<P> The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), administered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, is a national survey of approximately 49,000 to 77,400 households twice a year in the United States, on the frequency of crime victimization, as well as characteristics and consequences of victimization . The survey focuses on gathering information on the following crimes: assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, rape, and robbery . The survey results are used for the purposes of building a crime index . It has been used in comparison with the Uniform Crime Reports and the National Incident Based Reporting System to assess the dark figure of crime . The NCVS survey is comparable to the British Crime Survey conducted in the United Kingdom . </P> <P> The NCVS began in 1972 and was developed from work done by the National Opinion Research Center and the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice . A key finding of the survey was the realization that many crimes were not reported to the police . </P> <P> NCVS surveys households randomly selected from a stratified multistage cluster sample, with the interviews administered by the United States Census Bureau . This methodology has some disadvantages for surveying domestic violence crimes, since the entire selected household (above age 12) is interviewed instead of just one member selected . The selected household remains in the survey sample for three years, with interviews conducted every six months . Critics also argue that there is no way to verify much of the information gathered . </P> <P> NCVS also includes supplemental questions, which allow periodic questions to be asked regarding such topics as school violence or attitudes toward crime or police . </P>

National crime victimization survey vs uniform crime reports