National Center for Victims of Crime
In 2007, U.S. residents experienced an estimated 23 million crimes; of these, 5.2 million were violent crimes and 17.5 million were property crimes (Rand, 2008). Crime victimization and its related psychological trauma is the leading cause of trauma-related acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the United States (Bruce et al., 2001; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999), and a major public and mental health problem. Suicide and comorbidity with related substance abuse are more common for crime victims than the general public (Herman, 1992) and when compared to nonvictims, crime victims are a multiply traumatized group (Gray & Acierno, 2002) at an increased risk of future victimization. Evidence suggests that the trauma of crime victimization often goes unrecognized and many public mental health agencies do not routinely evaluate trauma history or provide specialized trauma-related services (Frueh et al., 2002). Unresolved or untreated trauma has been associated with the development of multiple, severe, and persistent health and mental health problems, substance abuse, future criminal behavior, and social problems (