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Workplace Violence, 1992-96 Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report July 1998, NCJ 168634 By Greg Warchol, Ph.D. BJS Statistician Data from the National Crime Victimization Surveys (NCVS) for 1992-96 indicate that during each year U.S. residents experienced more than 2 million violent victimizations while they were working or on duty. The most common type of workplace violent crime was simple assault with an estimated average of 1.5 million victimizations occurring each year. While at work U.S. residents also suffered 395,000 aggravated assaults, 51,000 rapes and sexual assaults, 84,000 robberies, and 1,000 homicides. ----------- Highlights ----------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Figure: Selected occupations with a larger number of violent victimizations Average annual number of violent victimizations in the workplace, 1992-96 Retail sales 292482 Law enforcement 240480 Teaching 138124 Medical 133012 Mental health 80711 Transportation 73894 Private security 61790 ----------------------------------------------------------------- * Each year between 1992 and 1996, more than 2 million U.S. residents were victims of a violent crime while they were at work or on duty. * More than 1,000 workplace homicides occurred annually. * The most common type of workplace victimization was simple assault with an estimated 1.4 million occurring each year. U.S. residents also suffered 51,000 rapes and sexual assaults and about 84,000 robberies while they were at work. * Annually, more than 230,000 police officers became victims of a nonfatal violent crime while they were working or on duty. * About 40% of victims of nonfatal violence in the workplace reported that they knew their offenders. * Women were more likely than men to be victimized by someone they knew. * Approximately 12% of the nonfatal violent workplace crimes resulted in an injury to the victim. Of those injured, about half received medical treatment. * Intimates (current and former spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends) were identified by the victims as the perpetrators of about 1% of all workplace violent crime. ------------------ Workplace violence ------------------ In this report workplace violence is defined as violent acts against a person at work or on duty, including physical assaults (rape and sexual assault and aggravated and simple assault) and robbery. Attempts are included with completed victimizations. (See Definitions on pages 7-8 for explanations of each offense.) The phrases at work and on duty are used synonymously for the term workplace. While this report is mainly concerned with nonfatal violence as measured by the NCVS, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) are included as a supplement to describe the nature and scope of workplace homicide. UCR data on commercial robberies are also included. Unless otherwise noted as including homicide, all tables only describe nonfatal workplace violence. ------------------------------------------------------- The amount and nature of violent crime in the workplace ------------------------------------------------------- Each year from 1992 to 1996, more than 2 million U.S. residents experienced a violent crime victimization while they were working or on duty (table 1). The most common type of victimization was assault, with an estimated 1.5 million simple assaults and 396,000 aggravated assaults reported annually. Each year there were 84,000 robberies, about 51,000 rapes or sexual assaults, and more than 1,000 workplace homicides. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1. Victims of violence in the workplace, 1992-96 Victimization in the workplace All victimizations Annual average Percent Annual average Percent Total 2010800 100.0 10868900 100.0 Homicide* 1023 0.05 22568 0.2 Rape and sexual assault 50500 2.5 466900 4.3 Robbery 83700 4.2 1274500 11.7 Aggravated assault 395500 19.7 2364600 21.7 Simple assault 1480000 73.6 6740300 62.0 *Homicide data from the FBI's UCR include murder and nonnegligent manslaughter. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------- Victim characteristics ---------------------- Among people victimized while working or on duty, male victims outnumbered females by about 2 to 1 (table 2). Nearly 9 in 10 of victims of workplace violence were white. Fewer than 10% of the workplace violence victims were black. About 70% of the victims were between ages 25 and 49, and fewer than 10% of the victims were over age 50. -------------------------------------- Table 2. Characteristic of workplace violence victims, 1992-96 Victim characteristic Percent Total 100.0 Sex Male 66.8 Female 33.2 Race White 88.6 Black 8.9 Other 2.5 Ethnicity* Hispanic 6.6 Non-Hispanic 92.1 Age 12 to 17 2.4 18 to 24 17.9 25 to 34 32.9 35 to 49 37 50 to 59 7.2 60 to 64 1.5 65 or older 1.1 *Ethnicity was unknown for 1.3% of victims of workplace violence. ------------------------------------- While females made up the majority of rape/sexual assault victims (83%), males were more likely than females to be victims of robbery and simple and aggravated assault. Rape/ Assault Sexual Rob- Aggra- assault bery vated Simple Male 16.7% 72.0% 74.4% 66.1% Female 83.3 28.0 25.6 33.9 More than half of the violent crime victimizations happened to individuals who worked for a private employer (table 3). While government employees make up approximately 16% of the U.S. workforce, about 37% of the victims of workplace violence were employed by a Federal, State, or county government organization. Annually about 430,000 of the workplace violence victims identifying their occupation stated they were employed by a government law enforcement agency or private security organization (table 4). Among these, an estimated 234,000 police officers and 71,100 private security guards were victims of workplace violent crime each year. The victimization of law enforcement officers accounts for the over representation of government employees as workplace violence victims. ----------------------------------------- Table 3. Employers of workplace violence victims, 1992-96 Victims of violence in the workplace Number* Percent Private employer 1127800 56.1 State/local government 677600 33.7 Self-employed 134500 6.7 Federal Government 62900 3.1 Not ascertained 35100 0.3 *Annual average, 1992-96. ------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- Table 4. Occupations of victims of nonfatal workplace violence, 1992-96 Victims of workplace nonfatal violence Annual Number per Occupation average 1,000 workers Total/a 2009400 14.8 Medical Physicians 10000 15.7 Nurses 69500 24.8 Technician 24500 21.4 Other 56800 10.7 Mental health Professional 50300 79.5 Custodial 8700 63.3 Other 43500 64.0 Teaching Preschool/b 2400 3.6 Elementary 35400 16.0 Junior high 47300 57.4 High school 33300 28.9 College/university 6600 2.5 Technical/industrial/b 400 4.4 Special education 9000 40.7 Other 14400 10.1 Law enforcement Police 234200 306.0 Private security 71100 117.3 Corrections officer 58300 217.8 Other 67600 61.5 Retail sales Convenience/ liquor store 61500 68.4 Gas station 15500 79.1 Bar 26400 91.3 Other 228200 17.5 Transportation Taxi driver 16100 183.8 Bus driver 17200 45.0 Other 43200 10.0 Other/unspecified 758000 8.2 Note: Rates are calculated using population estimates from the NCVS for occupation, 1992-96. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. a/The total for specified occupations was 1,251,400, with 29.4 victims of workplace violence per 1,000 workers. b/Fewer than 10 sample cases. ------------------------------------------------ Annually, 330,000 retail sales workers became victims of workplace violence. These included an estimated 61,000 convenience/liquor store clerks and 26,000 bartenders. More than 160,000 workers in the medical occupations including an estimated 70,000 nurses, 24,000 technicians, and about 10,000 physicians were victimized each year. Teachers accounted for about 149,000 of all workplace victimizations each year. An estimated 33,000 high school, 35,000 elementary, and 47,000 junior high/middle school teachers were victims of a violent crime while working or on duty. Of the occupations examined, law enforcement had the highest rates of workplace violence while teaching had the lowest. Police officers experienced 306 victimizations for every 1,000 officers; corrections officers in prisons or jails, 218 per 1,000. College or university teaching was the occupation with the lowest rate of violence at work: 2.5 per 1,000 teachers. How often victims were assaulted at work was related to their occupation (table 5). Public law enforcement and private security workers experienced the most workplace assaults each year -- an estimated 327,000 simple assaults and nearly 100,000 aggravated assaults. Transportation workers suffered the fewest assaults -- an estimated 45,000 simple assaults and 17,000 aggravated assaults. ------------------------------------- Table 5. Workplace assaults, by occupation, 1992-96 Average annual number of assaults Simple Aggravated Medical 137500 12800 Teaching 126500 16800 Mental health 79000 15300 Law enforcement 326900 98500 Transportation 45200 17400 Retail sales 215700 90700 ------------------------------------- Assaults on police Both the NCVS and the UCR recorded recent decreases in the number of nonfatal assaults on police (figure 1). In 1996 police officers reported to the NCVS about 152,000 assaults, and agencies reported 47,000 such assaults to the UCR. ----------------------------------------------- Figure 1 Number of assaults on police officers UCR NCVS 1992 81252 263257 1993 66975 261601 1994 64912 237815 1995 56686 227518 1996 46695 176096 ----------------------------------------------- The higher levels in the NCVS data are partially attributable to the survey's recording assaults that victimized officers did not report to their superiors. These were possibly the less serious assaults in which officers were not injured: 87% of all assaults did not result in an injury. The difference between the UCR and the NCVS data is less distinct when comparing assaults on police officers resulting in injury -- victimizations that officers may be more prone to report to their superiors. Annual average number of assaults injuring police officers NCVS 30,304 UCR 21,604 ------------------------------ Response to workplace violence ------------------------------- When confronted by the offender, about 27% of the workplace violence victims did not resist (table 6). The most common reaction of victims was nonconfrontational actions such as trying to stall, persuade, or bargain with the offender, or fleeing or hiding from the offender. Fewer than 4% of the victims resisted with a weapon. -------------------------------------- Table 6. Reactions to the violence by victims in the workplace, 1992-96 Reaction Percent Total 100.0 Offered no resistance 27.3 Nonconfrontational act 29.6 Unarmed confrontation 20.9 Resisted with-- Firearm 1.4 Other actions/weapons 1.7 Other 19.1 Unknown 0.1 Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding. ------------------------------------- Among workplace violence victims who took some type of self-protective action, more than 80% stated that they thought it helped the situation. Value of response Percent of victims Total 100.0% Helped situation 84.1 Did not help 12.4 Don't know 3.5 ------------------------------ Injury from workplace violence ------------------------------- As with street crime, workplace violence can result in injured victims. Twelve percent of all victims of workplace violence reported having been physically injured. Victim injury Total Males Females Injured 12.0% 11.3% 13.2% Uninjured 88.0 88.7 86.8 Victims of certain types of violent crime, however, sustained a slightly, though not statistically significant, higher incidence of injury. Victims of rape or sexual assault suffered additional injury in 19% of the reported victimizations (table 7). About 17% of victims of robbery or aggravated assault were injured, compared to 10% of victims of simple assault. -------------------------------------------------------------- Table 7. Injured victims of workplace violence, by type of offense, 1992-96 Percent of victims of workplace violence Injury to Rape/Sexual Aggravated Simple victims assault Robbery assault assault Injured 19.3 17.4 17.3 10 Uninjured 80.7 82.6 82.7 90 -------------------------------------------------------------- About 6% of all workplace crimes resulted in the victim being injured and receiving medical treatment -- either at the scene or at a medical facility. Treatment Percent Total 100.0% Not injured 88.0 Injured but not treated 6.1 Treated at the scene 2.3 Treated at a medical facility 3.6 ------------------------------------ Offense and offender characteristics ------------------------------------ More than 60% of the workplace violent victimizations occurred during daylight hours. Time of occurrence Percent Total 100.0% Day 62.3 Night 36.2 Don't know 1.4 The majority of workplace violence incidents (56%) happened to individuals working in cities. Individuals working in rural parts of the country accounted for about 11% of the incidents of violence at work. Location Percent Total 100.0% City 56.5 Suburb 14.6 Rural 10.8 More than one 17.7 Not ascertained .4 The relationship between the victim and the offender may be of special interest with crime that occurs in the workplace. In addition to strangers, workplace crime has been in part attributed to disgruntled current or former employees and domestic disputes involving intimates (current and former spouses, boyfriends and girlfriends). The majority of all workplace violent crime was committed by a stranger to the victim (table 8). A higher percentage of men (66%) than women (47%) were victimized by a stranger. Intimates were identified as the perpetrators in fewer than 1% of all incidents of workplace violence. Female victims reported that their attackers were intimates in about 2% of all offenses. Female victims were also more likely than male victims to report that their attackers were acquaintances (46%, compared to 30%). --------------------------------------------------------------- Table 8. Victim-offender relationship of victims of workplace violence, 1992-96 Relationship of Percent of workplace violence victims offender to victim Total Male Female Total 100 100 100 Intimate 0.9 0.2* 2.2 Other relative 0.5 0.2* 1.0 Acquaintance 35.3 29.9 46.2 Stranger 59.6 65.9 47.0 Unknown 3.6 3.7 3.5 Note: Detail may not add to totals because of rounding. *Fewer than 10 sample cases. --------------------------------------------------------------- When asked about the offenders, over 84% of workplace violence victims stated that the incident involved only one offender. Number of offenders Percent 1 84.7% 2 6.2 3 2.4 4 or more 3.5 Not ascertained 3.1 Forty-three percent of the robberies were committed by more than one offender (table 9). About 11% of the rapes and 9% of the simple assaults involved multiple offenders. --------------------------------------------------------------- Table 9. Number of workplace violence offenders, by type of crime, 1992-9 Annual average percent of victims of workplace violence Number of Rape/Sexual Aggravated Simple offenders assault Robbery assault assault Total 100 100 100 100 1 85.1 53.8 77.1 88.2 More than 1 10.9 43.0 19.0 8.9 Not ascertained 4.0 3.1 3.9 2.9 Note: Detail may not add to totals because of rounding. --------------------------------------------------------------- Those who committed workplace violence were predominately male, white, and older than 21 (table 10). Among workplace crimes for which victims reported just one perpetrator, more than 80% of the offenders were males, 58% were white, and 47% were over age 30. ------------------------------------------------ Table 10. Characteristic of offenders who committed workplace violence, 1992-96 Percent of victims Characteristic of of workplace violence offender by lone offenders Sex Male 82.9 Female 14.1 Unknown 2.9 Race White 58.4 Black 29.0 Other 8.1 Not ascertained 4.4 Age Under 12 1.9 12 to 17 10.0 18 to 20 6.6 21 to 29 29.4 30 or older 47.0 Not ascertained 5.1 ------------------------------------------------ About 20% of violent incidents in the workplace involved an armed offender (table 11). A firearm was used in fewer than 10% of all workplace violent crimes. The likelihood of a victim's being threatened or injured by an armed offender reflected the vulnerability of the victim's occupation (table 12). One in three incidents of violence against transportation workers were committed by an offender who had a gun, knife, or other weapon. One in four retail sales workers reported that the offender was armed during the incidents they experienced. Of those incidents examined, medical care workers faced an armed offender in 7% of violent crimes. ------------------------------------------ Table 11. Weapons present in workplace violence, 1992-96 Percent of Type of weapon violent victimizations present in the workplace None 73.4 Unknown 6.2 Some type 20.4 Firearm 7.5 Knife 6.0 Club, bottle, stick, or other object used as a weapon 6.0 Unknown type 1.0 Note: Detail may not add to totals because of rounding. ------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------- Table 12. Whether the offender in workplace violence was armed, by occupation of the victim, 1992-96 Percent of violent victimizations in the workplace Whether Law Trans- the offender Mental enforce- porta- was armed Medical health Teaching ment Retail tion Other Armed 7.2 14.9 11.9 21.5 26.6 34.3 20.6 Unarmed 89.2 83.5 82.4 75.1 65.6 55.3 71.9 Unknown 3.5 1.6* 5.7 3.4 7.9 10.4 7.6 *Fewer than 10 sample cases. ---------------------------------------------------------------- -------- Outcomes -------- Fewer than half of all nonfatal violent workplace crimes were reported to the police (table 13). Male victims (47%) were more likely than female victims (38%) to report the offense to the police. About 25% of the rapes and sexual assaults were reported to the police while nearly 73% of the robberies were reported. An injured victim was more likely than an uninjured victim to report the crime to the police. Sixty percent of the injured victims, but 42% of the uninjured, reported the offense to the police. About 61% of the victimizations committed by an intimate of the victim (spouse/ex-spouse or boy/girlfriend) were reported to the police. ----------------------------------------------- Table 13. Reporting of workplace violence to the police, by sex of victim, offense, injury, and victim-offender relationship, 1992-96 Percent of violent crimes in the workplace Workplace violence reported to the police All 44.2 Sex of victim Male 47.0 Female 38.4 Offense Rape 25.3 Robbery 72.8 Aggravated assault 60.8 Simple assault 39.2 Injury of victim Injured 60.0 Uninjured 42.2 Victim-offender relationship Intimate 60.7 Stranger/acquaintance 44.0 ----------------------------------------------- When questioned about why they did not report the offense, workplace violence victims gave as their most common reason that they reported it to another official (29%). This other official may have been a supervisor or the security personnel of the organization for which they worked. Another 19% stated that the violence was not important enough to report to the police. Reason for not reporting Percent of workplace violence victims who to the police did not report Reported to another official 29.4% Private or personal matter 20.6 Not important enough 18.9 Police could/would not do anything 5.1 Afraid of the offender 1.8 Inconvenient 1.2 Do not know .5 Other reason 20.5 No one reason more important 2.0 Of all workplace violence incidents reported to the police, 37% resulted in the eventual arrest or charging of an offender for the victimization between the time of the incident and the interview with the victim (table 14). ----------------------------------------------------------------- Table 14. Whether offender in workplace violence was arrested, by offense, 1992-96 Percent of incidents reported to the police Outcome All Rape Robbery Aggravated assault Simple assault assault Arrested 37.4 30.0 22.8 44.1 36.5 Not arrested 57.3 64.7 68.7 48.4 59.3 Unknown 5.3 5.3 8.4 7.5 4.2 ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- Figure 2: The number of violent victimizations in the workplace declined 21% from a peak of 2.2 million in 1994 to 1.7 million in 1996 Number of violent victimizations in millions 1992 2.163879 10.896 1993 2.077988 10.53158 1994 2.182529 11.0311 1995 1.894272 10.02193 1996 1.730289 9.125 The decrease in violent victimization in the workplace between 1994 and 1996 was similar to the 17% decline in violent crime overall during the period. -------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------ Workplace homicide ------------------ Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that homicide was the second leading cause of death in the workplace between 1992 and 1996 (figure 3) with more than 1,000 murders occurring each year. The work-place homicides accounted for about 1 of every 6 fatal occupational injuries. -------------------------------------------------- Figure 3 Homicide accounts for about 17% of all deaths in the workplace Fatal accidents Homicide 1992 6217 1044 1993 6331 1074 1994 6632 1080 1995 6275 1036 1996 6112 912 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1992-96 -------------------------------------------------- Firearms were used to commit more than 80 percent of all workplace homicides between 1992 and 1996. About 20 percent of the homicides were the result of bombings, stabbings, or beatings. This figure includes the deaths of employees among the 168 who died in the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Annual average percent of workplace homicides, Weapon 1992-96 Firearm 83.7% Bomb or other 11.4 Knife 7.8 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Fatal Occupational Injuries by Event or Exposure, 1992-96. From 1993 to 1996 males were the majority of workplace homicide victims (table 15). Each year an average of 710 whites and 191 blacks were murdered while working. About 143 workplace homicide victims each year were of Hispanic origin. Most workplace homicide victims were between ages 25 and 44. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Table 15. Characteristics of workplace homicide victims, 1993-96 Selected characteristic of victims of workplace homicide Annual average number Male 821 Female 196 White 710 Black 191 American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian, or Pacific Islander 106 Other 60 Hispanic 143 Younger than age 20 30 20-24 85 25-34 261 35-44 264 45-54 198 55-64 115 Age 65 or older 63 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1993-96 Between 1993 and 1996 most workplace homicides -- an average of nearly 760 each year -- were the result of a robbery (figure 4). About 100 workplace homicides a year were attributed to the victim's coworkers or customers. Personal acquaintances of homicide victims were identified as perpetrators in about 50 workplace murders each year. -------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 4 Each year from 1993 to 1996 nearly 800 workplace homicides were the result of a robbery Victim and circumstance of homicide Average annual number Employees in robberies/other crimes 757 Employees by co-workers/customers 112 Police in the line of duty 56 Security guards in the line of duty 48 Employees by personal acquaintances 45 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1993-96 -------------------------------------------------------------- Of select occupations sales workers experienced the highest number of workplace homicides -- an average of 327 each year from 1993 to 1996 (figure 5). Annually, 74 taxi drivers and chauffeurs were murdered while working or on duty. About 70 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty each year. -------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 5: Most workplace homicide victims were employed in retail sales Occupation of victim Average annual number Sales 327 Executive/manager 154 Law enforcement 69 Security guard 60 Taxi driver/chauffeur 74 Truck driver* 25 *Based on 1993 and 1995-96. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1993-96 -------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- Methodology ----------- Except as noted, the data for this report come from the 1992 to 1996 National Crime Victimization Surveys (NCVS). The NCVS is an annual survey of about 46,000 households and 95,000 individuals age 12 or older. It obtains information about crimes, including those not reported to the police, from a continuous, nationally representative sample of households in the United States. Respondents who reported that they were a victim of a violent crime while working or on duty represent the sample for this report. This sample does not include those crime victims who stated that they were on their way to or from work. Customers affected by violence at a workplace also were not included in the analysis. Because the NCVS does not measure murder, the homicide data included in this report were drawn from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While some trends are presented, most data are presented in the aggregate. Using aggregate data from 5 years for this report makes possible more reliable estimates. The estimates in this report are not directly comparable to those in Violence and Theft in the Workplace (BJS Crime Data Brief, NCJ 148199, July 1994). The differences reflect changes in survey methodology introduced by the 1992 redesign of the NCVS. Research prior to the redesign indicated that a substantial proportion of certain types of crimes were not recounted. In general, the redesigned survey gives respondents additional cues to encourage recall of eligible crime events. These changes achieved the intended effect of producing higher and more accurate estimates of violent crime than had resulted from the previously used procedures. For a detailed explanation, see Effects of the Redesign on Victimization Estimates (BJS Technical Report, NCJ 164381, April 1997). Definitions Aggravated assault: Attack or attempted attack with a weapon, regardless of whether or not an injury occurred and attack without a weapon when serious injury occurs. Simple assault: Attack without a weapon resulting either in no injury, minor injury, or in undetermined injury requiring less than 2 days of hospitalization. Also includes attempted assault without a weapon. Robbery: Completed or attempted theft, directly from a person, of property or cash by force or threat, with or without a weapon, and with or without injury. Rape: Forced sexual intercourse including both psychological coercion as well as physical force. Includes attempted rapes, male as well as female victims, and both heterosexual and homosexual rape. Sexual assault: A wide range of victimizations, separate from rape or attempted rape. These crimes include attacks or attempted attacks generally involving unwanted sexual contact between victim and offender. Sexual assault also includes verbal threats. Intimates: Includes spouses, ex-spouses and current and former boyfriends and girlfriends. The relationship is defined by the respondent. Acquaintances: Includes friends, former friends, roommates or boarders, schoolmates, neighbors, someone at work, or some other known non-relative. Relatives: Includes parents and step-parents, children and stepchildren, siblings and other relatives. Stranger: Someone not known to the victim. Rounding of percentages Percentages in the tables may not add to 100% because of rounding. Computation of standard errors The results in this report were tested to determine if the observed differences between groups were statistically significant. The comparisons made in this report were tested to determine whether the observed differences between groups or over time were statistically significant. Comparisons mentioned in the report passed a hypothesis test at the 0.05 level of statistical significane (or the 95-percent confidence level.) This means that the estimated difference between comparisons was greater than twice the standard error of that difference. The standard error calculations were made using statistical programs specifically developed for the NCVS by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. These programs take into account the complex sample design of the NCVS when calculating the generalized variance estimates. Though 5 years of data are covered in this report, some estimates were based on relatively small numbers. This is noted in tables where estimates are based on 10 or fewer sample cases. Because standard errors cannot be accurately computed for such estimates, it is not advisable to compare them to other estimates. Caution should also be used when comparing estimates not specifically mentioned in the text of this report. Large differences may not be statistically significant at even the 90-percent confidence level. ---------------------------- Box: Determining occupation for the NCVS ---------------------------- The victim reported his or her job at the time of the victimization by answering question 138 on the NCVS Incident Report. Occupation Variable (No. 138) Q. Which of the following best describes your job at the time of the incident? Medical Profession 1. Physician 2. Nurse 3. Technician 4. Other Mental Health Service Field -- Are your duties -- 5. Professional (social worker/ psychiatrist) 6. Custodial care 7. Other Teaching Profession -- Were you employed in a -- 8. Preschool 9. Elementary 10. Junior high or middle school 11. High school 12. College or university 13. Technician or industrial school 14. Special education facility 15. Other Law Enforcement or Security Field -- Were you employed as a-- 16. Law enforcement officer 17. Prison or jail guard 18. Security guard 19. Other Retail Sales-- Were you employed as a -- 20. Convenience or liquor store clerk 21. Gas station attendant 22. Bartender 23. Other Transportation Field -- Were you employed as a -- 24. Bus driver 25. Taxi cab driver 26. Other or 27. Something else ---------- References ---------- BJS. Effects of the Redesign on Victimization Estimates, Technical Report, NCJ 164381, April 1997. BJS. Violence and Theft in the Workplace, Crime Data Brief, NCJ 148199, July 1994. FBI. Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 1994 and 1996. FBI. Crime in the United States 1996. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor. Fatal Occupational Injuries by Event or Exposure, 1992-96. The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D., is director. BJS Special Reports address a specific topic in depth from one or more data sets that cover many topics. Greg Warchol, Ph.D., wrote this report. Cathy Maston provided statistical review. Tom Hester produced and edited the report. Marilyn Marbrook, assisted by Jayne Robinson and Yvonne Boston, administered final production. June 1998, NCJ 168634 This report and its data are available on the Internet: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data can provide computer readable files from the National Crime Victimization Survey and the Uniform Crime Reports. The archive can be accessed through the BJS Web site. 7/26/98 th revised 7/28/98 th