# How many times have you been a victim of a violent crime? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 15, 2019, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571 "2019-02-15T04:22:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/41 "2019-02-15T18:01:10Z")
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have never been the victim of a violent crime. And now that I’ve said that, I fully expect to be murdered on my way to my car this afternoon. I had a good run. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/42 "2019-02-15T18:04:06Z")
Of course most people haven’t been and won’t be violent crime victims - the countries where Dopers live have law and order and for the most part you’re pretty safe. As noted - where you are/live/work can increase (or decrease) your risk. Over the past few decades crime has actually _dropped_ in the US, regardless of all the hysterical media stories. Most of my experiences with violence took place in the 1970’s and 1970’s. Since the 1990’s there have been only two incidents, and that was with us living next to a bar that became crime-infested at one point so yeah, that upped the odds. ---
**Author:** ![EscAlaMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/escalamike/32/4177_2.png) [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/43 "2019-02-15T18:08:26Z")
I’ve never been the victim of a violent crime, or any serious crime for that matter. The only thing I can think of is when my portable CD player got swiped out of my car when I was in high school. I had left the windows down and the doors unlocked. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/44 "2019-02-15T18:36:21Z")
I voted “4 or more” with the caveat that I’m including in my total 3 assaults by the Apartheid-era police. That plus 2 rapes, one knifepoint mugging and 2 assaults as a result of bar fights I was drawn into. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/45 "2019-02-15T18:48:32Z")
More than 4 but I survived. If any of my assailants had had guns I wouldn’t have. Australian ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/46 "2019-02-15T18:52:14Z")
I said zero, since I figure that one time in middle school when I was punched by another kid doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/47 "2019-02-15T19:03:53Z")
I’ve twice been in situations where it appeared I was in danger of being jumped or robbed late at night. Fortunately in both situations undercover police officers appeared and that took care of the bad guys. So I answered zero. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/48 "2019-02-15T20:01:50Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Depends on whether you consider damage to/invsasion of property to be “violence”, I guess. Myself, I’d say that unless you were attacked personally, or threated with a personal attack, no, that’s a crime of burglary, not a crime of violence. > > But you may disagree, obviously. How do I know what they had planned if they got inside? I find it threatening. They could have left because now they knew someone was home, or they could have left because now they knew a person inside the house had a gun. If someone tries to break into my house while I’m there I do feel like I’m being attacked personally. Okay, Denver in the '80s. I go to jury duty. Get on a panel of maybe 40 people. Judge asks, “How many of you have been a victim of a crime?” Every…single…hand goes up. Judge says, “Let me amend that, how many have been a victim of a violent crime against your person,” and goes on to elaborate that this does not mean having your car stolen from where it’s parked or your house burglarized when you weren’t home. Okay, now it’s about 60 percent of the panel raising their hands. I could only conclude that people living in Denver’s good neighborhoods also knew how to avoid jury duty. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/49 "2019-02-15T20:40:04Z")
Maybe half? Mom, my brother and me vacationing in Hawaii. Bro decided he wanted to buy some hash, so I tagged along (I would have been 11 ish, bro was 14). Well, Bro smoked some (I wasn’t into teh drugz) and decided it wasn’t any good. Not wanting the expenditure to be a complete waste, he decided he’d try and recoup some of his loss by putting it back on the market. We ended up getting mugged by a couple prospective buyers. Bro got smacked a bit, but they left me alone because I was just a little kid. Still, it scared poo out of me and I learned my lesson that day, and have never since tried to sell dope in Waikiki! I’ve taken a punch or two from strangers, but nothing I’d really consider to be on the level of ‘violent crime.’ Just proximity to assholes. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/50 "2019-02-15T20:43:26Z")
I said zero. A small punch-up in grade school with a girl bully doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/51 "2019-02-16T08:43:19Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > Is the majority of zeroes only showing on my screen? I think it will go more like what I did - I input my response, but didn’t post because nothing happened. Unless you assume I’m lying, which many people do (a Kentucky thing). I never said that people would lie. I said that the number of “No” responses would likely be lower than it should because people with a story to tell are more likely to enter the thread and vote because the thread topic will be of more interest to them. It’s not as though this theory is breaking exciting new ground in the world of polling. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/52 "2019-02-16T09:11:51Z")
I said one but maybe should have said two? 1. Assault by stranger when I was 14, and which I’ve mentioned in far too many threads. 2. A violent home invasion. IThey rammed through my solid-core wooden door and broke the door frame. They took opioid painkillers I had for a rather painful eye condition and that’s it. I didn’t own a gun, but even if I had, good thing I wasn’t there. They were obviously pretty ruthless. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/53 "2019-02-16T09:16:26Z")
More than 4. All at work. Various punches, kicks, bites. The worst was a broken hand. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/54 "2019-02-16T19:47:13Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have never been the victim of a violent crime. > > And now that I’ve said that, I fully expect to be murdered on my way to my car this afternoon. > > I had a good run. You still with us today? ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/55 "2019-02-16T21:03:11Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > So voting in my own poll. When I was a teenager, another kid drew a knife on me. Nothing happened, other than him threatening me. I’m going to count it so voted one. The two big holes I see in this poll as meaningfully related to gun self defense are a) school bully stuff b) people (mostly male) who carry on in that mode past grade school, as in bar altercations as adults. People do get shot in those (or as a later result of them) but they still don’t fit the typical assumption of debates about gun self defense. Personally I said zero not counting typical not very serious, but perhaps in some cases technically assault/battery, incidents in grade school. And I didn’t get into any physical fights after that except one time a college hazing type thing got carried away and a hazer and I had a brief fist fight. ‘Minding my own business’ as adult and somebody attacked me, no never happened. ---
**Author:** ![Littleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ccd318/32.png) [@Littleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Littleman)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/56 "2019-02-16T21:05:27Z")
I can’t accurately count, but I’ve yet to be really injured. Three incidents with guns used. One was my drunk dad who thought it was a funny joke to hold a .308 bolt action to my chest as “Russian roulette” , swearing it wasn’t loaded after I saw him chamber a round and insisting I stay still. He pulled the trigger just as I sidestepped, leaving a mild burn under the hole In my shirt by my arm pit. One was a drive by or drive up more like. Sitting with friends on the porch randomly targeted for being a group who was outside. One my brother and I were being robbed in the house, The kid was probably 14 and had a .22 revolver, kept looking around behind him, every time he.did he would let the gun swing off to the left pointed to an empty spot in the couch but maybe an elbows length from me. The third or fourth time I grabbed it and his arm and my brother knocked him out with a haymaker. One bat incident that i had a gun but never took it out. I drove my friend to his friends place and they smoked some weed together then the subject of a $10 loan owed back to my friend came up. No real argument. We all went to sit outside and about five minutes later some guy showed up threatening my friend about harassing his friend for the ten dollars. I let it go since I didn’t think it mattered much or he’d actually use it. Until the guy looked at me and said I don’t even know you, but I’ll fuck you up too and put the bat up to my chest pointing at me. I just grabbed it and pulled a little, prompting him to pull back and help me shove it into his sternum and knock him off the porch edge 4" behind him. It was just a display, he wanted to be cocky because he had a bat. I don’t think he intended to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/57 "2019-02-16T21:07:41Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > I somehow won the trifecta on this. I have no idea why, and cannot find any common elements (other than perhaps my own naivete and lack of awareness in certain situations). > > 1. A group of “urban youths” decided I’d crossed some invisible geographical boundary by using a public restroom to which they owned the title. One second standing contentedly at a urinal, the next on the floor being pounded and kicked. > Result: Authorities contacted, little interest due to no names or identifying attributes. > > 2. A recently paroled violent animal decided I should be its next accomplishment. The creature been in stir for a previous home invasion in which the apparent goal was harming the occupants. Ditto for me – no attempt at theft. > Result: Authorities contacted, lots of noise and wind, they said I would need to press charges myself in order to return the animal to its cage. The animal that they had already let out, and which earlier had reminded me it knew where I lived and would return for me and family upon its next release should it be re-arrested. > > 3. A parking lot confrontation where another subhuman believed I had brushed against its car – and ran around and punched me (hard). I had to be evaluated for a concussion later. > Result: Authorities contacted, lots of interviews on scene with eyewitnesses and the license number of the creature’s car. Eventually a detective “investigated” it and over the next few months gave me lots of excuses about how difficult it was to find people. After several months I was informed the case had been “administratively removed” and would not be prosecuted. > As you might have gathered, I have zero confidence in the criminal justice industry, and the same for crime stats. The police officers themselves seem to be competent and trying the do their job, the rest of the bureaucracy is merely processing criminals as part of their business model. With a failure rate (recidivism) hovering around 75%, I view it as the least competent industry in existence. Depending on this level of incompetence to protect one’s self and family is simply idiotic. I take my own steps to ensure our safety, and don’t give a flying f\*ck about statistics. And yes the wording above is intentional. I no longer apply human pronouns to violent criminals. Nope. I’ve had the shit beaten out of me three times for having the wrong color skin. (Native ethnicity/pass white skin) And once a guy pulled a gun on me and my roommate cause we told him to can the beating of his woman in the middle of the street. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Ducky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrs_ducky/32/6227_2.png) [@Mrs\_Ducky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Ducky)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2019, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/58 "2019-02-16T22:13:13Z")
Once. A guy broke into my apartment, raped me and stole $80 out of my purse in 1974. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/59 "2019-02-17T00:10:46Z")
I try to avoid being the victim but I’ve intervened a number of times on the behalf of others. ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571/60 "2019-02-17T03:21:13Z")
Once. A serial rapist broke into my office and raped me at gunpoint. I was his 30th victim, and they caught him soon after that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-have-you-been-a-victim-of-a-violent-crime/829571.md?page=4)