Assault

Marc Riedel

There are two types of assault: aggravated and simple. According to the definition used by the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), an aggravated assault is an “attack or attempted attack with a weapon, regardless of whether or not an injury occurred and attack without a weapon when serious injury resulted.” A simple assault is an “attack without a weapon resulting either in no injury, minor injury (for example, bruises, black eyes, cuts scratches or swelling) or in undetermined injury requiring less than 2 days of hospitalization. Also includes attempted assault with a weapon” (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2001: 1). The information presented here relies on the latest results of the NCVS as the most valid and reliable source of information about assaults. These results are used for several reasons. First, since 1972, agencies of the U.S. government have conducted interviews on the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization in ...

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