Supplementary Homicide Reports Research Articles

National and Local Trends in Serious Violence, Firearm Victimization, and Homicide

The recent upturn in U.S. homicide rates may have resulted from increases in the number of serious violent incidents, growth in the percentage involving firearms, or increases in lethality. Data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) suggest that the national homicide increase was not driven by increases in serious violence or the proportion of these crimes involving firearms, but may be related to a longer-term increase in lethality. In St. Louis, the increase was concentrated in communities that previously had the highest violence rates, but changes in the structural conditions and population composition were unrelated to the upsurge in homicide.

Healthcare indicators and firearm homicide: an ecologic study

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between rates of firearm homicide in New York State (NYS) and indicators of access to and quality of healthcare from 2011 to 2017. Design/methodology/approach Utilizing data from the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services Uniform Crime Reporting Supplemental Homicide Reports and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings Program, a county-level ecologic study was conducted, descriptive statistics provided and multivariable analyses conducted to determine the associations between critical indicators of county health and firearm homicide. Findings The majority of firearm homicide victims (n=2,619) were young, Black, men and the highest rates of firearm homicide were situated in urban centers. Subgroup analyses excluding large urban centers and controlling for key demographics illustrated that those counties with lower rates of clinicians were significantly associated with higher rates of firearm homicide. Research limitations/implications Despite challenges integrating two large data sets, the present findings were able to illustrate the critical relationship between access to healthcare and prevalence of firearm homicide. Practical implications The results of this study reinforce the importance of access to primary healthcare services and its relationship to critical health outcomes. Social implications In urban settings, firearm homicides disproportionately impact young Black men, who are among the least likely to have access to healthcare. In more rural areas, access to healthcare is related directly to improved health outcomes, including reduced rates of firearm homicides. Originality/value This is the first study to explore and subsequently establish the relationship between indicators of community health and firearm homicide in NYS.

Gender Differences in Patterns and Trends in U.S. Homicide, 1976–2017

In the research literature on homicide, gender has typically received far less attention than other demographic characteristics, specifically the age and race of victims and offenders. To some extent this is understandable given that the overwhelming majority, almost three-quarters, of homicides in the United States involve a male killing another male. Therefore, the usual patterns of homicide mirror for the most part the patterns of male homicide. However, there are substantial differences in the trends and patterns of female offending and victimization that should not be obscured in the aggregate. In this article, we replicate previous work with updated data by using a national homicide database (the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Supplementary Homicide Reports) from 1976 through 2017, multiply imputed for missing data, to examine gender differences among victims and offenders in terms of characteristics such as age, race, weapon, circumstances, and victim–offender relationship.

Trading Places: Microlevel Predictors of Women Who Commit Intimate Partner Homicide

Intimate partner homicide (IPH) research has established the importance of the offender’s gender regarding motivations, situations, and structures present in the offense. However, little is known about female IPH perpetrators’ microlevel characteristics, despite research indicating female IPH offense numbers are closer to males’ than in other homicide types. To fill this gap, the current exploratory study assesses the likelihood of female-perpetrated IPH by the couples demographics, weapon type, relationship status, and regional location of the homicide. Using data from the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR), results show microlevel gender-specific differences. Female, compared to male, IPH perpetrators more often kill in intraracial, compared to interracial relationships, and are more likely to kill in dating rather than marital relationships.

Prostitute homicides: A 37-year exploratory study of the offender, victim, and offense characteristics

Research demonstrates that prostitutes are at heightened risk of fatal victimization. Besides, prostitute homicides are known to be notoriously difficult to investigate; and hence, little is known about this underresearched offender and vulnerable victim populations. This study aims to explore the offender, victim, and offense characteristics of 244 single-victim heterosexual prostitute homicides, extracted from the US Supplementary Homicide Reports database, for a period spanning over 37years (1976–2012). Findings indicate that the general portrait of the offender who murdered a prostitute victim is a male in his early 30s who committed the murder in a higher populated area against a female of similar age range. Edged weapons, firearms, and personal weapons are reported to be commonly used in killing the victim. Data limitations are discussed along with the need for future research to build on the knowledge.

Homicide Illustrated Across the Ages: Graphic Depictions of Victim and Offender Age, Sex, and Relationship.

Objective: A total of 34 years of FBI Supplementary Homicide Reports were examined using statistical graphics to illustrate patterns across ages, by sex, and victim/offender relationships (intimate partner [IP], other family, acquaintance, or stranger). Method: An innovative fourfold display and victim/sex-specific scatterplots with overlaid deviation ellipses determine the age/sex patterns for each relationship. Results: We illustrate numerous acquaintance killings among young men and improve our understanding of predictors by sex, relationship, and circumstances in mid/later life. Male victims of strangers are either older with young male offenders or vice versa. Female acquaintance and stranger homicides are rare. Within families, older male parents are killed by adult offspring, but rarely by IP. The majority of elder femicide is perpetrated by IP or other family. Discussion: U.S. murder rates are rising, and we found children from 6 to 12 years were least likely to die by homicide. Elder femicide risk from IP and other kin indicated danger from within the home.

Surveillance for Violent Deaths - National Violent Death Reporting System, 27 States, 2015.

Surveillance for Violent Deaths - National Violent Death Reporting System, 27 States, 2015.

Race, Structural Predictors, and Police Shootings: Are There Differences Across Official and “Unofficial” Accounts of Lethal Force?

Police shootings have received considerable attention recently. While official data have often been used to capture police use of lethal force, “unofficial” databases have been developed to document lethal force patterns throughout the United States. Thus, it is now possible to systematically compare databases, exploring racial differences and potential causes, which is important given longstanding criticisms of official records. Here, we examine police shootings using Mapping Police Violence and Supplemental Homicide Reports data and investigate the impact of commonly used structural predictors on race-specific police shootings. Significant differences are revealed across official and unofficial databases, particularly by race. We conclude that the data used to estimate police shootings matter, which has key implications for future work on this important topic.

Multiple Imputation for Missing Values in Homicide Incident Data: An Evaluation Using Unique Test Data

Incident-level homicide datasets such as the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) commonly exhibit missing data. We evaluated multiple imputation methods (that produce multiple completed datasets, across which imputed values may vary) via unique data that included actual values, from police agency incident reports, of seemingly missing SHR data. This permitted evaluation under a real, not assumed or simulated, missing data mechanism. We compared analytic results based on multiply imputed and actual data; multiple imputation rather successfully recovered victim–offender relationship distributions and regression coefficients that hold in the actual data. Results are encouraging for users of multiple imputation, though it is still important to minimize the extent of missing information in SHR and similar data.

Surveillance for Violent Deaths - National Violent Death Reporting System, 18 States, 2014.

Problem/ConditionIn 2014, approximately 59,000 persons died in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries. This report summarizes data from CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) regarding violent deaths from 18 U.S. states for 2014. Results are reported by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, marital status, location of injury, method of injury, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics.Reporting Period Covered2014.Description of SystemNVDRS collects data from participating states regarding violent deaths. Data are obtained from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, law enforcement reports, and secondary sources (e.g., child fatality review team data, supplemental homicide reports, hospital data, and crime laboratory data). This report includes data from 18 states that collected statewide data for 2014 (Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin). NVDRS collates documents for each death and links deaths that are related (e.g., multiple homicides, a homicide followed by a suicide, or multiple suicides) into a single incident.ResultsFor 2014, a total of 22,098 fatal incidents involving 22,618 deaths were captured by NVDRS in the 18 states included in this report. The majority of deaths were suicides (65.6%), followed by homicides (22.5%), deaths of undetermined intent (10.0%), deaths involving legal intervention (1.3%) (i.e., deaths caused by law enforcement and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions), and unintentional firearm deaths (<1%). The term “legal intervention” is a classification incorporated into the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) and does not denote the lawfulness or legality of the circumstances surrounding a death caused by law enforcement. Suicides occurred at higher rates among males, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN), non-Hispanic whites, persons aged 45–54 years, and males aged ≥75 years. Suicides were preceded primarily by a mental health, intimate partner, substance abuse, or physical health problem or a crisis during the previous or upcoming 2 weeks. Homicide rates were higher among males and persons aged <1 year and 15–44 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black and AI/AN males. Homicides primarily were precipitated by arguments and interpersonal conflicts, occurrence in conjunction with another crime, or related to intimate partner violence (particularly for females). When the relationship between a homicide victim and a suspected perpetrator was known, it was most often either an acquaintance/friend or an intimate partner. Legal intervention death rates were highest among males and persons aged 20–44 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males and Hispanic males. Precipitating factors for the majority of legal intervention deaths were alleged criminal activity in progress, the victim reportedly using a weapon in the incident, a mental health or substance abuse problem, an argument or conflict, or a recent crisis. Deaths of undetermined intent occurred more frequently among males, particularly non-Hispanic black and AI/AN males, and persons aged 30–54 years. Substance abuse, mental health problems, physical health problems, and a recent crisis were the most common circumstances preceding deaths of undetermined intent. Unintentional firearm deaths were more frequent among males, non-Hispanic whites, and persons aged 10–24 years; these deaths most often occurred while the shooter was playing with a firearm and were most often precipitated by a person unintentionally pulling the trigger or mistakenly thinking the firearm was unloaded.InterpretationThis report provides a detailed summary of data from NVDRS for 2014. The results indicate that violent deaths resulting from self-inflicted or interpersonal violence disproportionately affected persons aged <65 years, males, and certain minority populations. The primary precipitating factors for homicides and suicides were intimate partner problems, interpersonal conflicts, mental health and substance abuse problems, and recent crises.Public Health ActionNVDRS data are used to monitor the occurrence of violence-related fatal injuries and assist public health authorities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies to reduce and prevent violent deaths. For example, North Carolina VDRS data were used to improve case ascertainment of pregnancy-associated suicides, Wisconsin VDRS data were used to develop the statewide suicide prevention strategy, and Colorado VDRS data were used to develop programs and prevention strategies for suicide among veterans. The continued development and expansion of NVDRS to include all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia are essential to public health efforts to reduce the impact of violence.

State Intimate Partner Violence-Related Firearm Laws and Intimate Partner Homicide Rates in the United States, 1991 to 2015.

To prevent intimate partner homicide (IPH), some states have adopted laws restricting firearm possession by intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders. "Possession" laws prohibit the possession of firearms by these offenders. "Relinquishment" laws prohibit firearm possession and also explicitly require offenders to surrender their firearms. Few studies have assessed the effect of these policies. To study the association between state IPV-related firearm laws and IPH rates over a 25-year period (1991 to 2015). Panel study. United States, 1991 to 2015. Homicides committed by intimate partners, as identified in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports, Supplementary Homicide Reports. IPV-related firearm laws (predictor) and annual, state-specific, total, and firearm-related IPH rates (outcome). State laws that prohibit persons subject to IPV-related restraining orders from possessing firearms and also require them to relinquish firearms in their possession were associated with 9.7% lower total IPH rates (95% CI, 3.4% to 15.5% reduction) and 14.0% lower firearm-related IPH rates (CI, 5.1% to 22.0% reduction) than in states without these laws. Laws that did not explicitly require relinquishment of firearms were associated with a non-statistically significant 6.6% reduction in IPH rates. The model did not control for variation in implementation of the laws. Causal interpretation is limited by the observational and ecological nature of the analysis. Our findings suggest that state laws restricting firearm possession by persons deemed to be at risk for perpetrating intimate partner abuse may save lives. Laws requiring at-risk persons to surrender firearms already in their possession were associated with lower IPH rates. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Male and Female Single-Victim Sexual Homicide Offenders: Distinguishing the Types of Weapons Used in Killing Their Victims.

Most studies have focused on male sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) without testing whether sex differences exist. Accordingly, little is known about the distinctions between male and female SHOs, particularly with respect to their use of weapons in killing their victims. This study used a sample of 3,160 single-victim sexual homicide cases (3,009 male and 151 female offenders) from the U.S. Supplementary Homicide Reports database to explore sex differences in the types of murder weapons used by offenders in killing victims over the 37-year period 1976 to 2012. Findings indicated that significantly more male SHOs used personal weapons (43%) and more female SHOs used firearms (63%) in their offense commission. In general, female offenders predominantly used weapons that were physically less demanding (e.g., firearms and edged and other weapons; 89%). Different trends in the murder weapons used by male and female SHOs from different age groups were observed. Interestingly, findings showed that the type of weapon used by SHOs was in part influenced by the victims and their characteristics.

Accomplishing Difference: How Do Anti-race/Ethnicity Bias Homicides Compare to Average Homicides in the United States?

Research on the nature of bias homicide has experienced increased interest in the academic literature. To date, few studies have compared the similarities and differences between anti-race/ethnicity bias homicides and average American homicides. Consequently, we know little about how the offender, victim, and situational characteristics compare across these two homicide types. Drawing from doing difference theory of bias crime, the aim of this study is to comparatively analyze the attributes of anti-race/ethnicity homicides to average homicides between 1990 and 2014. Anti-race/ethnicity homicide data is extracted from the U.S. Extremist Crime Database and paired with average homicides from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2000 Supplementary Homicide Reports. The results of this study suggest that the characteristics of anti-race/ethnicity homicides are both similar and different from average homicides. Implications for bias crime theory, research, and policy are discussed.

Racial Differences Among Juvenile Homicide Offenders: An Empirical Analysis of 37 Years of U.S. Arrest Data.

Homicides by juvenile offenders have been of great interest to the public and policymakers in the United States for four decades. Despite the concern over young murderers, many analyses have been limited to small clinical samples. Empirical studies using Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) data, a national database maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have largely concentrated on analyzing basic victim, offender, and offense data or exploring gender differences. Racial differences, when explored with respect to juvenile homicide offenders (JHOs), largely have concentrated on White and Black offenders, given the low percentage involvement of American Indians and Alaskan Natives, and Asian and Pacific Islanders. This article used 37 years of SHR data (1976-2012; n = 52,916) to investigate differences between the four racial groups (White, Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Asian American/Pacific Islander). This article focused on three questions: First, did the offender and offense characteristics of all JHOs arrested during the study period vary by race? Second, did the characteristics of victims, weapons used, crime circumstances, and offender count in incidents in which JHOs killed single victims differ across racial groups? Third, are offender, victim, and offense characteristics predictive of racial classification? Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. The findings revealed more similarities than differences across the racial groups. Multinomial regression analyses revealed, however, that several variables were found to distinguish racial groups of JHOs in a predictive way: region, location, White victim, family victim, gun use, and homicide circumstance. Importantly, American Indian/Alaskan Native and Asian/Pacific Islander JHOs significantly differed from White and Black JHOs. In contrast to media depiction, gang-related homicides were significantly more likely to involve Asian/Pacific Islander juveniles than juveniles from the other racial groups. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Assessing the Coverage and Representativeness of the National Incident-Based Reporting System

This article examines the coverage of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) as of 2013. We use NIBRS, Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), and Supplementary Homicide Reports to assess the population coverage and index crime coverage of NIBRS. We also examine the correspondence of crime rates between the UCR and agencies that do and do not participate in NIBRS. We found that NIBRS covers 29.3% of the U.S. population and 28% of UCR index crimes. We also found that the crime rates in NIBRS jurisdictions are appreciably lower than jurisdictions that do not participate in NIBRS. As of 2013, therefore, NIBRS data are not representative of the U.S. population, crime counts, or crime rates.

Underreporting of Homicides by Police in the United States, 1976-2013

To identify sources of error in estimates of the number of homicides committed by police officers in the United States, we examined data from the Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) and the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) between 1976 and 2013. Coverage and nonresponse errors were the primary reasons for underreporting in the SHR, with some agencies not participating or failing to submit some monthly reports. Measurement errors were the primary source of underreporting in the NVSS. If police involvement was not mentioned on death certificate, the death was misclassified as a civilian homicide.

NIBRS and SHR: A Comparison of Two National Homicide Databases With Respect to Parricide

ABSTRACTEmpirical studies on children killing parents in the United States have used the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) arrest database and have focused on single victim-single offender incidents. The authors used a second national database, National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), to compare the correlates of single victim-single offender parricide incidents in the United States from 1991 to 2010 across the two databases. NIBRS, unlike the SHR database, which includes homicide arrests across the United States, currently encompasses 30% of the U.S. population and 28% of the crime statistics collected by the FBI. Statistical tests to compare findings from the two data sets are conducted to determine to what extent NIBRS data yield similar profiles to SHR data. Results indicated that the offender, victim, and weapons data for parents and stepfathers were generally very consistent across the two databases. Very few statistically significant differences between the two data sets were observed. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Lethal intimate partner violence in later life: Understanding measurements, strengths, and limitations of research

ABSTRACTThe aim of this article is to conduct a critical analysis of existing family violence literature related to elder abuse homicide, also known as “eldercide.” The focus relates to fatal violence perpetrated by current or former intimates. Men are the most likely victims of homicide but are rarely murdered by partners. Older women are most often killed in the home by a spouse or other family, consistent with the notion of “femicide.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation Supplemental Homicide Reports and the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey are utilized to illustrate trends by sex over time. Intimate partner homicide-suicide is examined via news surveillance. Strengths and limitations of data and methods are addressed. Homicide trends among the members of the baby boom cohort are predicted based on current and future patterns as they age. To facilitate prevention, researchers are encouraged to move beyond simple prevalence estimates toward greater understanding of complex trends, distinctions, and motivations of these violent deaths.

Surveillance for Violent Deaths - National Violent Death Reporting System, 17 States, 2013.

In 2013, more than 57,000 persons died in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries. This report summarizes data from CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) regarding violent deaths from 17 U.S. states for 2013. Results are reported by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, marital status, location of injury, method of injury, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics. 2013. NVDRS collects data from participating states regarding violent deaths obtained from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, law enforcement reports, and secondary sources (e.g., child fatality review team data, supplemental homicide reports, hospital data, and crime laboratory data). This report includes data from 17 states that collected statewide data for 2013 (Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin). NVDRS collates documents for each death and links deaths that are related (e.g., multiple homicides, a homicide followed by a suicide, or multiple suicides) from a single incident. For 2013, a total of 18,765 fatal incidents involving 19,251 deaths were captured by NVDRS in the 17 states included in this report. The majority (66.2%) of deaths were suicides, followed by homicides (23.2%), deaths of undetermined intent (8.8%), deaths involving legal intervention (1.2%) (i.e., deaths caused by law enforcement and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions), and unintentional firearm deaths (<1%). (The term legal intervention is a classification incorporated into the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision [ICD-10] and does not denote the lawfulness or legality of the circumstances surrounding a death caused by law enforcement.) Suicides occurred at higher rates among males, non-Hispanic whites, American Indian/Alaska Natives, persons aged 45-64 years, and males aged ≥75 years. Suicides were preceded primarily by a mental health, intimate partner, or physical health problem or a crisis during the previous or upcoming 2 weeks. Homicide rates were higher among males and persons aged 15-44 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males. Homicides primarily were precipitated by arguments and interpersonal conflicts, occurrence in conjunction with another crime, or were related to intimate partner violence (particularly for females). A known relationship between a homicide victim and a suspected perpetrator was most likely either that of an acquaintance or friend or an intimate partner. Legal intervention death rates were highest among males and persons aged 20-24 years and 30-34 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males. Precipitating factors for the majority of legal intervention deaths were another crime, a mental health problem, or a recent crisis. Deaths of undetermined intent occurred at the highest rates among males and persons aged <1 year and 45-54 years. Substance abuse and mental or physical health problems were the most common circumstances preceding deaths of undetermined intent. Unintentional firearm death rates were higher among males, non-Hispanic whites, and persons aged persons aged 15-19 and 55-64 years; these deaths were most often precipitated by a person unintentionally pulling the trigger while playing with a firearm or while hunting. This report provides a detailed summary of data from NVDRS for 2013. The results indicate that violent deaths resulting from self-inflicted or interpersonal violence disproportionately affected persons aged <65 years, males, and certain minority populations. For homicides and suicides, intimate partner problems, interpersonal conflicts, mental health problems, and recent crises were primary precipitating factors. NVDRS data are used to monitor the occurrence of violence-related fatal injuries and assist public health authorities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies to reduce and prevent violent deaths. For example, Utah Violent Death Reporting System (VDRS) data were used to develop policies that support children of intimate partner homicide victims, Colorado VDRS data to develop a web-based suicide prevention program targeting middle-aged men, and Rhode Island VDRS data to help guide suicide prevention efforts at workplaces. The continued development and expansion of NVDRS to include all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia are essential to public health efforts to reduce the impact of violence.

The Limitations of Government Databases for Analyzing Fatal Officer-Involved Shootings in the United States

Federal government databases recording officer-involved shooting fatalities are incomplete and unreliable. Voluntary reporting to the Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR), the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), and the Arrest-Related Death Program (ARDP) are subject to underreporting and classification errors. The same shortcomings apply to statewide reporting in California and Texas, the only states with mandatory reporting requirements. Content analysis of open source records identified officer-involved shooting fatalities that occurred in the United States from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2015. Those data were compared with data from the government databases. Analysis revealed 7,869 officer-involved shooting fatalities, an average increase of 51.8 incidents per year. Fatalities increased from 594 in 2006 to 1,007 in 2015—an increase of 69.5% in 10 years. Government data sources reported a low of 46.0% of incidents to a high of 75.3%, depending on the reporting year. Open source research reveals 30% to 45% more cases than official federal or state databases and can reveal much more data about other critical questions. The history of federal program efforts suggests it is unlikely that government recording of data on officer-involved shooting fatalities will improve. Government reporting programs have produced decreasingly effective results. Current web-based data collection efforts suffer from many of the same limitations exhibited in the federal programs. One promising option for improved data collection includes funding an independent party, such as a university, to collect data from open sources and supplement that data with public records requests and the currently collected official government data.