The National Crime Victimization Survey is best described as a measure of?

• A. A local survey analyzing crime reports.
• B. A method for identifying suspects.
• C. A national survey measuring reported and unreported crime victimization.
• D. A tool for evaluating officer performance.

Answer: (C)

Measuring crime victimization at a national level, including cases not reported to police, is what the NCVS is designed to do. It gathers data from a national sample of households and interviews people about crimes they experienced, covering both incidents that were reported to authorities and those that were not. This approach reveals the true extent of crime by capturing the “dark figure” of unreported victimizations, providing national estimates of frequency and characteristics that police records alone miss. It’s administered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and is not about identifying suspects or evaluating officer performance, nor is it limited to a local area. So, the NCVS is a national survey measuring reported and unreported crime victimization.