Terms & Defintions S to Z

Sample
The set of housing units selected by the U. S. Census Bureau to be interviewed for the survey. All occupants of the household age 12 or older are interviewed. See methodology for sample inclusions and exclusions.

Sentenced prisoners
Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities who have been given a sentence of more than one year.

Sentencing
Final act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence generally involves a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime.

Series
Six or more similar but separate events, which the respondent is unable to describe separately in detail to an interviewer.

Sexual assault
A wide range of victimizations, separate from rape or attempted rape. These crimes include attacks or attempted attacks generally involving unwanted sexual contact between victim and offender. Sexual assaults may or may not involve force and include such things as grabbing or fondling. Sexual assault also includes verbal threats.

Sexual victimization/sexual assault/sexual violence
All types of sexual activity, e.g., oral, anal, or vaginal penetration; handjobs; touching of the inmate¿s buttocks, thighs, penis, breasts, or vagina in a sexual way; abusive sexual contacts; and both willing and unwilling sexual activity with staff.

Sheriff
The elected chief officer of a county law enforcement agency, usually responsible for law enforcement in unincorporated areas and for the operation of the county jail.

Simple assault
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 without a weapon.

With minor injury - An attack without a weapon resulting in such injuries as bruises, black eyes, cuts or in undetermined injury requiring less than 2 days of hospitalization.

Without injury - An attempted assault without a weapon not resulting in injury.

Staff-on-inmate unwilling activity
Incidents of unwanted sexual contacts between inmates and staff.

Staff-on-inmate willing activity
Incidents of willing sexual contacts with staff. These contacts are characterized by the reporting inmate as willing; however, all sexual contacts between inmates and staff are legally nonconsensual.

State prisons
Prison facilities run by state correctional authorities. Prisoners housed in these facilities are under the legal authority of the state government and generally serving a term of more than 1 year.

Statistical Analysis Center (SAC)
Statistical Analysis Centers (SACs) are units or agencies at the State government level that use operational, management, and research information from all components of the criminal justice system to conduct objective analyses of statewide and systemwide policy issues. There are currently SACs in 53 States and territories. The SACs vary in their placement within the State government structures. Some are within a criminal justice or general State planning or coordinating agency; some are part of a governor's advisory staff; and others are located in a line agency such as the State police, attorney general's office, or department of corrections. There are several housed in universities.

Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) Director
Each State Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) is led by a SAC Director who manages the day-to-day operations of the SAC. The SAC Director has extensive knowledge of research methodology and statistical analyses techniques, as well as the ability to design and conduct research studies, and produce and present findings in written and oral presentations. Additionally, the SAC Director is familiar with the factors, issues, and processes involved in crime and the criminal justice system. The SAC Director is able to communicate effectively and maintain sound working relationships with all levels of staff, employees from other agencies, and public officials. A degree, with major studies in mathematics/statistics, computer science, criminology or a related social sciences field with emphasis on research methodology, from an accredited college or university is required.

Stranger
A classification of the victim's relationship to the offender for crimes involving direct contact between the two. Incidents are classified as involving strangers if the victim identifies the offender as a stranger, did not see or recognize the offender, or knew the offender only by sight. Crimes involving multiple offenders are classified as involving nonstrangers if any of the offenders was a nonstranger. Since victims of theft without contact rarely see the offender, no distinction is made between strangers and nonstrangers for the crime.

Subsidiary
A company in which another business has more than 50% ownership or the power to direct or cause the direction of management and policies.

Suburban areas
A county or counties containing a central city, plus any contiguous counties that are linked socially and economically to the central city. On data tables, suburban areas are categorized as those portions of metropolitan areas situated "outside central cities."

Suicide
Intentional killing of oneself. BJS recorded arrest-related deaths as suicides only if medical staff deemed the decedent deliberately took his or her life. The most common type of suicide reported to the ARD program included decedents engaging in armed standoffs with law enforcement prior to taking his or her life. Other suicides occurred while law enforcement officers were attempting to apprehend the deceased, who committed suicide to avoid being taken into custody. Drug and alcohol overdoses were not considered to be suicides unless there was evidence the overdose was intentional. Unintentional over use of alcohol or drugs for recreational purposes were coded as intoxication deaths. Deaths that were submitted as suicide by cop, were recorded in the ARD collection as homicides because the death was directly attributed to actions taken by law enforcement personnel.

Sworn officers
Persons formally authorized to make arrests while acting within the scope of explicit legal authority.

Tenure
The NCVS recognizes two forms of household tenancy: (1) owned, which includes dwellings that are mortgaged, and (2) rented, which includes rent free quarters belonging to a party other than the occupants, and situations where rental payments are in kind or services.

The Clery Act
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act was signed into law in 1990. It requires institutions of higher education that participate in federal financial aid programs to keep and disclose information about crime on and near campus. Clery Act statistics are available on the Campus Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool site.

The National Sex Offender Registry
The NCIC Convicted Sexual Offender Registry File is designed to help law enforcement agencies keep track of convicted sex offenders released into the community. The file contains records of persons: convicted of a criminal offense against a minor; convicted of a sexually violent offense; or who are sexually violent predators.

Theft
Completed or attempted theft of property or cash without personal contact. Incidents involving theft of property from within the sample household would classify as theft if the offender has a legal right to be in the house (such as a maid, delivery person, or guest). If the offender has no legal right to be in the house, the incident would classify as a burglary.

Completed - To successfully take without permission property or cash without personal contact between the victim and offender.

Attempted - To unsuccessfully attempt to take property or cash without personal contact.

Theft of intellectual property
The illegal obtaining of copyrighted or patented material, trade secrets, or trademarks (including designs, plans, blueprints, codes, computer programs, software, formulas, recipes, graphics) usually by electronic copying. Excludes theft of personal or financial data such as credit card or social security numbers, names and dates of birth, financial account information, or any other type of information.

Theft of personal or financial data
The illegal obtaining of information that potentially allows someone to use or create accounts under another name (individual, business, or some other entity). Personal information includes names, dates of birth, social security numbers, or other personal information. Financial information includes credit, debit, or ATM card account or PIN numbers. Excludes theft of intellectual property such as copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and trademarks. Excludes theft of any other type of information.

Tort cases (torts)
Claims arising from personal injury or property damage caused by negligent or intentional acts of another person or business.

Torts
A wrongful act, not including a breach of contract or trust, that results in injury to another's person, property, reputation, or the like, and for which the injured party is entitled to compensation.

Total correctional population
Total correctional population is the population of persons incarcerated, either in a prison or a jail, and persons supervised in the community, either on probation or parole.

Total incarceration rate
The number of inmates held in the custody of state or federal prisons or in local jails, per 100,000 U.S. residents.

Total inmates in custody count
To have custody of a prisoner, a state or the Federal Bureau of Prisons must hold that person in one of its facilities. A state may have custody of a prisoner over whom another state maintains jurisdiction. This count includes inmates held in any public facility run by a state or the Federal Bureau of Prisons, including halfway houses, camps, farms, training/treatment centers, and hospitals. This number includes the number of inmates held in local jails as reported by correctional authorities in the Annual Survey of Jails.

Trial court
The court in which a controversy is first adjudicated.

Tribal court
A court administered through self-government of an American Indian tribe esp. on a reservation and having federally prescribed jurisdiction over custody and adoption cases involving tribal children, criminal jurisdiction over offenses committed on tribal lands by members of the tribe, and broader civil jurisdiction over claims between tribe members and nonmembers.

Tribal jurisdiction
Tribal law enforcement agencies act as first responders to both felony and misdemeanor crimes. For most of Indian country, the federal government provides felony law enforcement concerning crimes by or against Indians. Certain areas of Indian country are under Public Law 83-280, as amended. P.L. 280 conferred jurisdiction on certain states over Indian country and suspended enforcement of the Major Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. § 1153) and the General Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. § 1152) in those areas. Indian tribes retain concurrent jurisdiction to enforce laws in Indian country where P.L. 280 applies.

Tribal police powers
Authority to exercise criminal jurisdiction over all tribal members and the authority to arrest and detain non-Indians for delivery to state or federal authorities for prosecution. These tribal police powers are generally limited to tribal lands.

Types of financial release
Surety bond C A bail bond company signs a promissory note to the court for the full bail amount and charges the defendant a fee for the service (usually 10% of the full bail amount). If the defendant fails to appear, the bond company is liable to the court for the full bail amount. Frequently the bond company requires collateral from the defendant in addition to the fee. Deposit bond C The defendant deposits a percentage (usually 10%) of the full bail amount with the court. The percentage of the bail is returned after the disposition of the case, but the court often retains a small portion for administrative costs. If the defendant fails to appear in court, he or she is liable to the court for the full bail amount. Full cash bond C The defendant posts the full bail amount in cash with the court. If the defendant makes all court appearances, the cash is returned. If the defendant fails to appear in court, the bond is forfeited. Property bond C Involves an agreement made by a defendant as a condition of pretrial release requiring that property valued at the full bail amount be posted as an assurance of his or her appearance in court. If the defendant fails to appear in court, the property is forfeited. Also known as "collateral bond."

Types of nonfinancial release
Release on recognizance (ROR) C The court releases the defendant on a signed agreement that he or she will appear in court as required. In this report, the ROR category includes citation releases in which arrestees are released pending their first court appearance on a written order issued by law enforcement or jail personnel. Unsecured bond C The defendant pays no money to the court but is liable for the full amount of bail should he or she fail to appear in court. Conditional release C Defendants are released under specified conditions. Monitoring or supervision, if required, is usually done by a pretrial services agency. In some cases, such as those involving a third-party custodian or drug monitoring and treatment, another agency may be involved in the supervision of the defendant. Conditional release sometimes includes an unsecured bond.

U.S. CERT
The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team is a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and the public and private sectors. Established in 2003 to protect the nation's Internet infrastructure, U.S. CERT coordinates defense against and responses to cyber attacks across the nation.

Urban areas
The largest city (or grouping of cities) in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (see definition of Metropolitan Statistical Area).

Victim
The recipient of a criminal act, usually used in relation to personal crimes, but also applicable to households.

Victimization
A crime as it affects one individual person or household. For personal crimes, the number of victimizations is equal to the number of victims involved. The number of victimizations may be greater than the number of incidents because more than one person may be victimized during an incident. Each crime against a household is assumed to involve a single victim, the affected household.

Victimization rate
A measure of the occurrence of victimizations among a specified population group. For personal crimes, this is based on the number of victimizations per 1,000 residents age 12 or older. For household crimes, the victimization rates are calculated using the number of incidents per 1,000 households.

Victimize
To commit a crime against a person or household.

Violence, crimes of
Rape, sexual assault, personal robbery or assault. This category includes both attempted and completed crimes. It does not include purse snatching and pocket picking. Murder is not measured by the NCVS because of an inability to question the victim. Completed violence - The sum of all completed rapes, sexual assaults, robberies, and assaults. See individual crime types for definition of completed crimes. Attempted/threatened violence - The unsuccessful attempt of rape, sexual assault, personal robbery or assault. Includes attempted attacks or sexual assaults by means of verbal threats. See individual crime types for definition of attempted crimes.

Violent offenses
Murder C Includes homicide, nonnegligent manslaughter, and voluntary homicide. Excludes attempted murder (classified as felony assault), negligent homicide, involuntary homicide, or vehicular manslaughter, which are classified as other violent offenses. Rape C Includes forcible intercourse, sodomy, or penetration with a foreign object. Does not include statutory rape or nonforcible acts with a minor or someone unable to give legal consent, nonviolent sexual offenses, or commercialized sex offenses. Robbery C Includes unlawful taking of anything of value by force or threat of force. Includes armed, unarmed, and aggravated robbery, car-jacking, armed burglary, and armed mugging. Assault C Includes aggravated assault, aggravated battery, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, felony assault or battery on a law enforcement officer, and other felony assaults. Does not include extortion, coercion, or intimidation. Other violent offenses C Includes vehicular manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, negligent or reckless homicide, nonviolent or non-forcible sexual assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, child or spouse abuse, cruelty to a child, reckless endangerment, hit-and-run with bodily injury, intimidation, and extortion.