NCJ Number
238611
Date Published
2011
Length
128 pages
Annotation
This United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) study reports on global trends and patterns of homicide.
Abstract
Findings show that globally, the total number of annual deaths estimated by UNODC to be homicides in 2010 was 468,000. More than a third of homicides (36 percent) are estimated to have occurred in Africa, 31 percent in the Americas, 27 percent in Asia, 5 percent in Europe and 1 per cent in Oceania. Results show a link between violent crime and development with the largest shares of homicides occurring in countries with low levels of human development, and countries with high levels of income inequality are afflicted by homicide rates almost four times higher than more equal societies. Long-term, sustainable economic and social development also requires governance based on the rule of law. In all countries where there has been a strengthening of the rule of law in the last 15 years there has also been a decline in the homicide rate, while most countries where homicide has increased have a relatively weak rule of law. Findings connect firearm availability and higher homicide levels; 42 percent of global homicides are actually committed by firearm. In many countries with high homicide rates the share of firearm homicides is also greater and is often associated with the illicit activities of organized criminal groups, often linked to drug trafficking. Intimate partner/family- related homicide is the major cause of female homicides, and female homicide rates are much more likely to be driven by this type of violence than the organized crime-related homicide typology. Men are those most often involved in homicide in general, accounting for some 80 percent of homicide victims and perpetrators. Data on intentional homicides was collected from either criminal justice or public health systems in 207 countries. Figures and annexes