NCJ Number
137719
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: (1992) Pages: 249-259
Date Published
1992
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Police homicide files in Memphis, Tenn. were examined for 3 years separated by 25-year intervals (1935, 1960, 1985) to study the effect of medical care on the homicide rate.
Abstract
To determine the duration of survival of homicide victims, all police homicide files in Memphis were examined for three different years separated by 25-year intervals, beginning with the files of 1935. The lethality measure for a given year was calculated by adding the number of homicides and aggravated assaults, dividing the sum into the number of homicides, and multiplying this quotient by a constant. The findings show decreasing percentages of lethality of serious personal attacks, increasing proportions of homicide victims dead on arrival at emergency rooms, and decreasing survival times for those not dead on arrival. Consistent with prior research, these findings suggest that hospitals have been saving increasing proportions of persons who have been violently assaulted and that only those victims in extremely critical condition when brought to the hospitals die subsequent to admission. Support for this explanation is provided by the decreasing lethality ratio. Data indicate the dramatic and steady decreases in murders as a proportion of aggravated assaults over the 50-year period, both in Memphis and in the United States generally. 3 tables, 1 figure, 3 notes, and 40 references