NCJ Number
76014
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 50 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1981) Pages: 8-11
Date Published
1981
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The results of a study by the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) exploring the relationships among sex, race, or age and the chance of becoming a murder victim are presented.
Abstract
The primary source of information was homicide data collected monthly through UCR's Supplementary Homicide Report; attempted murder, justifiable homicide, manslaughter by negligence, suicide, and other nonwillful or negligent offenses are excluded. The required vital statistics were provided by the National Center for Health Statistics, and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census were used to compute murder rates. Survival statistics and homicide data were used to separate, at each age, the number of murder deaths from those caused by other reasons. The statistical analysis indicates that regardless of race, the chance of murder victimization for males is higher, at all ages, than for females. Regardless of race, the chance of murder victimization peaks during the twenties for both males and females and reduces steadily after the age of 30. Child murder victimization, high at infancy, reaches a lifetime low between the ages of 5 and 10. At all ages, persons of races other than white are subjected to a substantially higher probability of murder victimization than whites. The chance of murder victimization for an average U.S. citizen is 1 out of 157. However, different segments of the population may have far more disadvantageous odds. For instance, nonwhite males have 1 chance out of 29 of being murdered. The ongoing UCR homicide study will continue to address other aspects of the homicide problem. The article is supported by statistical tables, graphs, and one footnote.