Black female homicide offenders and victims: Are they from the same population?

Abstract

Abstract The growing interest in and changing status of women in numerous areas has resulted in increased research in the area of female criminality. Little attention, however, has been focused on the involvement of females, particularly black females, as perpetrators or victims of acts of lethal violence. Several research questions regarding the social and environmental characteristics of black female homicide victims and offenders are explored. Secondary data on 661 black female homicide victims and 119 black female homicide offenders and survey data on 10 victims and 9 offenders were assembled through the project, Black Homicide and Large Urban Environments, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Analysis indicates that black female homicide victims and offenders exhibit low socioeconomic status and essentially similar behavior patterns.