C3- Murder by the numbers PDF

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Detailed notes covering the entire chapter 3 of the book "American Homicide" by Richard M. Hough and Kimberly D. McCorkle...

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C3: Murder by the numbers FBI numbers  Decrease of numbers of murders from 2013  Murder rate fell 5.1% in 2013 o 4.5 murders pr. 100.000 people Victims - who dies? Costs:  Personal + economic costs to victims/society is significant in the US  Injuries -> medical/health care costs  Investigation + bring people to justice -> resources Victimology = the study of the victim in criminal events  Routine activities theory: many predatory crimes originate from a confluence of 1. A suitable target 2. An absence of capable guardians + 3. The attention of a motivated offender  Lifestyle theory: high-risk lifestyle of associates, alcohol/drugs + criminal activity = put you at greater risk of harm, incl. homicide Demographic and relationship information Gender  Homicide victims: most males o 77% in 2011 o Why: perhaps patriarchal effect o Regardless of race  Violent crimes: most males are victims + offenders o Increase in crimes committed by women  Intimate partner homicide victim: most women o Bigger gap now between male and female victims compared to 1976 (vs. 2005) o Females are killing males at much lower numbers Race/ethnic origins:  Majority of murders are intraracial = both victim + offender are the same race  Historic evidence that immigrants/a minority is more likely to be victimized by people outside their ethnic/racial background o More vulnerable when arriving o Most minorities higher homicide rates than whites  Asian/pacific islander is a recent exception  Hispanic + Latino have similar rates to American Indian or Alaskan Native  Whites are less likely to be victims of homicides than black

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Why: white live in "better" neighborhoods - continuous segregation of black/whites in US society + segregating of those differing in socioeconomic classes Way higher for black men than black women

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Homicide: more young people are involved than older Americans Elderly isolating themselves + living alone = more likely to be victims of theft/homicide o Why: offenders don't want to risk confronting multiple people at once Victims of homicide: o 10-24y higher probability of victimization  Fueled by the 18-24y demographic (homicide)  Suicide is opposite and more normal when older o Most serial killers victims: under 30y Killers of homicide: o 18-24y and 25-34y o Average age of serial killers: 30y Homicide offending by age over time o Spiked in early 90's o 14-17y surpassed 25-34y but has since declined

Socioeconomic category  Large scale statistics = gives insight to who dies by homicide  Economic deprivation is one of a constellation of factors that increases a person's potential of being a homicide victim  Strong negative correlation between SES and homicide o However African Americans have higher homicide rates regardless of income  Poverty is a leading factor in homicide  Homicide rates are higher in more unequal US states and Canadian provinces Victim-offender relationship  Most homicides involve people known to each other  When categorized as "stranger homicide", it's often bc the offender is unknown = victim + offender might know each other anyways  Little over 40% is committed by someone you know

Medical advances and technology  Advances in medical knowledge, technology + training = survival of many intended victims of homicide/harm o Penicillin in 1928 o Quality + volume of intense training o 911 system + cellular phones Offenders - categories and demographics  Gender: Majority of homicide offenders are male o Nearly 90% are male o Women perpetrators have increased as a percentage o Females have often get off lightly in arrests, charging, convictions + sentencing  Race: Blacks + juveniles/young people are overrepresented o Almost 8 times higher rate for blacks than whites  Age: almost half (49%) of the offenders were under 25y o Young adults (18-24y) have consistently had the highest offending rate o The average age of offenders fell from 29.6y (1980) to 26.4y (1994), then increased to 28.8y (2008). Location  Intimate partner + other domestic violence homicides: mostly indoors  Confrontational homicides: outdoors, bar or at a gathering  Numbers differ by community size; urban, suburban etc.  Higher homicide in larger cities  

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Statistics on murder are at times hard to unravel - especially in cities Murder rates far higher in smaller cities than in larger ones (when adjusted by population) o Cities with highest number of murders per 100.000 population: p. 35 o Highest homicide rate: the south o Greatest decrease: northeast (7%) o Least decrease: Midwest (3,4%) Crime more common in larger cities

Weapons used in violence, p. 36  Most weapons are guns - especially handguns  No exact numbers on the use of firearms in violent crimes o High number of firearms in murders - especially suicides + accidental death/injury o Declined use in murders + other crimes o Handguns decreased in 2010 but increased in 2011 + 2012  Why guns: intimidates/overpowers the victim, inflict more damage  Least used weapon: poison + explosives  More firearms than adults in the US o Obtained rather easily legal/illegal  Hogan and Kleck (1999) found correlation between gun ownership + use of gun to commit homicide o Ownership = might make person more prone to use a gun o Different views on this  Presence of firearms = rise in the use of it in planned or moment actions Other circumstances, p. 38  Not all circumstances of a homicide are known  Most common to homicide: intimate partner violence/homicide + interpersonal conflict that rise to confrontational homicide o Argument is the largest category  Alcohol, drugs, abuse + the business of furnishing intoxicating substances are among the factors noted in many homicide situations

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Type of establishment is key Often service stations, liquor stores, some bars etc. People around the scene can affect the conflict 

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Trends and patterns, p. 38:  Homicide rates declined over past 20y in the US o Crime rise: 1960s, 1970s + late 1980s o Crime decline: early to mid-1990s till today w slight rises in some crimes in only a few years  Why: economic boom/bust, alternating political parties, increased use of targeted police intervention, swelling of prison population, social control etc.  Murder: often result of interaction between people that know each other  Victims/offenders: often share similarities o Some individuals become murders after they've been victimized o "justice" for themselves when they believe the system has failed o Risk markers: living in disadvantaged neighborhoods, affiliation w delinquent peers, low self-control, insufficient parental supervision etc.  The US behind most Western democracies Homicide internationally, p. 40:  The crime rate doesn't necessarily follow the homicide rate  What makes the difference: cultural + political conditions, societal response to crime etc.  Murder rate: higher in the US  Not all data is good in every country = can't rely 100% on the non-solid data  Stamatel (2009): in western nations, the progressive reforms towards democratic governance + globalization of economic ties = decreased homicide rates  Homicide: lower in the US than many other countries o In the US: often away from home + involve 2 men o Developed countries: often by a family member...