Highest Murder Rate Research Articles

Urban patterns and the geography of street robberies in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

The geography of urban crime has often been associated with the city's geography. In this study we analyze the geography of street robbery and its relation to the various urban patterns in the city of São Paulo. First, we analyze how different variables influence the spatial distribution of street robbery, using a combination of geospatial and statistical methodologies. Then, we analyze how these different variables behave over the city of São Paulo according to eight types of urban patterns. Finally, we interpret the resulting body of evidence considering existing criminological theory. Our results suggest that the geography of street robbery in São Paulo is a result of two main drivers: (1) accessibility and population flow, tied to key roadways in the city, and (2) social issues, tied to high murder rates and, in a smaller degree, low income. Within the city's geography, these two factors tend to not align spatially and are sometimes diametrically opposite. As we found, the geography of street robbery in São Paulo is a middle of the way between these two drivers, albeit closer to the social issues driver. We also discuss some policy implications and possibilities for future research.

Forensic taphonomic experimental design matters: a study assessing clothing and carrion biomass load on scavenging in Cape Town, South Africa

The identification of unknown human remains is a significant and ongoing challenge in South Africa, worsened by the country’s high murder rate. The rate of decomposition in South Africa is significantly influenced by vertebrate scavenging, which, if not considered, can impede the accurate estimation of the post-mortem interval. Scavenging patterns vary greatly depending on the environment and ecological region, and there is limited data for the Western Cape province. To address this gap, two clothed and uncaged pig carcasses weighing 60 kg each were placed in the field in July 2021 and January 2022, respectively. Motion-activated infrared-capable trail cameras were used to observe decomposition, scavenger species, and their activities. Additionally, a comparative sample of 16 unclothed carcasses deployed between 2014 and 2016 in the same habitat were analyzed to assess the impact of clothing and biomass load. The study found three main results: (1) Regardless of habitat or biomass load, it took significantly less time to reach decomposition milestones (25%, 50%, and 75%) during the summer season; (2) the presence of mongoose scavengers had a greater impact on the time required to reach milestones during winter compared to summer; and (3) single carcass deployments reached the milestones faster than multi-carcass deployments in both seasons. This research highlights the potential inaccuracy of current methods for estimating the post-mortem interval when scavenging activity is not considered or documented in the underlying experimental data, particularly for environments or ecological biomes where scavengers actively impact decomposition rates.

Consumption of true crimes and perceived vulnerability: Does the cultural context matter?

This qualitative research explores how true crime documentaries (TCDs) are received in cultural settings with different crime rates. It identifies and compares motivations for watching TCDs, perceived vulnerabilities from their consumption, and concerns about their inclusion on broadcasting in Colombia (high murder rate context) and Singapore (low murder rate context). Eleven Colombians (RangeAge = 18–24 years old) and 12 Singaporeans (RangeAge = 19–24 years old) participated in 4 focus groups (FGs). A thematic analysis (TA) revealed that Singaporeans watch TCDs mainly for entertainment, to experience emotions, and to learn about past events, whereas Colombians mostly obtain survival skills, and learn about murderers and their cultural context realities. Unlike Singaporeans, Colombians perceive vulnerabilities associated with TCDs’ representation and consumption as revictimization (resuffering consequences or even being blamed), self-victimization (fear of becoming victims), and victimization (vicarious emotional experience of the consequences of and responsibility for crimes). The samples differ in their approaches to TCDs’ offering in TV. These results inform academy, audiovisual industries, educational programs, and regulatory policies.

Exploring the high murder rate in South Africa

The objects of this research are: first, to explain some of the causes of high murder rates in South Africa. Second, to refute the labelling of South Africa as the murder capital of the world. Third, exploring some alternative ways to violence resulting in deaths.
 The author investigated the following problems: murder done predominately by men, the inefficiency or shortcomings of the police to investigate murder successfully and lack of reports showing a drastic reduction of murders rates, possible due to lenient sanctions given by the courts.
 The main results of the research are:
 First, South Africa has been incorrectly referred to as the murder capital of the world. A label that scares would be visitors away from the country. This misleading labelling turned out to be factually incorrect according to several reports. Second, there are myriads of reasons why the death rates are very high in South Africa namely: varieties and normalization of violence; socio-economic inequalities; high youth unemployment rates; alcohol and drugs; culture of violence; easy access to firearms; lenient prison sentence; membership of gangsters; ineffective police investigation units; Mental illnesses or psychotic disorders and satanic beliefs.
 The area of practical use of the research: is for all citizens, directly or indirectly affected by police and safer communities. Criminal justice students in higher institutions and criminal justice practitioners, government officials, and policymakers.

Customer Service Representatives

This article investigates sex work among Black transgender women in Chicago’s ballroom scene, drawing on ethnographic data to argue that Black transwomen engage in sex work as a practice of self-investment undergirded by an epistemological shift regarding the centrality of affective labor to their work. In so doing, interlocutors reap the benefits of deploying embodied knowledge—the harnessing and transformation of insight derived from lived experiences of racial, gender, and sexual subjection into useful strategies, tactics, and tools—to secure material and human resources necessary for survival. A focus on how Black transwomen live, despite continued physical, spiritual, socioeconomic, political, and cultural annihilation, remains critically important given the myriad indicators (low average life expectancy, low annual income, disproportionally high murder rate, etc.) that expose the world’s indifference to the plight of this community and Black bodies writ large. Further, the author places interlocutors in conversation with Black feminist historians’ and theorists’ discussions of sex work among Black women to expose points of convergence between Black cis- and transgender women. The author also complicates narratives that link sex work to “survival” and subsequently obfuscate explorations of limited and situated agency among Black women that have significant historical precedent.

Household responses to escalating violence in Mexico

ABSTRACT Despite catastrophic fallout from the Mexican drug war, headlines fail to capture the full cost to civilians. Using three waves of survey data on the same households, conducted between 2002 to 2012, we show that households adjusted both their consumption habits and altered their behaviour in response to increased homicide rates in their municipality. We demonstrate that higher murder rates are associated with households reducing expenditure on visible commodities and with individuals avoiding carrying valuables and going out at night. The spending changes occurred mainly for middle- and upper-income households, while the behavioural adjustments happened mainly in households that were poorer or headed by a female. Assuming that household behaviour was in equilibrium before the escalation in violence, these adjustments represent a non-obvious, but significant, welfare loss which should be considered in any account of the costs and benefits of the drug war.

Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in Ecuador: A Cross-Sectional Study of Population Mortality Estimates from 2001-2017

Background: Gender-based violence is a major public health concern arising from the structural discrimination of women and girls. In 2014, Ecuador criminalized acts of femicide in response to a growing crisis across the region. As no epidemiological studies on the state of femicides have been published, we estimated trends occurring between 2001 and 2017. Methods: Using data from the National Institute of Census and Statistics we estimated the annual mortality rates, cumulative incidence and relative risks for female homicides, from 2001 – 2017. The impact of aggressions, assaults and violence on years of life lost due to premature mortality was estimated using the Human Capital method. Findings: Over the period, at least 3,236 cases of female homicides were reported. The highest murder rate occurred in the province of Sucumbios (6·5 per 100,000) and in the Putumayo canton (12·5 per 100,000). The most common way to murder their victims was using firearms (38%). The highest relative risk was estimated for women aged between 25-29, at 4·5 (3·9 – 5·1), of primary school attainment at 17·2 (14·6 - 20·3) and of Afro-Ecuadoran descent 18·1 (10·5- 30·9). Femicide-related costs reached, on average, $35 million per year and more than $500 million lost from 2001 to 2017. Interpretation: The high rates, distribution and cost indicate that investments are urgently needed to address the structural causes and reduce the impact of femicides in Ecuador; thereby protecting the livelihood and well-being of their women and girls. Funding Statement: This work was funded by the Universidad de Las Americas Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: The current epidemiological study included ecological data from all reported cases of femicide, homicides and crime related deaths in Ecuador. This analysis did not contain access to any source of identifiable information. The entire dataset is anonymized and is publicly available in the following website https://www.ecuadorencifras.gob.ec/nacimientos_y_defunciones/. According to the international good clinical and research practice and in accordance with Ecuadorian legislation on clinical investigation involving humans, ethical approval by a local or international institutional review board (IRB) is not required.

The effect of clothing on decomposition and vertebrate scavengers in cooler months of the temperate southwestern Cape, South Africa

With research providing conflicting results from different habitats across the globe, the effect of clothing on decomposition is unclear; some studies indicate clothing increases decomposition rate by facilitating increased insect activity, and others conclude clothing prolongs the decay process. In South Africa, such research is lacking, with no data for the Western Cape Province, which suffers from a high murder rate with many unclaimed, unidentified bodies. Improving post-mortem interval (PMI) estimates will increase chances of correct forensic identification of decedents by narrowing the search window for police. Since no current PMI estimation method accounts for the possible influence of clothing, this study was designed to examine the effect of seasonally appropriate common clothing on decomposition rate in the thicketed Cape Flats Dune Strandveld, Cape Town, a forensically significant region. Four ∼60 kg domestic pig carcasses (Sus scrofa domesticus) were used as proxies for human decomposition, two were clothed and two unclothed. The clothing, altered by a seamstress to ensure an appropriate fit, caused a notable decrease in decay rate in this initial sample. Daily weight loss was used as a quantitative measure of decomposition progression, as the clothing prevented the use of visual decomposition scoring systems. Weight loss was closely associated with scavenging activity by the Cape grey mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta), with a clear scavenger preference for unclothed carcasses. This suggests that the effect of clothing on decomposition may be better assessed in this environment by examining how scavengers interact with only a single clothed carcass.

Tourist hot spots in cities with the highest murder rates

Social networks have facilitated access to the spatial location of user-generated images and this has permitted studies of the spatial distribution of tourist images. To date, however, most studies have tended to focus on European or North American cities. The current research focuses on an analysis of the behaviour of tourists in cities with other social, economic and cultural contexts. To be more precise, we analyse the cities of Los Cabos, Acapulco, Tijuana and La Paz (Mexico) and Natal and Fortaleza (Brazil). These cities share the condition of being both tourist hot spots and some of the cities with the highest murder rates in the world. The main objective of this work is to analyse the spatial concentration of images taken by tourists in contexts that have hitherto received little analysis in academic literature. The results show a clear spatial concentration of user-generated images, especially around the spaces that offer the highest levels of safety.

Homicides and Open Usage of Guns: A Case of Louisiana, USA

Louisiana is known as the state with the highest per capita murder rate or homicides rates (12.4 per 100,000) among all U.S. states in 2017 for the 29th consecutive year (1989–2017). Despite the fact that the United States of America is known as the leading country in the world security, yet its sub-cities, provinces, and states are battling with security issues regarding internal murder or killing rates or homicides of which Louisiana is not in an exception. Meanwhile, the country has several gun policies, which allow the adult citizens to openly use or hold gun without restrictions. In light of these gun polices in some of the states including Louisiana, this study investigates the relationship between the open usages of gun and murder or homicides rates in Louisiana. The study uses secondary sources of data ranging between 1990 and 2012. The study applies a simple regression and correlation analysis to establish the relationship between open gun use and homicides. The study finds a weak significant positive relationship between the homicides rates and the open usages of gun among adult citizens in the state based on limited data. I therefore, recommend that both the federal and the local or state government should put restrictions on the open usages of guns in order to control the high murder or homicides rates across the provinces, cities, and the states. Keywords: Homicides, Gun, Murder, Crime, and Regression DOI : 10.7176/JLPG/82-07

Greater US Gun Ownership, Lethality and Murder Rates: Analysis and Policy Proposals

This paper examines the US gun-related murder (GM) rate and places it in an international context. The US GM rate is 27 times the average rate for 22 other developed countries (ODC). Its gun ownership rate is 5.4 times that of ODC and the murder rate per gun is 5 times that of ODC. Thus, as is done in the paper, an effective reduction of the US GM rate requires an analysis of both the high gun ownership rate and the high murder rate per gun. The paper examines about fifteen gun-related policy reforms – their impact, cost and structure for maximum benefit – and other policies affecting the GM rate. Among the latter is immigration policy and its impact on violent crime where the claims of the pro- and anti-immigration groups are examined. The paper also looks at the GM impact of programs that provide alternative life pursuits for young men at risk. It further presents a number of policy implications and some new proposals designed to reduce the GM rate. Four appendices provide i) results from two recent opinion polls on gun-policy reforms, ii) a detailed analysis of the relationship between gun ownership and the GM rate, iii) calculations of gun buyback costs, and iv) a correction of results in the literature on the Brady Bill's impact on gun ownership.

Meso-American Nephropathy in El Salvador: Increasing Farmer Participation in MeN Prevention Efforts

Objectives: This paper highlights and discusses major factors affecting Salvadoran farmers’ involvement in National Health System-led efforts to prevent MeN in El Salvador and includes some recommendations to enhance their involvement. Methods: The study, conducted in El Salvador in June 2018, involved 10 life-long farmers residing in five MeN-affected communities in Chalatenango and Usulutan Departments who were either MeN-free or MeN-controlled, to understand through semi-structured, qualitative interviews their experience of participation in broader epidemic control efforts. Complementary interviews held with two nephrology teams and a senior representative of the grassroots-level National Health Forum operating in the same area, provided necessary contrast. Interview questions were informed by reference to the Adaptation and Development after Persecution and Trauma (ADAPT) model [1] as applicable in post-conflict environments like El Salvador to analyze contextual factors influencing community participation. Findings: Farmers are scarcely involved in wider MeN prevention efforts in El Salvador despite greater National Health System emphasis on encouraging community participation since the approval of the 2009 Health Reform [2]. This study found that widespread insecurity due to gang warfare, declining family and social networks due to high murder rates and international migration, and unresolved sense of injustice over unremitting poverty are among major factors with potential destructive effect on farmer participation. Conclusions: Health system-led MeN prevention responses need to encompass attention to persisting social vulnerabilities in economically and socially marginalized communities in order to enhance farmer participation in this effort. This paper concludes with some recommendations on how this can be done.

Forensic taphonomy: Vertebrate scavenging in the temperate southwestern Cape, South Africa

Vertebrate scavenging can significantly accelerate the rate of decomposition, which can hinder estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI). Patterns of decomposition and scavenging are highly specific to different environments in a forensic context, with no known data for South Africa. A better understanding of local decomposition patterns, taking scavenging into account, could increase the accuracy of PMI estimation and improve identification of human remains. Using a porcine model in the forensically significant thicketed Cape Flats Dune Strandveld habitat, the effect of vertebrate scavenging on the decomposition process was examined. This part of Cape Town suffers from poor socioeconomic conditions and a high murder rate, which is due in part to the dense population. Human decomposition was simulated using three small (∼20kg) domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) carcasses, with ethical clearance. One pig served as a control and was caged to prevent vertebrate but not invertebrate access; the other two served as experimental treatments. They were deployed in Delft, Cape Town, and observed by motion-activated, time-lapse remote photography to record scavenger species and activity. A rapid increase in the decomposition rate was observed due to Cape grey mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta) scavenging, with early skeletonisation reached by both experimental pigs by day 14, compared to the control remaining in advanced decomposition after 93 days. Mongoose is the primary scavenger in this habitat, and showed notable patterns of feeding behaviour, exclusively within daylight hours. Scavenging activity was only influenced by rainfall later in the cycle. This research provides knowledge on locally relevant decomposition patterns and highlights the necessity for PMI estimation methods to consider vertebrate scavengers. This may improve human skeletal identification in forensic cases. There is scope for expansion of this study, with an investigation of seasonal effects, the interaction between invertebrate and vertebrate activity, as well as, the effect of clothing on scavenger access.

Forensic taphonomy: Scavenger-induced scattering patterns in the temperate southwestern Cape, South Africa — A first look

The effect of vertebrate scavenging can drastically alter the rate of decomposition and cause skeletal scatter, which hinders human forensic recovery and identification. Patterns of scavenging, disarticulation and scatter in a forensic context are specific to different environments with no known data for South Africa. A better understanding of these patterns can increase the chances of full body recovery and improve identification of human remains. In this preliminary study, the effect of wild vertebrate scavenging on skeletal scatter was examined using a porcine model in the forensically significant thicketed Cape Flats Dune Strandveld habitat. This area is a densely populated part of Cape Town, which suffers from poor socioeconomic conditions and a high murder rate. Ethics was granted for the use of three small (∼20kg) domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) carcasses as proxies for human decomposition. They were deployed in Delft, Cape Town, and observed by motion-activated cameras to record wild scavenger activity. One pig served as a control and was caged to prevent vertebrate but not invertebrate access; the other two served as experimental treatments. Scatter was recorded every second day by marking the location of skeletal elements and measuring the distance and angle from the centre of each deposition site. No scattering was observed in the control, but notable scattering patterns were observed in the experimental pigs due to Cape grey mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta) scavenging, the only vertebrate scavenger species observed. No clear pattern of scatter distance over time was followed. Scatter began in the skeletonisation phase (day 25–30), resulting in a maximum distance of 12.67m and scatter/search area of 504.32m2. Mongoose-induced skeletal scatter followed a distinct pattern of movement into dense undergrowth, a previously unobserved behaviour and a key finding of this study. These results provide baseline data for sub-adult human scatter, or scatter of smaller components of an adult human skeleton, as demonstrated in the forensic case example provided. Knowledge is provided on locally relevant decomposition patterns and informs search methods for improved human skeletal recovery in forensic cases. There is scope for expansion of this study, with an investigation of seasonal effects, the interaction between invertebrate and vertebrate activity, as well as, the effect of clothing on scavenger access.

Paradoxes of Happiness: Why People Feel More Comfortable With High Inequalities and High Murder Rates?

There is evidence that income and wealth inequalities are positively associated with happiness, as measured by the happiness index, and negatively associated with the suicide rate (that is considered an objective indicator of unhappiness). Moreover, there is some evidence that happiness is also positively linked the murder rate, especially when it goes hand in hand with inequalities. The possible explanation – competitive nature of human beings (a modification of a “big fish in the small pond” story) and perceptions of social justice: not only people enjoy the better than average position more than an even higher, but below the average position, but they also cherish the dream of becoming better than average. Greater equality that undermines the dream of becoming higher than average turns out to be disappointing for many. If murders occur without high income inequalities (i.e. murders are “unjustified”) and/or inequalities exist without high murders (inequalities are not perceived as unfair and do not cause social tension), then happiness is not affected.

Only a Shadow

Only a Shadow

Risky localities: Exploring a methodology for measuring socio-economic characteristics of high murder areas

Every day on average, more than 49 people are murdered in South Africa. A better understanding of the demographics of locations with high murder and other crime rates could assist in the development of effective initiatives to effectively reduce our murder rate. It provides the foundations on which to build research into the impact of social cohesion on violence reduction. This article explores the hypothesis that the risk for murder is associated with certain demographic characteristics of particular locations. This paper proposes a method to analyse the demographic characteristics of police precincts in relation to the murder rate for that police precinct. It provides an explanation of the method used and a summary of initial results. The paper concludes with a discussion on the benefits of this research approach and considerations for future research as well as the need for more indepth analysis on social cohesion.

Risky localities: Exploring a methodology for measuring socio-economic characteristics of high murder areas

Every day on average, more than 49 people are murdered in South Africa. A better understanding of the demographics of locations with high murder and other crime rates could assist in the development of effective initiatives to effectively reduce our murder rate. It provides the foundations on which to build research into the impact of social cohesion on violence reduction. This article explores the hypothesis that the risk for murder is associated with certain demographic characteristics of particular locations. This paper proposes a method to analyse the demographic characteristics of police precincts in relation to the murder rate for that police precinct. It provides an explanation of the method used and a summary of initial results. The paper concludes with a discussion on the benefits of this research approach and considerations for future research as well as the need for more indepth analysis on social cohesion.

Risky localities: Exploring a methodology for measuring socio-economic characteristics of high murder areas

Every day on average, more than 49 people are murdered in South Africa. A better understanding of the demographics of locations with high murder and other crime rates could assist in the development of effective initiatives to effectively reduce our murder rate. It provides the foundations on which to build research into the impact of social cohesion on violence reduction. This article explores the hypothesis that the risk for murder is associated with certain demographic characteristics of particular locations. This paper proposes a method to analyse the demographic characteristics of police precincts in relation to the murder rate for that police precinct. It provides an explanation of the method used and a summary of initial results. The paper concludes with a discussion on the benefits of this research approach and considerations for future research as well as the need for more indepth analysis on social cohesion.

Behind the Deadbolts.

Behind the Deadbolts.