2013 are consistent with the patterns that prevailed over almost three decades.

2013 are consistent with the patterns that prevailed over almost three decades.

From this review of the demographic factors that are correlated with murder rates, a profile can be drawn indicating which groups of people run the greatest risks of suddenly dying from an act of vio- lence. They are Southerners, urban residents, males, teenagers, and young adults between 18 and 24, and African-Americans. Those who fall into the opposite groups face the lowest risks of all: Northeasterners, residents of small towns in rural areas, females, chil- dren and the elderly, whites, and Asians.

One additional factor profoundly influences the dangers of becoming embroiled in lethal showdowns: financial status. Lower income people fall into the high-risk group while affluent persons enjoy life in the low-risk group. But this pattern cannot be unearthed from the SHRs because police files and FBI compilations do not collect information about the social class of the deceased. However, an analysis of New York City murders determined from death certificates that the overwhelming majority of the victims had never been to college and that the zip code of their last known address often indicated they had resided in a low-income neighborhood. Furthermore, of the persons arrested for these homi- cides, about 85 percent qualified as “indigent” in court and were provided with an attorney at no cost by the government. Furthermore, the majority of crime scenes were located in precincts in poverty- stricken neighbors. These findings underscore the connection between violence and economic stand- ing: Being poor is a major risk factor for getting killed as well as for committing murder. Many murders can be characterized as “poor on poor” (Karmen, 2006).

It seems that the attitudes and behaviors of entire groups—such as males, young adults, low- income earners, and city dwellers—determine, to some degree, their fate.

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