BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics

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Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
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Special topics
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The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) periodically collects information through supplements which are presented as special topics. In addition, recurring data is sometimes analyzed and presented as special topic.

Current special topics are:
 
. Intimate partner violence
. Identity theft
. Stalking
. School crime

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Terms & Definitions

Nonstranger A classification of a crime victim's relationship to the offender. An offender who is either related to, well known to, or casually acquainted with the victim is a nonstranger. For crimes with more than one offender, if any of the offenders are nonstrangers, then the group of offenders as a whole is classified as nonstranger. This category only applies to crimes which involve contact between the victim and the offender; the distinction is not made for crimes of theft since victims of this offense rarely see the offenders.
 
Stranger A classification of the victim's relationship to the offender for crimes involving direct contact between the two. Incidents are classified as involving strangers if the victim identifies the offender as a stranger, did not see or recognize the offender, or knew the offender only by sight. Crimes involving multiple offenders are classified as involving nonstrangers if any of the offenders was a nonstranger. Since victims of theft without contact rarely see the offender, no distinction is made between strangers and nonstrangers for the crime.
 
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