Murder Victims in Us

Murder Victims in the U.S. between 2000-2010
Differences between Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics
And between Males and Females The relationship between crime and race within the United States is still a heavily controversial topic. This research will help one to fully understand the differences between Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics and women and men murder victims, and also to decipher if geographic locations are causes of high murder rates within the U.S. In order for this to take place, one should fully familiarize oneself with the following; (1) history of murder victims within the U.S.; (2) race in relationship to murder; (3) social implications of murder; (4) high geographical areas of murder and low geographical areas of murder and how these areas are in relation to race; and (5) prevention methods in low crime areas and intervention methods in high crime areas. My Audience of consist of Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics along with male and female surviving family members of murder victims. In order to help individuals who have experienced the loss of a loved one due to homicide, the findings of this report aims to provide information necessary to avoid grief and pain associated with Murder, by instilling prevention and intervention methods. Families of murder victims often do not understand why a homicide has taken place. Some have a hard time coping with the loss, and an even harder time dealing with the fact that someone else ended their loved ones life. Some family members seek revenge, further involving more cases of murder and an increase of violence begins to spread. This report intends to examine the history, social implications, and prevention and intervention methods of murder within the U.S. It will also discuss which geographic areas are high risks and what strategies and programs should be implemented within these areas to decrease murder and increase domestic stability within a certain environment. Therefore, this study’s research question is “are their differences between Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics, and between males and females when it comes to murder victims within the U.S. and are geographical locations the most determining factors associated with higher murder rates?” The Null Hypothesis is “There are no statistical differences between Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics, and between males and females concerning murder rates and there is no statistical differences between geographical locations being the most determining factors associated with higher murder.”

The History of Murder According to merriam-webster.com, murder is “the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought”. Murder has been in our society for quite some time. One can date back as early as the Bible and find that murder was prevalent there. Murder is an epidemic, grossly taking over most of our urban communities. “Since the 1980s, the debate has centered around the causes of and contributing factors to the disproportional representation of racial minorities (particularly African Americans, hence "Black crime") at all stages of the criminal justice system, including arrests, prosecutions and incarcerations.” (wikipedia.com). To fully understand what has happened in recent years, one must take a look at statistical data.
According to www.disastercenter.com , murder has been on a steady increase since the 1960’s. Paying close attention to years 2000-2010, murder has steadily increased peaking at just over 17,000 in 2006. Since that time, it actually has decreased to just under 15,000 in 2010 (www.disastercenter.com)
The American homicide rate has been higher than Europe’s from the start, and higher at just about every stage since. It has also fluctuated, sometimes wildly. During the Colonial period, the homicide rate fell, but in the nineteenth century, while Europe’s kept sinking, the U.S. rate went up and up. In the twentieth century, the rate in the United States dropped to about five during the years following the Second World War, but then rose, reaching about eleven in 1991. It has since fallen once again, to just above five, a rate that is, nevertheless, twice that of any other affluent democracy. (LaPore, 2009).

Race in Relationship to Murder Race plays a particular role in how statics is formed about murder. According to Russell-Brown, “Historically, crime statistics have played a central role in the discussion of the relationship between race and crime in the United States. As they have been designed to record information not only on the kinds of crimes committed, but also on the individuals involved in crime, criminologists and sociologists have and continue to use crime rate statistics to make general statements regarding the racial demographics of crime-related phenomena such as victimization, arrests, prosecutions, convictions, and incarceration.” (Russell-Brown, 2012). The racial composition of the US population as of 2008 was 79.79% European American (65.60% non-Hispanic and 14.19% Hispanic), 12.84% African American (12.22% non-Hispanic and 0.62% Hispanic), 15.25% of the total US population identified their ethnicity as Hispanic. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008). Of this information, the statistics in regard to murder are as follows: 43% of violent criminal acts, and 53% of serious violent crime (not verbal threats, or cuts and bruises) were reported to the police. Overall, black (49%) and American Indian (48%) victims reported most often, significantly higher than whites (42%) and Asians (40%). Serious violent crime and aggravated assault against blacks (58% and 61%) and Indians (55% and 59%) was reported more often than against whites (51% and 54%) or Asians (50% and 51%)
The issue with these statistics is that Hispanics were more often classified as White or other race. According to a 2009 report by the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2007 Latinos "accounted for 40% of all sentenced federal offenders-more than triple their share (13%) of the total U.S. adult population". (Lopez, 2009). This data is recorded according to the suspect being classified as a Hispanic, and not categorized in any other ethnic group. Cooper and Smith analyzed statistical data and came up with the following information in regards to race, sex, and age of victims and murders over a period of time. The information is as follows: * In 2008, young adults (18 to 24 years old) had the highest victimization rate in each racial and sex group.

* In 2008, black males age 18 to 24 years-old had the highest homicide victimization rate (91.1 homicides per 100,000). That rate was more than double the rate for black males age 25 or older (38.4 homicides per 100,000) and almost triple the rate for black males age 14 to 17 (31.4 homicides per 100,000).Trends by age, sex, and race

* Among black males age 18 to 24, the homicide victimization rate was much lower in 2008 (91.1 homicides per 100,000) than in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when it reached a high of 195.9 homicides per 100,000 in 1993.

* The offending rate for black male young adults remained more than double the rate of black male teens (64.8 off enders per 100,000) and 4 times the rate of black males age 25 or older (37.8 off enders per 100,000)

* White females of all ages had the lowest off ending rates of any racial or age groups

* The off ending rate for black females of all ages has declined since the early 1990s. Black female teens experienced the largest decline in offending, dropping from 11 offenders per 100,000 in 1992 to 3 offenders per 100,000 in 2008.

* Since 2000, young white males have accounted for about 6% of the population and about 10% of homicide victims. Their proportion of offenders has declined slightly from 18% in 2000 to 16% by 2008.

* While young black males have accounted for about 1% of the population from 1980 to 2008, they have made up an increasing proportion of homicide victims, going from 9% of all homicide victims in 1980 to 18% in 1994. After 1994, their proportion of homicide victims has remained relatively stable at about 16%.

* The percentage of young black male homicide off enders also increased rapidly from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, going from 17% in 1985 to 35% by 1993 before declining. By 2008, young black males made up about a quarter of all homicide offenders (27%).

Social Implications of Murder Murder is sudden and unexpected, and to the remaining family and friends of the victim, it can be a devastating and traumatizing situation. The event of a homicide taking place in one’s family can open up the grounds for more traumatic events to take place within the family structure. Changes in stability of the family unit, family developmental issues, changes in communication patterns are all events that may take place after a significant other has been murdered. Once a family member has been murdered, the possible implications of that murder could result in disruption of family stability. Murder permanently takes away a member of the family structure which can have detrimental effects on the members who are left to mourn the memory of such. The stability is damaged because a person within the structure may not be able to cope with the loss, further adding stress to the situation, and crippling the family structure (Asaro,2005). Family development issues can occur immediately following the homicide of a loved individual. According to Asaro, “The accompanying symptoms of homicide bereavement may be both disturbing and disruptive to daily routines but can also affect the trajectory of growth and development for each family member. Disruption may occur relative to established developmental tasks surrounding issues of understanding moral reasoning, the consequence of one’s action, and the need for family permanence”. After the murder of a family member, surviving members may feel anger, grief, rage, sadness, guilt, and helplessness. Asaro states that these feelings are perfectly normal following the death of a loved one but, typically are not feelings that are easily discussed amongst the family members. It is imperative for other family and friends to keep an open line of communication and support for the most affected surviving family member, and to help to cope with the feelings that they are feeling.
High Geographical Areas and Low Geographical Areas of Murder and how these are in Relation to Race
According to Ellis, “studies have examined if ethnic/racially heterogeneous areas, most often neighborhoods in large cities, have higher crime rates than more homogeneous areas. Most studies find that the more ethnically/racially heterogeneous an area is, the higher its crime rates tend to be. Studies examining the relationship between percentages of different rates in an area and crime rates have generally either found similar relationships as for nationwide crime rates or no significant relationships. Most studied is the correlation between proportion of blacks in an area and crime with most of the studies finding a relationship, especially regarding violent offenses.”
“There are sharp regional differences in homicide, with the South having by far the highest murder rate, almost double that of the Northeast, a divergence that has persisted for as long as records have been kept, starting in the 19th century” (Butterfield, 1998). The former slaveholding states all rank in the top 20 states for murder, led by Louisiana, with a rate of 17.5 murders per 100,000 people in 1996. The 10 states with the lowest homicide rates are in New England and the northern Midwest, with South Dakota's the lowest at 1.2 murders per 100,000 people (Butterfield, 1998)
The reason why murder is so high in the South is because of two reasons: Climate and personal matters. Climate has played a major factor in determining the area where most murders occur. The closer an area is to the equator, the higher the crime rate. (Ellis, 2009) With the South significantly closer, violence is more prevalent. The second factor is that in the South, things tend to be more personal, prompting the usage of violent crimes. According to Butterfield, people of the North and Midwest tend to have murder because of other acts of violence that led up to a murder occurring. The victims usually are unknown to the perpetrator. Within the South, however, murders are committed more frequently involving parties who were acquainted with one another. This typically drives the murder rate up because the matter at hand is usually a personal one. Prevention Methods in Low Crime Areas and Intervention Methods in High Crime Areas
Preventive efforts must focus on primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention refers to broad preventive efforts designed to remove the root causes of the problem. Primary prevention efforts should include the development of conflict-resolution skills, the development of community-based programs for youth, support for families, handgun control, and the enhancement of racial identity. Secondary prevention involves intervention in nonlethal violence to prevent its escalation to homicide. This includes intervention by police and social services in nonlethal domestic violence to prevent its recurrence. Tertiary prevention involves the provision of appropriate services to the witnesses and family members affected by homicides. (Bell, 1990) Some other prevention methods that have been found effective are community based non-enforcement strategies which included collaborating with the community and housing authority to create crime reduction solutions, provide job skills to youth and adults within a high crime area community, collaborating with local schools to develop and implement mentoring and drug prevention programs to students at elementary and middle school levels, collaborating with the juvenile justice system, and collaborating with the battered women association. (Bell, 1990)
Some intervention method would include higher police presence in high crime areas, better community and law enforcement relationships, and community based crime prevention task forces aimed at preventing crimes before they start (Bell, 1990).

Patterns of victimization and oending varied by age, sex, andracial group

During the late 1990s, homicide victimization rates dropped orall groups. In recent years, rates or most groups have stabilized.

In 2008, young adults (18 to 24 years old) had the highest victimization rate in each racial and sex group.

Aer increases in the early 1990s, the victimization rates orboth white and black male teens (14 to 17 years old) peaked in1993 at 9.4 homicides per 100,000 or whites and 79 homicidesper 100,000 or blacks
(gures 21a and 21b)
.

Since 1993, the victimization rates or both white and black maleteens (14 to 17 years old) have declined. By 2008, the rates or bothgroups were similar to the rates in the mid-1980s, at 4.5 homicidesper 100,000 or whites and 31.4 homicides per 100,000 or blacks.

In 2008, black males age 18 to 24 years-old had the highesthomicide victimization rate (91.1 homicides per 100,000). Tatrate was more than double the rate or black males age 25 orolder (38.4 homicides per 100,000) and almost triple the rate orblack males age 14 to 17 (31.4 homicides per 100,000).

Among black males age 18 to 24, the homicide victimization ratewas much lower in 2008 (91.1 homicides per 100,000) than inthe late 1980s and early 1990s, when it reached a high o 195.9homicides per 100,000 in 1993.

For white emales o all ages, homicide victimization rates havedeclined. Among white women age 18 to 24, the rate declinedrom 5.5 homicides per 100,000 in 1980 to 2.6 per 100,000 in2008
(gure 21c)
.

Since 1993, the victimization rate or black emales has declinedacross all age groups. Girls age 14 to 17 experienced the largest victimization rate decline, dropping rom 13.1 homicides per100,000 in 1993 to 4.6 per 100,000 in 2008
(gure 21d)
.
Trends by age, sex, and race
Patterns of victimization and oending varied by age, sex, andracial group

During the late 1990s, homicide victimization rates dropped orall groups. In recent years, rates or most groups have stabilized.

In 2008, young adults (18 to 24 years old) had the highest victimization rate in each racial and sex group.

Aer increases in the early 1990s, the victimization rates orboth white and black male teens (14 to 17 years old) peaked in1993 at 9.4 homicides per 100,000 or whites and 79 homicidesper 100,000 or blacks
(gures 21a and 21b)
.

Since 1993, the victimization rates or both white and black maleteens (14 to 17 years old) have declined. By 2008, the rates or bothgroups were similar to the rates in the mid-1980s, at 4.5 homicidesper 100,000 or whites and 31.4 homicides per 100,000 or blacks.

In 2008, black males age 18 to 24 years-old had the highesthomicide victimization rate (91.1 homicides per 100,000). Tatrate was more than double the rate or black males age 25 orolder (38.4 homicides per 100,000) and almost triple the rate orblack males age 14 to 17 (31.4 homicides per 100,000).

Among black males age 18 to 24, the homicide victimization ratewas much lower in 2008 (91.1 homicides per 100,000) than inthe late 1980s and early 1990s, when it reached a high o 195.9homicides per 100,000 in 1993.

For white emales o all ages, homicide victimization rates havedeclined. Among white women age 18 to 24, the rate declinedrom 5.5 homicides per 100,000 in 1980 to 2.6 per 100,000 in2008
(gure 21c)
.

Since 1993, the victimization rate or black emales has declinedacross all age groups. Girls age 14 to 17 experienced the largest victimization rate decline, dropping rom 13.1 homicides per100,000 in 1993 to 4.6 per 100,000 in 2008
(gure 21d)
.

Methodology

Participants: Participants of this research consisted of African Americans, Hispanics, and Caucasian men and women between the ages of 15-24. They were surviving members of murdered victims. There were 45 participants who completed a surviving victim’s survey provided by the National Crime Victims Survey. The participants who were allowed to participate were those surviving family members of homicide victims.
Materials: The materials used were 45 surveys that were completed on the National Crime Victims website, as well as, statistical data retrieved from the United Census Bureau. These materials were used in reaching final conclusions. A 20 questions questionnaire was also provided to the 45 participants whose surveys were used within this study.
Procedure: The procedure consisted of me collecting data from the surveys that were taken by the surviving family members of homicide victims. A small stipend was provided to the participants whose surveys were accepted and used within this study. Once the 45 surveys and questionnaires were completed, the data from both sets of information was collected and analyzed. Results from the procedure were then recorded and charted. Finally, the data was used to determine whether the null hypothesis would be accepted or rejected.