Criminal Violence: Patterns, Causes, and

Prevention

Riedel and Welsh, Ch. 4 “Homicides and Assaults”

OUTLINE Homicides and Assaults in the

U.S. Patterns and Trends Explanations Interventions

Definitions Murder and Non-negligent

Manslaughter (UCR): the “willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another.”

Aggravated Assault (NCVS): "attack or attempted attack with a weapon, regardless of whether an injury occurred or not, as well as an attack without a weapon when serious injury resulted."

Simple Assault: does not involve a weapon; does not result in serious injury to the victim

Homicide Patterns (UCR): 2008 VICTIMS

Gender: 78.0% of victims were male Race: 47.81% of victims were black, 48.2% white, 2.3% “other” Victim/offender relationship:

9.4% of victims were killed by intimate partners 8.1% of victims were killed by other family members 12.3% were murdered by strangers 26.0% were slain by acquaintances (neighbor, friend,

employee, etc.) OFFENDERS

Gender: 64.9% of offenders were males. Race: 36.5% of offenders were black, 32.8% were white, and 1.7%

were “other” INCIDENTS

Firearms: 66.8% of the offenses involved firearms Setting: 28.9% of victims were murdered during arguments 20.6% were killed in conjunction with a felony (rape, robbery,

etc.) Circumstances unknown for 35.3% of reported homicides

Year

Hom

icid

e R

ate

per 1

00,0

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Figure 4.1 Homicide Rates in the United States, 1960-2008

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 4.5

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

10

10.5

Source: Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t31062004.pdf.

Table 1. Rates of violent crime, by gender, race, Hispanic origin, and age of victim, 2008

Violent victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older

Demographic characteristic of victim

Population All Rape/sexual assault

Robbery All assault Aggravated assault Simple assault

Gender

Male 123,071,020 21.3 0.3^ 2.7 18.3 3.9 14.5 Female 129,171,510 17.3 1.3 1.7 14.3 2.8 11.5

Race White 204,683,500 18.1 0.6 1.6 15.9 3.0 12.8

Black 30,709,860 25.9 1.9^ 5.5 18.5 5.2 13.3 Other race* 13,952,240 15.2 0.9^ 3.0^ 11.3 2.8 8.5 Two or more races 2,896,930 51.6 1.9^ 6.8 42.9 6.8 36.1

Hispanic origin

Hispanic 34,506,680 16.4 0.6^ 3.4 12.4 3.5 8.9 Non-Hispanic 217,351,750 19.7 0.8 2.0 16.9 3.3 13.6

Age

12-15 16,414,550 42.2 1.6^ 5.5 35.2 6.1 29.0 16-19 17,280,270 37.0 2.2 4.8 30.0 5.6 24.5 20-24 20,547,620 37.8 2.1 5.4 30.3 8.7 21.5 25-34 40,649,500 23.4 0.7 2.3 20.5 4.0 16.5 35-49 65,123,030 16.7 0.8 1.9 14.1 2.7 11.4 50-64 55,116,320 10.7 0.2^ 0.8 9.7 2.0 7.7 65 or older 37,111,240 3.1 0.2^ 0.2^ 2.7 0.4^ 2.3

Note: Violent crimes measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault. Because the NCVS interviews persons about their victimizations, murder and manslaughter cannot be included. ^Based upon 10 or fewer sample cases. N *Includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders.

Characteristics of household Number of households Total Victims

Household income Less than $7,500 4,115,470 204.2 $7,500-$14,999 6,361,960 175.0

$15,000-$24,999 9,412,930 161.7

$25,000-$34,999 9,901,970 150.5 $35,000-$49,999 13,497,280 142.7 $50,000-$74,999 14,601,440 125.8 $75,000 or more 24,115,150 133.4

Number of persons in household 1 34,561,280 100.3 2 or 3 60,022,010 122.2 4 or 5 22,868,210 197.0 6 or more 3,689,560 273.9

Table 2 Property crime rates, by household income and household size, 2008 (Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Theft)

.

Explanations Symbolic interaction theory Both homicides & aggravated assaults

tend to result from an escalation of interpersonal conflict [see Luckenbill].

Both tend to have similar situational dynamics: Both tend to occur between people who

know one another, especially during an argument or fight.

Violence is often goal-oriented behavior: "to compel or deter others, to achieve a favorable social identity, and to obtain justice, as defined by the actor."

Explanations (cont.)

Subcultural theories: values and beliefs that sanction violence as problem-solving behavior within certain groups (e.g., gangs)

The subculture of violence suggests that lower- or working-class youths more frequently see violence as a way to solve personal problems.

Interventions Q: What explanations have been offered

for declines in homicide and aggravated assaults since 1993?

1. Decline in high-risk age group (15-24) 2. Decline in handgun homicide 3. Drug markets stabilized 4. Increase in legitimate and decrease in

illegitimate opportunities 5. Increased use of incarceration 6. Decline in partner homicides 7. Violence prevention programs (e.g.,

mediation)

Definition: An act is considered cleared when “at least one person is arrested, charged with the commission of an offense, and turned over to the court for prosecution…” (FBI) Arrest clearances for homicides have declined linearly from

92.3% in 1960 to 63.6% in 2008.

Why Are Arrest Clearances Important? Without arrest, no further processing of offenders Without arrest, offenders are free to offend again No arrest further traumatizes victim and family Low clearance rates undermine morale of law enforcement Low clearance rates mean less information on offenders for

research

Arrest Clearances

Arrest Clearances (cont.)

Type of homicides cleared Homicides with female victims more likely to be

cleared White victim homicides are more likely to be cleared,

although the research results are mixed Young homicide victims are more easily cleared Non-gun homicides are cleared more quickly Homicides involving domestic and intimate partner

relationships are cleared more readily

Explanations and Interventions Explanations Do police investigate all homicides equally diligently or

do they exercise discretion by race, gender, age, etc. of victim?

Drawing from Donald Black’s theory, Litwin and associates found mixed results

Interventions Cold case squads continue the investigation of homicides

after the usual amount of time devoted to clearing has passed

Vicodq Society provides support to cold case investigations

Serial Homicides and Mass Murders Serial homicides: multiple killings by the same

person over a period of time, usually months or years

Mass murder: single event or several killings in a very brief period -- “spree killing.”

Prior to 1980s, inflated estimates resulted from invalid practice of attributing all homicides with “unknown” circumstances to serial killings.

FBI Estimates: about 127 serial homicide victims/year, about 10 offenders operating at any one time.

Psychological appearance: “extraordinarily ordinary” Fox & Levin: serial killers kill for thrills, sexual

satisfaction, or feelings of dominance and control-- more “cruel” than “crazy.” Some are sociopaths, but show affection toward family members & friends.

Serial Homicides Victims: often vulnerable (e.g., elderly,

transients, prostitutes, runaways, hospital patients) people who may not be quickly missed

Offenders: Hickey identified 337 male (83%) and 67 female (17%) serial killers responsible for 2,526 homicides between 1800 and 1995. Whites: 80% of all serial killers. Majority tend

to operate in one city or even one neighborhood.

Trends: Serial homicides may have increased over time. 35% of the killers in sample were identified

between 1950 and 1974 45% of the killers were identified between

1975 and 1995

Explanations Little research supports any one cause

consistently. Biological: XYY, neurotransmitters, hormonal

imbalances Psychological: psychosis, dissociative disorders,

personality disorders, psychopathy Sociological: anonymity and normlessness

(anomie), child abuse, labeling, lack of social bonds

But: huge number of “false positives” (i.e., many normal people have one or more of these characteristics and are not serial killers, or even violent, or even criminals)

Interventions Law enforcement approaches include interagency

communication, geographic analysis, and profiling (look for patterns in incidents, victims, places).

Example: DC snipers