Violent Crime

Violent crime is crime committed by an individual with the threat or use of force upon a victim. The category of violent crime in America includes the following offenses in order of descending severity: murder or nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Foreign countries categorize violent crime differently. For instance, Australia and Canada include abduction and non-assaultive sexual offenses in their lists of violent crimes, while New Zealand adds group assemblies to its definition of violent crime. Data on violent crime rates in America can be found in the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), which are published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice and include statistics from law enforcement agencies nationwide. In the instance that one criminal commits several offenses, only the most serious offense is recorded.

According to the 2005 UCR data, 1,390,695 violent crimes were committed, with a violent crime rate of 469.2 per 100,000 inhabitants. The violent crime rate peaked in 1991 at 758.2 violent offenses per 100,000 and has since experienced a general decrease. By region, the South has the highest recorded percentage of violent crime (41.9%) when compared with the Northeast (15.5%), Midwest (19.6%), and West (23.0%).

The most severe crime in the category of violent crime is murder, which the UCR defines as the willful killing of a human being by another. Murder statistics are reported through police investigations and do not depend on court convictions. The UCR excludes deaths caused by accident, suicide, negligence, and justifiable homicides from murder classification. In 2005 an estimated 16,692 persons were murdered in America. According to UCR data, males are the most likely victims of murder. In 2005, 78.7% of known murder victims were male. There is no significant difference among murder victims by race; of known murder victims in 2005, 48.7% were White and 48.6 were Black. Regarding murder offenders, 89.9% were males and 52.6% were Black. Where the weapon was specified, firearms were used in 72.6% of murders.

Forcible rape statistics include all those in which force is used to commit rape but exclude non-aggressive offenses such as statutory rape and sexual attacks on males. The UCR recorded 93,934 forcible rapes in 2005 with a rate of 62.5 offenses per 100,000 females. In 2005, 417,122 robberies and 862,947 aggravated assaults were reported to law enforcement.

The violent crime victimization rate for Whites and Blacks has declined in recent years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice statistics. In 2005 Blacks and Whites were assaulted at about the same rate, and similarly, there was no significant difference between rape victims in terms of race. Blacks experienced more violent crime victimization (27) per 1,000 than Whites (20) and people of other races (14), though at 49% apiece, Blacks and Whites were equally likely to be the victim of a murder in 2005. The racial group with the highest rate of violent crime victimization was Native Americans, who were twice as likely as Blacks to be violently victimized.

Research into the causes of violent criminal behavior has given rise to more questions than answers. Regarding a biological origin, no study has yet found a link between genetics and violent behavior. In a groundbreaking study, Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay found a relationship between environment and crime. They noticed that [Page 869]crime rates tended to be elevated in cities with higher rates of poverty, social change, and disorganization when compared to more affluent cities. Paul Stretesky and Michael Lynch found that airborne lead levels directly affect violent crime rates, which supports earlier research on the effects of lead on delinquency.

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