Abstract
Objectives: To illustrate how factoring in variables associated with reporting and underreporting can be used to adjust official statistics and generate an estimate of the true prevalence of domestic violence in a community. Methods: Combine data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Incident Based Reporting System as well as the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey. Results: We show several jurisdictions that have increased aggravated domestic rates in recent NIBRS data. Our up-adjusted total crime counts suggest using only NIBRS data is on average 40% smaller, with the underreporting varying from 23% to 76% across larger NIBRS reporting agencies. Conclusions: Combining law enforcement reports and victimization survey data, we provide more accurate estimates of the number of aggravated domestic violence incidents that occur in individual jurisdictions.