Variation In Homicide Research Articles

Criminal Victimization in Cross-National Perspective

This research examines the effect of resource deprivation, criminal opportunities and social disorganization on national rates of homicide, non-lethal violence, theft and car vandalism. Previous cross-national research has concentrated on homicide variation, owing to the comparative problems associated with rates for other crimes. In the present article, International Crime Victims Survey (ICVS) data on various contact crimes, as well as homicide figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), are analysed across 27 East European and Western countries. First, a comparison of homicide levels with victimization rates for theft and non-lethal violence indicates considerable overlap, which suggests that countries with high levels of homicide tend to have high levels of other violence and theft too. Second, results from multivariate analyses indicate that income inequality is the most consistent structural correlate of victimization rates for homicide, theft, non-lethal violence and car damage across this selection of countries. Also, homicide and theft show negative relations with GDP per capita. This may indicate that societal development goes together with lower levels of exposure to likely homicide offenders (family, friends). However, the results provide no support for the crime-inducing impact of high target attractiveness, thereby challenging predictions derived from routine activity theory on theft.

Homicides in Developing Nations: Results of Research Using a Large and Representative Sample

Most past research on cross-national variation in homicides has included small samples of nations that were heavily weighted toward industrialized nations. In recent years, homicide data for a larger number of developing nations have become available. This study looks at cross-national variation in homicides, focusing exclusively on developing nations, and uses a much larger and more representative sample of such nations than any past research. Correlation and regression analysis are used to reexamine the association of concepts and indicators used in past research to explain variation in homicides across nations. Percentage Christian and to a lesser degree percentage Islamic emerge as the most important predictors. It is suggested and discussed that this finding is best explained by the cultural effects of colonization on many developing nations.

Cross-National Variation in Homicides: The Case of Latin America

This research shows that Latin American nations have a disproportionate number of the high homicide rates that occur among the nations of the world and that all Latin American nations have at least moderately high homicide rates. An investigation of the history and culture of Latin America indicates that cultural values conducive to violence have evolved out of the history of colonization and subjugation that is shared by these nations. This research examines whether the high homicide rates can be explained by structural and demographic national characteristics that have been found to explain cross-national variation in homicides in past research. Regression analysis using World Health Organization, United Nations, and INTERPOL homicide data reveals that this region exhibits a strong positive association with homicides net other relevant variables for all indicators of homicides. The strength of the association is substantially greater than for any other variable included in the analysis. Thus it is probable that there is a strong cultural component to the high homicide rates in Latin American nations. Other possibilities are briefly discussed.