Re-evaluating the “good old days”: A study of dade county homicides, 1917–1982

Abstract

Most citizens mistakenly believe that violence in the 1980’s is greater than it has ever been and yearn for the “good o1′ days” when society was peaceful and less violent. This study examines historical trends in the level of violent death (homicide, suicide and accident) in Dade County from 1917 to 1982 and compares those trends with other counties in Florida and the U.S. as a whole. The study utilized data from death certificates and from accounts of homicides in the Miami Herald. Results indicate that the two peak periods of violence were 1925–6 and 1980. However, the level of violence was five times higher (for homicides, suicides and accidents combined) in 1925–6 than in 1980. The homicide and accident peaks in 1925–6 were not limited to Dade County, as all counties in South Florida (and other Florida counties to a lessor extent) experienced the same peak in 1925–6. Though the level of homicide was higher in 1925–6, there was no difference in pattern of homicides for the 1925–6 and 1980 periods. It appears that all types of homicides were greater during the 1925–6 period. The explanation for the inordinate level of violent death in 1925–6 includes a focus on the stress created by the land boom, the “bust”, and the hurricane. The 1980 peak in homicides is partially accounted for by the Mariel boatlift, the riot of May, 1980, and the general crisis atmosphere brought on by these events and the rapidly increasing overall crime rate.