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Abstract
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From 1979 through 1988, 217,578 homicides occurred in the United States, an average of greater than 21,000 per year. Homicide rates during this 10-year period were about 1.5 times higher than the rates during the 1950s. The national homicide rate of 10.7/100,000 in 1980 was the highest ever recorded. Homicide occurs disproportionately among young adults. Among the 15- to 34-year age group, homicide is the fourth most common cause of death among white females, the third most common cause among white males, and the most common cause among both black females and black males. In 1988, nearly two-thirds (61%) of homicide victims were killed with a firearm, 75% of these with a handgun. More than half (52%) of homicide victims were killed by a family member or acquaintance, and about one-third (35%) of homicides stemmed from a conflict not associated with another felony. The homicide mortality rate among young black males 15-24 years of age has risen 54% since 1985. Ninety-nine percent of the increase was accounted for by homicides in which the victim was killed with a firearm. The surveillance data summarized in this report should assist public health practitioners, researchers, and policymakers in addressing this important public health problem.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The intent of this report by the Hammett et al. was to provide a written summary and tables regarding homicide in the United States for specific age, race and gender groups from 1979 to 1988.
METHODOLOGY:
The authors defined homicide as death that resulted from injuries that were purposefully inflicted by another person. These included deaths caused by law enforcement officers or legal execution. The information from the report was drawn from mortality tapes prepared by the National Center for Health Statistics, and the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Report. Population data were also obtained from the 1980 census.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
During the period from 1979 to 1988 there were 217,578 homicides in the USA and the rate in 1980 (10.7/1000,000) was the highest rate ever recorded for the USA. The tables indicated that the majority of homicide victims were white, while homicide rates among blacks were higher, and that in most cases the race of the victim and perpetrator were the same. The data also demonstrated that homicide was more common among young adults. Crude homicide rates were generally higher among southeastern states, while rates that have been adjusted for age, sex, and race are higher in the west. The type of weapon involved depended more on the sex than the race of the victim, with over 61% of all homicides in 1988 involving the use of a firearm. More than half of the victims were killed by family members or acquaintances and the proportion of females was consistently higher than the proportion of males who were killed by family members. In 1988, conflict was the most frequently cited circumstance by law enforcement officials, although over one quarter of the circumstances surrounding the incident were unknown. The authors' analysis of this data and the eight tables that were provided in the report included an awareness that homicide is a multifaceted problem and many types of homicide required thorough epidemiological investigation and analysis.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors suggested that no single solution to the prevention of violent injuries and deaths could be expected, with many settings requiring multiple interventions. They also proposed that while interventions required efforts at the national level, the most successful interventions were likely to originate at the community level. Examples of such programs included mentoring programs, school-based curricula in nonviolent conflict-resolution skills, peer-counseling programs, enforcement or enactment of local drinking and firearm control regulations, special recreational programs and public health programs for young, poor, single mothers.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - 1970s
KW - 1980s
KW - Victim Offender Relations
KW - Statistical Data
KW - Death Rates
KW - Age Factors
KW - Racial Factors
KW - Gender Differences
KW - Male Offender
KW - Male Violence
KW - Male Victim
KW - Homicide Victim
KW - Homicide Incidence and Prevalence
KW - Homicide Rates
KW - Homicide Offender
KW - Adult Offender
KW - Adult Victim
KW - Adult Violence
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Juvenile Victim
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Female Victim
KW - Female Offender
KW - Female Violence
KW - Victimization Incidence and Prevalence
KW - Victimization Rates
KW - Domestic Violence Offender
KW - Domestic Violence Victim
KW - Domestic Homicide
KW - Firearms Violence
KW - Weapons Violence
KW - African American Offender
KW - African American Victim
KW - African American Violence
KW - Caucasian Violence
KW - Caucasian Victim
KW - Caucasian Offender |