Vermont Crime Analysis Using National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Data on Domestic Violence, 2015-2019

By Megan Novak

Domestic violence (DV) refers to a particular subset of offenses committed by household members, spouses (including ex- and common law spouses), children/stepchildren, or family members. While some domestic incidents involve non-violent offenses (e.g., identity theft, forgery, motor vehicle theft), this report focuses on violent offenses (e.g., murder, rape, assault) that occur during domestic incidents. Rather than report crimes as DV, NIBRS requires law enforcement to record the relationship of the victim to the offender. Incidents included in this report can be categorized as intimate partner violence (IPV) (i.e., violent offenses committed against a boyfriend/girlfriend, homosexual partner, spouse, ex-spouse, or common law spouse) and DV against children aged 18 and younger (i.e., violent offenses against a biological child, child of a boyfriend/girlfriend, or a stepchild). Annual reports will monitor trends related to the number of incidents each year, types and number of offenses committed, victim and offender demographics, victim-offender relationships, and arrestee information. 

Montpelier, VT: Crime Research Group, 2021. 9p.