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Race/ethnicity
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The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects information on victimization characteristics including race and ethnicity. Since 2003, two questions on the NCVS obtain information on the respondent's race and Hispanic origin: (1) whether the respondent is of Hispanic origin, and (2) which race or races they identify with. Respondents may choose white, black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander, and other race. Respondents who select other race are asked to specify their race. More than one race may be selected.

Prior to 2003, respondents to the NCVS were asked to identify the racial group they identified with, including white, black, American Indian/Aleut/Eskimo, Asian/Pacific Islander, or other race. Respondents who selected other race were not able to specify a race for the NCVS. They were also not able to select more than one racial group. After respondents were asked the question on race, they were asked if they were of their Hispanic origin or ethnicity. Because the racial categories were changed in the National Crime Victimization Survey in 2003, caution is warranted when examining race over time.

Most reports present findings on race and ethnicity separately. Other reports show results for combined racial/ethnic categories (i.e. white, non-Hispanic; black/African American, non-Hispanic; Hispanic/Latino, etc.)

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Terms & Definitions

Ethnicity A classification based on Hispanic culture and origin, regardless of race. Persons are asked directly if they are Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino before being asked about their racial category.
 
Hispanic A person who describes himself as Mexican American, Chicano, Mexican, Mexicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, South American, or from some other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
 
Non-Hispanic Persons who report their culture or origin as something other than "Hispanic" as defined above. This distinction is made regardless of race.
 
Race For this survey respondents self identify with one or more racial categories. Racial categories for this report are white only, black only, and other race only. The "other" category is composed of Asian Pacific Islanders, and American Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos, if only one of these races is given. Persons reporting two or more races are included in the category of "more than one race". The race of the head of household is use for computing household crime demographics.
 
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