High/Low Crime Areas and Repeat Victimization

• In Event: How Low Can You Go? Using Victimization Data to Study Subnational Crime Trends and Patterns

Abstract

Following the work by Trickett et al. (1992) this paper assesses prior research findings that high crime areas are defined by the amount of repeat victimization experienced by victims. Using area-identified data from the National Crime Victimization Survey to divide the country into high, medium, and low crime cities, the paper tests the assertion that high crime areas do not have a higher prevalence of victims than other areas, but rather that the victims experience higher rates of repeat victimization. It examines the extent to which repeat victimization contributed to overall crime counts in high, medium, and low crime areas from 2006 to 2012.

Authors

• Michael Planty, Bureau of Justice Statistics, USDOJ

• Lynn Langton, Bureau of Justice Statistics, USDOJ

• Bonnie Shook-Sa, RTI International