Neighborhood Context and Media Constructions of Murder: A Multilevel Analysis of Homicide Newspaper Coverage in Los Angeles County
This study has implications for the social construction of and criminal justice response to crime. (Source: Homicide Studies)
Source: Homicide Studies - January 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Petersen, N. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Getting Away With Murder: An Examination of Detected Homicides Staged as Suicides
Staged crime scenes involve an offender deliberately altering evidence to simulate events to mislead investigators. Despite likely occurring more often than reported in the literature due to success in offender deception, the exact frequency of staged crime scenes is unknown. In an attempt to bridge this gap, a legal database was searched for detected staged scenes. A total of 115 cases were examined, and this study reports on 16 staged suicides that were examined through descriptive analysis. Findings indicate the frequent involvement of firearms, hanging, or asphyxia, and that offenders are usually known to victims, alth...
Source: Homicide Studies - January 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Ferguson, C., Petherick, W. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Extending the Anomie Tradition: An Assessment of the Impact of Trade Measures on Cross-National Homicide Rates
This study advances anomie theory by examining the effect of anomic societal conditions and indicators of globalization on national homicide rates. Globalization may generate anomie in two ways: (a) via rapid change and (b) by contributing to economic dominance that may lead to a chronic state of anomie. To assess the role of globalization, measures of international trade are examined in a model of national homicide rates. Results show that net investment has a positive effect on rates of homicide across several models, suggesting that globalization and economic dominance aggravate homicide. (Source: Homicide Studies)
Source: Homicide Studies - October 7, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Levchak, P. J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
The Problems and Promises of Research on Deaths Due to Legal Intervention in Latin America
This research note aims to answer the following questions: (a) How do Latin American authorities systematize and report data regarding deaths due to legal intervention? (b) To what extent is this information public and available? (c) Can this information help to better understand and compare regional patterns of lethal violence perpetrated by the State? Research findings suggest that data regarding deaths due to legal intervention are still an unreliable source of information, thereby hampering any cross-national comparison of how lethal violence is exercised by the State in Latin America. (Source: Homicide Studies)
Source: Homicide Studies - October 7, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Fondevila, G., Meneses Reyes, R. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
The Social Structure of Homicide-Suicide
This article focuses on intimate partner killings to address the question of why some killers subsequently commit suicide whereas others do not. Utilizing Blackian theories of conflict management and Manning’s theory of suicide, it advances hypotheses about when intimate partner conflict will result in homicide-suicide rather than homicide alone. These hypotheses propose that differing amounts of status superiority and relational distance predict and explain different patterns of lethal violence. The hypotheses are illustrated and supported with data taken from a study of intimate partner homicides in the state of We...
Source: Homicide Studies - October 7, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Manning, J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
I'm Still Left Here With the Pain: Exploring the Health Consequences of Homicide on Families and Friends
This study is important to better understand their needs and to create a holistic systematic response to those most affected by homicide. The findings present recommendations regarding what approaches, resources, and services would be helpful for people who have had a loved one die by homicide, which may prove beneficial for academics, policymakers, practitioners, and medical responders. (Source: Homicide Studies)
Source: Homicide Studies - October 7, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Mastrocinque, J. M., Metzger, J. W., Madeira, J., Lang, K., Pruss, H., Navratil, P. K., Sandys, M., Cerulli, C. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Seasonal Variation in Homicide and Assault Across Large U.S. Cities
Although most crimes follow seasonal cycles, homicide is an apparent exception. The absence of homicide seasonality is surprising given that assault, a closely related offense, has an obvious annual pattern. Focusing on large U.S. cities, this article reevaluates seasonality in homicide rates using data with more extensive spatial and areal dimensions than in previous research. Panel decompositions reveal seasonal cycles in both homicide and assault rates. Seasonality stands out more clearly in assault, however, and the patterns differ somewhat in their details. The findings support the idea that assault and homicide have ...
Source: Homicide Studies - October 7, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: McDowall, D., Curtis, K. M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Adjusting Rates of Homicide Clearance by Arrest for Investigation Difficulty: Modeling Incident- and Jurisdiction-Level Obstacles
Scholars have criticized the use of homicide clearance rates to measure police performance, as many incident- and jurisdiction-level characteristics beyond police control influence these rates. The current study estimated adjusted measures and rates of homicide arrest clearance, accounting for jurisdictional and incident characteristics related to investigation difficulty, for 85 agencies. Comparing agencies’ raw and adjusted measures indicates that 16% would be miscategorized as being above or below average in performance if the assessment of performance used raw rates. Adjusted homicide clearance rates, while not a...
Source: Homicide Studies - June 30, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Roberts, A. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Urban Homicide in the United States, 1980-2010: The Importance of Disaggregated Trends
Using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mortality and census data with Supplementary Homicide Reports, we compare 25- and 30-year homicide trends for four age-race-sex categories in 172 U.S. cities. The comparisons indicate that one of the most salient aspects of homicide in the United States from 1980 to 2010 was the disproportionate involvement of young Black men as homicide victims and offenders. The persistence of these rates before, during, and after a sharp rise followed by a dramatic drop in the overall rates suggests the need for a focus on specific explanations for this aspect of urban homicide. (So...
Source: Homicide Studies - June 30, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Chilton, R., Chambliss, W. J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Adult Male-on-Female Stranger Sexual Homicide: A Descriptive (Baseline) Study From Great Britain
This study aims to address this. Using data gathered by various British police forces, this study presents a descriptive profile of adult male-on-female stranger sexual homicide in Great Britain in recent years. Along with demographic and occupational data on offenders and victims, the criminal histories of offenders are illustrated as are their offense behaviors. The results are discussed in light of similar research, and future directions and implications are considered. (Source: Homicide Studies)
Source: Homicide Studies - June 30, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Greenall, P. V., Richardson, C. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Ideological Victimization: Homicides Perpetrated by Far-Right Extremists
This study examines homicide victimization during acts of far-right ideologically motivated violence. Focusing on victims of extremist violence in the United States, we compare ideological homicide victims to prior homicide research to determine whether ideological victims are similar to "routine" homicide victims. In addition, ideological victims were broken into four categories to determine whether differences between these victimization groups exist. The results of the study found that ideological victimization is a unique phenomenon, as differences were found between the victims of far-right ideologically motivated hom...
Source: Homicide Studies - June 30, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Parkin, W. S., Freilich, J. D., Chermak, S. M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Re-Conceptualizing "Cooling-Off Periods" in Serial Homicide
Cooling-off periods have been described as the state of returning to the offender’s usual way of life between homicides (Burgess, 2006) and are a crucial factor in defining serial homicide (Douglas, Ressler, Burgess, & Hartman, 1986). If the clinical aspect referring to the offender’s emotional and motivational state is removed, these episodes can be aptly termed time intervals between homicides. Factors such as geography, victim selection, and the offender’s level of social involvement may instead serve as more appropriate starting points for studying this concept. In the present study, these factors...
Source: Homicide Studies - April 8, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Osborne, J. R., Salfati, C. G. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Child Homicides in Sweden: A Descriptive Study Comparing the 1990s and the 2000s
The objective of the study was to examine the change in child homicides in Sweden between the 1990s and the 2000s based on a study of all cases registered during the periods 1990-1996 and 2002-2008. The results show a significant annual 4% decrease in the number of child homicides, with the main decline being due to a decrease in cases of filicide–suicide among both fathers and mothers. One possible explanation for the decrease may be the increases in the general prescription of antidepressant medication. However, other factors may also have played a significant role in the decline as well. (Source: Homicide Studies)
Source: Homicide Studies - April 8, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Sturup, J., Granath, S. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
The Spatial Distribution and Social Ecology of "Public" and "Private" Homicide Types in Toronto: A Case for Data Disaggregation
The core assumption underlying the disaggregation of homicide by type is that a singular focus on the monolithic category "homicide" obscures the multidimensional nature of lethal violence. The goal of this article is to contribute to the emerging literature on neighborhoods and different homicide types by examining the spatial distribution and ecological correlates of young male homicide and intimate femicide in Toronto, Canada, for the period 1988-2003. Findings suggest that there is a significant difference across homicide types in the effect of only one of the independent variables under examination: an index of socioe...
Source: Homicide Studies - April 8, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Thompson, S. K. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
How Do Kidnappers Kill Hostages? A Comparison of Terrorist and Criminal Groups
This study explores how hostages are murdered during a kidnapping for ransom. A multi-dimensional scaling procedure was used to explore the homicidal behavior of kidnappers. Three styles of homicide, labeled as execution, manual, and slaughter, were identified. Each varied in the degree of expressive/instrumental aggression and planned or spontaneous violence. Classification of the sample data found that 46.4% of kidnapping homicides were characterized by instrumental violence labeled as execution style, whereas 42.9% were characterized by hostile violence that was spontaneous and less reliant on using a weapon (manual sty...
Source: Homicide Studies - April 8, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Phillips, E. M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
