Crime Against Persons with Disabilities, 2009–2019 – Statistical Tables

• NCJ Number: 301367
• Author(s): Erika Harrell
• Date Published: November 2021
• Length: 18 pages
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Publication

Abstract

The report compares the victimization of persons with and without disabilities living in households, including distributions by sex, race and Hispanic origin, age, and disability type. Disabilities are classified according to six types: hearing, vision, cognitive, ambulatory, self-care, and independent living. The report also includes crime characteristics, such as reporting to police.

Highlights:

From 2017 to 2019—

• Persons with disabilities were victims of 26% of all nonfatal violent crime, while accounting for about 12% of the population.
• The rate of violent victimization against persons with disabilities (46.2 per 1,000 age 12 or older) was almost four times the rate for persons without disabilities (12.3 per 1,000).
• One in three robbery victims (33%) had at least one disability.
• Persons with cognitive disabilities had the highest rate of violent victimization (83.3 per 1,000) among the disability types measured.
• Nineteen percent of rapes or sexual assaults against persons with disabilities were reported to police, compared to 36% of those against persons without disabilities.