1 in 4 American Households Victimized by Crime: Gallup Poll

By Brett Snider, Esq.

A recent Gallup poll finds that about one in four American households includes someone who’s been victimized by crime — a figure that’s remained fairly constant over the past decade.

According to a Gallup study from 2000 to 2014, between 22 and 27 percent of households have reported being victimized by crime over the last 14 years. Victimization on the individual level has been slightly less reported, with between 14 and 19 percent of Americans claiming to be individual victims of crime.

What do these numbers mean for the average American, and which crimes are the most common?

Top 7 Crimes in the U.S.

Gallup collected information from both individuals and households about the most reported crimes in America, which are as follows:

  1. Stolen money or property.
  2. Vandalism.
  3. Burglary.
  4. Auto theft.
  5. Muggings and assaults.
  6. Robbery.
  7. Sexual assault.

While stolen money or property was the most reported incident per household (15 percent), about one in seven American households reported being the victim of some form of vandalism. This doesn’t seem as shocking when you consider that vandalism subsumes stupid pranks like houses being …read more

Source:: Law Blog