The US Census Bureau conducts the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and has been sending out letters using “a scientific process to selected addresses, including yours, from all addresses in the United States.” As recipients learn, “your address cannot be replaced.”
Crime often goes unreported, the letter explains, so “a Census Bureau representative will come to your home or call to interview you and other household members, aged 12 or older. Generally, people from each selected address are interviewed once every six months over a three-year period for a total of seven interviews.” Interviews last 25 minutes so over a period of three years, a boy or girl of 12 can be interviewed seven times for a total of 175 minutes, nearly three hours.
That’s a lot of time for questions beyond the subject of crime. No sample questions are included but “the Census Bureau is required by law to protect your information.” From whom “your information” will be protected is not explained.
Household members will be “invited” to complete the survey, which suggests that it not compulsory, and as the Bureau elsewhere explains, “the survey is voluntary, and there are no penalties for not participating. On a Sunday evening, a Census Bureau representative showed up at this writer’s residence. Two household members informed the lady that, as the Bureau explains, we had chosen not to participate. It should have ended there, but it didn’t.
In a rather aggressive manner, the Census lady wanted to know why we declined to participate. I told her a three-year span of interviews was intrusive to say the least. It was some time before she departed, leaving plenty to ponder.
Many crimes doubtless go unreported and the victim surveys can turn up information police departments are unable to provide. This information can be inconvenient to people such as Soros-backed Los Angeles district attorney George Gascon, who views violent criminals as the real victims. The NCVS, on the other hand, now comes across as outright government surveillance.
As a survey coordinator explains, the Census Bureau conducts the survey “for the United States Department of Justice,” which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As recently noted, the FBI is now is now pursuing what it calls “domestic terrorism,” supposedly without reference to political parties or affiliations, but the vast majority of its current “anti-government” investigations target Trump supporters.
It would be interesting to see how many Trump supporters, pro-life activists, and protesting parents got the NCVS letter through the Census Bureau’s “scientific” selection process. Add that to NSA domestic spying and the surveillance state is looking more intrusive than ever. So remember, if a Census Bureau representative comes knocking, the survey is voluntary and there are no penalties for not participating.
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