NCJ Number
72053
Date Published
1976
Length
162 pages
Annotation
Results are reported from a study of the patterns of victim involvement in criminal homicide in San Francisco, Calif., from 1971 through 1973, with focus upon the victim's interaction with the offender.
Abstract
All data were obtained from the records and files of the police department. The chi-square test was used to determine the statistical significance of frequency distribution differences. The rank order (from highest to lowest) of homicide victims was found to be black males, black females, white males, other minority males, white females, and other minority females. Three out of every four victims were male. The median age of the victims was 35 years, about the same as the median age of the city's population. There were no significant patterns of homicide relating to months or seasons of the year. About 60 percent of the homicides occurred in the night hours. Firearms were the weapons used most often, and the heaviest concentration of homicides was in the poverty tracts of the city. About 74 percent of the homicides were intra-racial, with over 36 percent being victim-precipitated. The majority of the victims were involved in emotional interactions with the offender prior to the killing, with 34 percent of the cases involving arguments between the offender and the victim which culminated in the victim's death. Less than one out of every four cases involved strangers; about 59 percent of the cases involved relatives or close friends. Tabular data and 21 references are provided. (Author abstract modified)