Who Calls the Police? A Race-Specific Analysis of Reporting Violent Victimization
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65879/3070-6335.2025.01.04Keywords:
Reporting Crime, Police, Victimization, Violent Crime, Race/Ethnicity, NCVSAbstract
Since 1973, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) has collected data on criminal victimization, gathering detailed information about the victim, offender, and circumstances surrounding criminal offenses. The current study utilized NCVS data to determine how specific social and contextual factors influence whether the police are called after experiencing a violent victimization event. Utilizing data from 2010-2021, logistic regression analyses were used to examine social factors that predict reporting violent victimization to the police and whether those factors vary by the victim’s race. Demographic characteristics as well as characteristics of the crime incident were examined. Results indicate that age is a significant predictor of reporting an incident to the police for victims of all racial backgrounds. The influence that other demographic characteristics have on reporting varies by race. Furthermore, presence of a weapon is the strongest predictor of calling the police for victims who identify as white, black, or two or more races. One of the most common reasons for reporting a violent victimization to the police was to get help, while dealing with the victimization another way was commonly cited as a reason for not reporting the crime to the police. Limitations and areas for future research are discussed.
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