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
Figure 4.1
Homicide Rates in the United States, 1960-2008
10.5
10
9.5
Homicide Rate per 100,000
9
8.5
8
7.5
7
6.5
6
5.5
5
4.5
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
Source:Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics.
1985
Year
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
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
Demographic
characteristic of victim
Population
All
victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older
Rape/sexual
assault
Robbery All assault Aggravated
assault
Simple assault
Gender
Male
0.3^
2.7
18.3
3.9
14.5
1.3
1.7
14.3
2.8
11.5
204,683,50018.1
30,709,86025.9
13,952,24015.2
0.6
1.9^
0.9^
1.6
5.5
3.0^
15.9
18.5
11.3
3.0
5.2
2.8
12.8
13.3
8.5
2,896,93051.6
1.9^
6.8
42.9
6.8
36.1
34,506,68016.4
0.6^
3.4
12.4
3.5
8.9
217,351,75019.7
0.8
2.0
16.9
3.3
13.6
12-15
16-19
20-24
25-34
35-49
50-64
16,414,55042.2
17,280,27037.0
20,547,62037.8
40,649,50023.4
65,123,03016.7
55,116,32010.7
1.6^
2.2
2.1
0.7
0.8
0.2^
5.5
4.8
5.4
2.3
1.9
0.8
35.2
30.0
30.3
20.5
14.1
9.7
6.1
5.6
8.7
4.0
2.7
2.0
29.0
24.5
21.5
16.5
11.4
7.7
65 or older
37,111,2403.1
0.2^
0.2^
2.7
0.4^
2.3
Female
Race White
Black
Other race*
Two or more races
123,071,02021.3
129,171,51017.3
Hispanic origin
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Age
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.


Table 2 Property crime rates, by household income and household size,
2008 (Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Theft)
.
Characteristics of household
Household income
Less than $7,500
$7,500-$14,999
$15,000-$24,999
$25,000-$34,999
$35,000-$49,999
$50,000-$74,999
$75,000 or more
Number of persons in household
1
2 or 3
4 or 5
6 or more

Number of households
Total Victims
4,115,470
6,361,960
204.2
175.0
9,412,930
161.7
9,901,970
13,497,280
14,601,440
24,115,150
150.5
142.7
125.8
133.4
34,561,280
60,022,010
22,868,210
3,689,560
100.3
122.2
197.0
273.9
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.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Decline in high-risk age group (15-24)
Decline in handgun homicide
Drug markets stabilized
Increase in legitimate and decrease in
illegitimate opportunities
Increased use of incarceration
Decline in partner homicides
Violence prevention programs (e.g.,
mediation)
Arrest Clearances

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 (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