THE DATA WERE RECORDED FOR 875 COMPLETED RAPES AND 258 ATTEMPTED RAPES. UNDER TEXAS LAW, THE CRIME OF RAPE APPLIES ONLY TO FEMALE VICTIMS AND MUST INVOLVE THEIR GENITAL ORGANS. THE THREE MAJOR ETHNIC GROUPS OF THE CITY ARE BLACKS (25.2 PERCENT), CHICANOS (12.4 PERCENT), AND ANGLOS (62.4 PERCENT). BLACKS HAD THE HIGHEST RACE-SPECIFIC RATES FOR BOTH VICTIMS AND OFFENDERS; THE MAJORITY OF ALL RAPES WERE INTRARACIAL. THE HIGH-RISK AGE GROUP FOR BOTH VICTIMS AND OFFENDERS WAS FROM 20 TO 24 YEARS. RAPES INCREASED SLIGHTLY DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, PEAKED DURING THE HOURS OF DARKNESS, AND WERE FAIRLY EVENLY DISTRIBUTED AMONG THE DAYS OF THE WEEK. THE WEEKEND ACCOUNTED FOR 43.6 PERCENT OF ALL RAPE OCCURRENCES. THE MAJORITY OF RAPE EVENTS INVOLVED THE USE OF A LETHAL WEAPON AND TOOK PLACE IN A RESIDENCE. TABLES SHOW COMPARISON OF THE HOUSTON DATA WITH OTHER STUDIES AND ILLUSTRATE THE HOUSTON STUDY RESULTS. A LIST OF 11 REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)