Total Number Of Homicides Research Articles

Femicide in the United States: A Study of Connecticut Autopsy and Death Investigation Data.

We examined the records of the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for all female homicides from 2012 to 2021 to ascertain the rate of femicide. The investigative data were subcategorized as femicides and nonfemicides. The records included autopsy, toxicology, and investigators' reports. All underwent autopsy examination. The relationship of the perpetrator, cause of death, and special circumstances were examined in conjunction with the United Nations operational criteria. If the death investigation did not identify the suspected perpetrator, news media were searched for a reported homicide or manslaughter arrest. The total number of homicides was 271, and 259 (96%) could be further categorized, of which 181 (70%) were femicides. Differences between the 2 cohorts included causes of death ( P 's < 0.001), age at death ( P < 0.001), and the involvement of murder-suicide ( P < 0.001). No differences were observed for race, and the yearly rate of femicides did not increase during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Map of homicides by firearms: profile of the victims and the assaults

Describing the profile of victims and assaults by gunshot, where the outcome was death. An ecological study conducted in the city of Maceió/AL, in 2012. Data were collected from the death statements. The variables studied were: the death circumstances, gender, age, marital status, place, date, time, month and proportion according to the occurring neighborhood. The homicide mortality rate was 65.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, with 130.6 per 100,000 men and 7.8 per 100,000 women. Of the total number of homicides, 93.6% of the victims were men. The age group between 15 and 29 years of age was the most affected, with 68.8%. In 97.6% of cases the death occurred at the site of aggression, 74.1% in the streets. In relation to the date, 54.2% of cases occurred between Friday and Sunday. 59.7% of the homicides were concentrated in seven neighborhoods. The map of violence presented shows heterogeneous areas for the occurrence of assaults with firearms, characterizing the existing urban inequality in violence distribution.

Gastos en seguridad y homicidios: los costos de la guerra contra el crimen organizado (2006-2012)

This article intends to evaluate the state security strategy implemented from 2006 to 2012 by considering two core variables: Expenditure in Security and total number of homicides. The main concern arises from the fact that the higher the expenses in security the higher the number of homicides at national level. We correlate these two variables separately, one for president Vicente Fox and another for Felipe Calderón finding relevant differences. We divide the homicides data base in three periods, during the 90´s; from 2000 to 2005 and from 2006 to 2012 in order to compare average homicides per year, annual rate of growth and the top ten for each period. Finally we take the top ten entities from 2006-2012 and we add two more variables: blackmailing and kidnaping. Then we correlate them with unemployment drawing conclusions that should be taken care of.

Medicolegal Characteristics of Firearm Homicides in Belgrade, Serbia: Before, During, and After the War in the Former Yugoslavia

A comparative analysis of firearm homicides committed in Belgrade was performed including four representative years: 1987 (before the civil war in the Former Yugoslavia), 1991 (beginning of the war), 1997 (end of the war), and 2007 (period of social stabilization). The increase in the number of homicides was established in 1991 and 1997 compared with 1987, with the decrease in 2007, but with the continuous increase in the percentage of firearm homicides in the total number of homicides, from 12% in 1987 up to 56% in 2007. The significant increase in firearm homicides during the last decade of the 20th century can be explained by the social disturbances and the high availability of firearms, while their reduction in 2007 could be linked to the gradual stabilization of social circumstances. The results showed that the actual social, political, and economical changes strongly influenced medicolegal characteristics of homicides and particularly firearm homicides.

The relative contribution of income inequality and imprisonment to the variation in homicide rates among Developed (OECD), South and Central American countries☆

Homicide rates vary widely across and within different continents. In order to address the problem of violence in the world, it seems important to clarify the sources of this variability. Despite the fact that income inequality and imprisonment seem to be two of the most important determinants of the variation in homicide rates over space and time, the concomitant effect of income inequality and imprisonment on homicide has not been examined. The objective of this cross-sectional ecological study was to investigate the association of income inequality and imprisonment with homicide rates among Developed (OECD), South and Central American countries. A novel index was developed to indicate imprisonment: the Impunity Index (the total number of homicides in the preceding decade divided by the number of persons in prison at a single slice in time). Negative binomial models were used to estimate rate ratios of homicides for young males and for the total population in relation to Gini Index and Impunity Index, controlling for infant mortality (as a proxy for poverty levels), Gross Domestic Product per-capita, education, percentage of young males in the population and urbanization. Both low income inequality and low impunity (high imprisonment of criminals) were related to low homicide rates. In addition, we found that countries with lower income inequality, lower infant mortality (less poverty), higher average income (GDP per-capita) and higher levels of education had low impunity. Our results are compatible with the hypothesis that both low income inequality and imprisonment of criminals, independent of each other and of other social-structural circumstances, may greatly contribute to the reduction in homicide rates in South and Central American countries, and to the maintenance of low levels of homicides in OECD countries. The Impunity Index reveals that countries that show greater commitment to education and to distribution of income also show greater commitment to punish serious criminal behavior.

Homicide and impunity: an ecological analysis at state level in Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To assess a new impunity index and variables that have been found to predict variation in homicide rates in other geographical levels as predictive of state-level homicide rates in Brazil. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional ecological study. Data from the mortality information system relating to the 27 Brazilian states for the years 1996 to 2005 were analyzed. The outcome variables were taken to be homicide victim rates in 2005, for the entire population and for men aged 20-29 years. Measurements of economic and social development, economic inequality, demographic structure and life expectancy were analyzed as predictors. An "impunity index", calculated as the total number of homicides between 1996 and 2005 divided by the number of individuals in prison in 2007, was constructed. The data were analyzed by means of simple linear regression and negative binomial regression. RESULTS: In 2005, state-level crude total homicide rates ranged from 11 to 51 per 100,000; for young men, they ranged from 39 to 241. The impunity index ranged from 0.4 to 3.5 and was the most important predictor of this variability. From negative binomial regression, it was estimated that the homicide victim rate among young males increased by 50% for every increase of one point in this ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Classic predictive factors were not associated with homicides in this analysis of state-level variation in Brazil. However, the impunity index indicated that the greater the impunity, the higher the homicide rate.

The relative contribution of income inequality and imprisonment to the variation in homicide rates among Developed (OECD), South and Central American countries

Homicide rates vary widely across and within different continents. In order to address the problem of violence in the world, it seems important to clarify the sources of this variability. Despite the fact that income inequality and imprisonment seem to be two of the most important determinants of the variation in homicide rates over space and time, the concomitant effect of income inequality and imprisonment on homicide has not been examined. The objective of this cross-sectional ecological study was to investigate the association of income inequality and imprisonment with homicide rates among Developed (OECD), South and Central American countries. A novel index was developed to indicate imprisonment: the Impunity Index (the total number of homicides in the preceding decade divided by the number of persons in prison at a single slice in time). Negative binomial models were used to estimate rate ratios of homicides for young males and for the total population in relation to Gini Index and Impunity Index, controlling for infant mortality (as a proxy for poverty levels), Gross Domestic Product per-capita, education, percentage of young males in the population and urbanization. Both low income inequality and low impunity (high imprisonment of criminals) were related to low homicide rates. In addition, we found that countries with lower income inequality, lower infant mortality (less poverty), higher average income (GDP per-capita) and higher levels of education had low impunity. Our results are compatible with the hypothesis that both low income inequality and imprisonment of criminals, independent of each other and of other social-structural circumstances, may greatly contribute to the reduction in homicide rates in South and Central American countries, and to the maintenance of low levels of homicides in OECD countries. The Impunity Index reveals that countries that show greater commitment to education and to distribution of income also show greater commitment to punish serious criminal behavior.

Homicides in two Scandinavian capitals.

In this study we investigated homicides in the two Scandinavian capitals, Copenhagen, Denmark and Oslo, Norway, for the 10-year period from 1985 to 1994. The total number of homicides was 431; 63.8% occurred in Copenhagen and 36.2% in Oslo. The average homicide rate was 1.6/100,000 in Copenhagen and 1.8/100,000 in Oslo. Blunt force, sharp force, and strangulation were the most common methods. Firearms were also used but did not account for >20% in either of the two cities. This is probably due to strict gun laws in both countries. There was no clear difference between the homicide victim populations in the two cities with regard to age, gender, or social and marital status. The proportion of alcoholics and unemployed persons was much higher than in the background population and to a similar extent in both cities, indicating that the homicide victim populations differ from the background populations. The perpetrator knew the victim in the majority of the cases. The most frequent motives or circumstances in both cities were fights, family rows, financial controversies, or jealousy.

Homicide Trends in Eight U.S. Cities

Sharp declines in homicides have been recorded in some major cities of the United States, including, for example, a 31% decline in New York City's homicide rate between 1990 and 1994. The downward trend is by no means universal. Indeed, between 1990 and 1994, the total number of homicides in the United States reflected little change (23,440 homicides recorded in 1990 and 23,310 in 1994) and greatly exceeded the most recent low of 18,980 recorded in 1985. Further, in 41 of 78 cities with populations greater than 200,000, the per capita homicide rate in 1994 exceeded the rate in 1985. The focus on national trends, and on trends in major cities such as New York, thus masks a more complex picture that has substantial variation. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has initiated a series of research projects to identify and examine factors associated with violence—and changes in violence—in U.S. cities. In this article, we describe one of these projects, the “Homicide Trends in Eight U.S. Cities Project,” which is a study of policy, community, and individual factors hypothesized to influence local homicide trends.