataGov, and must submit a proposal for the research they plan to conduct using the data and agree to all confidentiality and protected use constraints. Data are typically available through ICPSR and the SAP portal, ResearchDataGov, by the fall of the year following collection.


As noted above, during the course of each year, BJS also releases several in-depth analytical reports and other papers that provide information on some of the broad range of topics covered in the survey. These reports reflect findings from redesign work regarding topics of interest to the public, as well as methodological reports on improving the usability and reliability of victimization estimates without increasing survey costs.


Topics include series or repeat victimization; patterns and trends in victim and offender race; harm caused by violent crime; intimate partner violence; age patterns in violent victimization; Hispanic victims of crime; victimization of persons with disabilities; long-term trends in victimization; workplace violence; hate crime; rape and sexual assault; criminal victimization by place; help-seeking patterns among victims; and police response and follow-up activities. See the specific list of planned topical reports under Section 2.2 BJS Uses.


NCVS 2025 collection year schedule:


Task

Dates

Data collection

January 1–December 31, 2025

Data processing, monthly

January 2025–March 2026

Data delivery to BJS

April 2026*

First BJS report release/data file and documentation published


October 2026*

*Due to the complexities associated with building new data processing systems, analyzing new sets of results, and developing new sets of data products, 2025 estimates may follow a delayed schedule.


17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.


We are requesting no exemption. The OMB control number is displayed on the CAPI laptop or read during the interview describing the nature of the survey and authority to collect the information. A screenshot is included in Attachment 5.


18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.


This collection of information does not include any exceptions to the certificate statement.



B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATON EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS.

This collection contains statistical data.





List of Attachments


Attachment 1: Redesigned NCVS Instrument


Attachment 2: Title 34, U.S.C., Section 10132 of the Justice Systems Improvement Act of 1979


Attachment 3: NCVS-572(L) Introductory letter – All Languages


Attachment 4: NCVS Redesign Distress Protocol


Attachment 5: NCVS Screenshot of OMB Number and Expiration Date


Attachment 6: NCVS-551 (NCVS Rotation Chart)


Attachment 7: NCVS-110 (Brochure – All Languages)


Attachment 8: NCVS-593(L) (Thank You Letter – Different Languages)


Attachment 9: NCVS-521RE (PreClassroom Self-Study – Redesign)


Attachment 10: NCVS-522RE (Classroom Training Guide – Redesign)


Attachment 11: NCVS-523RE (Classroom Training Workbook – Redesign)


Attachment 12: NCVS-570 (Regional Office Manual)


Attachment 13: NCVS-541 (Reinterview Instrument Screens – Redesigned)


Attachment 14: 11-170 (CATI Reinterview Training Guide)


Attachment 15: 11-171 (CATI Reinterview Training Workbook)


Attachment 16: 11-172 (CATI Reinterview Supervisor’s Manual)


Attachment 17: Field Division Current Survey Reinterviewer’s Self-Study


Attachment 18: NCVS CATI Reinterview Instrument Redesign Training Memorandum


Attachment 19: NCVS CAPI Reinterview Instrument Redesign Training Memorandum



4 As of July 2024.

5 Details on the NIBRS reporting are available through the FBI’s website and BJS website.

6 Burden hours for the new NCVS instrument were estimated based on the five months (February–June 2024) of split sample data collection for the new instrument. January timing data was not used to account for the field staff becoming acquainted with the new instrument and thus, interviews were expected to be longer.

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