 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Standardizing the
Display of IBR Data:
Injury Variables
Additional Examples of Displaying Injury Variables
Injury variables have been used in various reports to show the kinds of injuries experienced by victims.
Presented below are examples of tables using injury variables. SPSS code is presented with each table.
The first table shows the number of victims injured in incidents involving juvenile offenders.
Example 1. Incidents Involving Juvenile Offenders by Number of Victims
Injured, 1994-1999
Produced by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety Programs Division in Juvenile
Crime in Massachusetts, 2000.
| Incident Year | |||||||
| Number of Victims Injured | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | Total |
| 0 | 1,035 72.7% |
1,830 73.8% |
2,704 72.0% |
3,476 71.8% |
3,873 73.5% |
3,724 72.0% |
16,642 72.5% |
| 1 | 365 25.6% |
607 24.5% |
976 26.0% |
1,268 26.2% |
1,311 24.9% |
1,338 25.9% |
5,865 25.6% |
| 2 | 20 1.4% |
35 1.4% |
55 1.5% |
82 1.7% |
71 1.3% |
99 1.9% |
362 1.6% |
| 3 | 2 .1% |
4 .2% |
18 .5% |
9 .2% |
14 .3% |
10 .2% |
57 .2% |
| 4 | 2 .1% |
2 .1% |
2 .0% |
2 .0% |
3 .1% |
11 .0% |
|
| 5 | 1 .0% |
2 .0% |
1 .0% |
4 .0% |
|||
| 6 | 1 .0% |
1 .0% |
2 .0% |
||||
| 8 | 1 .0% |
1 .0% |
|||||
| 12 | 1 .0% |
1 .0% |
|||||
| Total | 1,424 100% |
2,479 100% |
3,755 100% |
4,841 100% |
5,272 100% |
5,174 100% |
22,945 100% |
The majority of incidents did not result in victim injury. Approximately one
quarter of incidents resulted in an injury to one victim and two or more victims were
injured in 1 to 2 percent of incidents. From 1994 to 1999, 362 incidents involved
injury to two victims, 57 incidents resulted in three injured victims, and 19 incidents
involved four or more injured victims.
To create this table, the victim and offender segments are linked by incident number.
All incidents involving offenders under the age of 18 are selected. A count
of the number of victims is created, and the resulting table is a result of a frequency of
the number of victims involved in each incident.
Download SPSS syntax for Example 1.
Note: Please check that the variable names used in this syntax match the
variable names in your data file. If you need assistance, contact JRSA.
The next table looks at the type of injury reported in domestic violence incidents.
Example 2. Domestic Violence Victim Injuries
Produced by the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice in Crime
in Utah , 2000.
| Victim | Apparent Broken Bones | Apparent Minor Injury | Loss of Teeth | No Injury | Other Major Injury | Possible Internal Injury | Severe Laceration | Unconscious- ness |
Total |
| Spouse | 3 | 1,183 | 0 | 1,669 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2,877 |
| Common- Law Spouse |
2 | 208 | 0 | 176 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 393 |
| Parent | 1 | 239 | 0 | 493 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 739 |
| Sibling | 3 | 500 | 0 | 880 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 1,399 |
| Child | 10 | 599 | 0 | 1,746 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2,366 |
| Grandparent | 0 | 15 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
| Grandchild | 0 | 24 | 0 | 110 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 134 |
| In-Law | 0 | 89 | 0 | 143 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 237 |
| Step-Parent | 0 | 70 | 0 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 143 |
| Step-Child | 2 | 63 | 0 | 210 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 277 |
| Step-Sibling | 0 | 11 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
| Other Family | 1 | 174 | 0 | 464 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 651 |
| Boyfriend/ Girlfriend |
3 | 1,057 | 0 | 1,121 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2,199 |
| Child of Boy or Girlfriend | 0 | 49 | 0 | 85 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 137 |
| Ex-Spouse | 0 | 80 | 0 | 187 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 269 |
| Homosexual Relationship | 0 | 17 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 |
| Total | 25 | 4,378 | 0 | 7,432 | 32 | 28 | 41 | 5 | 11,941 |
Most domestic violence incidents in Utah resulted in no injury or apparent minor injury.
To create this table, only domestic relationships were selected in the victim segment. A frequency table then displays the type of injury suffered by the victim in these incidents.
Download SPSS syntax for Example 2.
Note: Please check that the variable names used in this syntax match the
variable names in your data file. If you need assistance, contact JRSA.
The third example looks at the types of injuries sustained by elderly victims.
Example 3. Frequency Distribution for Victim Injury by the Three Traditional Age Groups for Elders. Produced by Donald Faggiani and Myra G. Owens in Robbery of Older Adults in Justice Research and Policy, 2000.
65 - 74 |
75 - 84 |
85 or older |
||||||||||
| Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | |||||||
| N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | |
Death |
3 | 1.3 | 3 | 2.0 | 3 | 2.7 | 4 | 4.2 | - | - | - | - |
| Serious physical injury | 19 | 8.1 | 9 | 6.1 | 14 | 12.4 | 11 | 11.5 | 4 | 10.5 | 3 | 11.1 |
| Apparent minor injury | 46 | 19.6 | 28 | 19.0 | 22 | 19.5 | 25 | 26.0 | 8 | 21.1 | 8 | 29.6 |
| No injury | 167 | 71.1 | 107 | 72.8 | 74 | 65.5 | 56 | 58.3 | 26 | 68.4 | 16 | 59.3 |
According to the data presented, elderly victims are much more likely to experience no injury than serious injury or death.
This table was created by creating age groups of victims and categorizing injuries into serious and minor injury. A table of age categories and injury categories was then displayed.
Download SPSS syntax for Example 3.
Note: Please check that the variable names used in this syntax match the
variable names in your data file. If you need assistance, contact JRSA.
The final table looks at the injuries sustained at schools in South Carolina.
Example 4. School Violence Victims by Injury
Produced by the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, Office of Justice Programs
in School Violence in South Carolina 1996 - 1998, 2000.
Injury |
Number | Percentage |
| Broken Bones | 68 | .5 |
| Internal Injury | 55 | .4 |
| Severe Laceration | 264 | 1.9 |
| Minor Injury | 3,410 | 24.2 |
| Loss of Teeth | 17 | .1 |
| Unconsciousness | 2,175 | 15.5 |
| Other major Injury | 201 | 1.4 |
| None | 7,877 | 56.0 |
Total |
14,067 | 100.0 |
As this table shows, most of the offenses occurring on school property resulted in no injury or minor injury. However, 15.5% of the offenses resulted in unconsciousness.
To create this table, location data are matched to victim injury data. Incidents occurring on school property are selected, and a frequency table of injury is displayed.
Download SPSS syntax for Example 4.
Note: Please check that the variable names used in this syntax match the
variable names in your data file. If you need assistance, contact JRSA.