Epidemiology, Perpetration Patterns by Age, Gender, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status

Epidemiological data on perpetration of interpersonal violence are useful in understanding the extent of the problem and whether perpetration rates vary by age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. However, [Page 223]perpetration rates do not provide a complete picture of interpersonal violence rates, largely because they are almost exclusively based on arrest records or self-report surveys. Arrest records rely on accurate reporting of violent incidents and uniform arrest policies across demographic groups and community settings. Yet, many violent acts are not reported, and arrest policies may vary considerably by gender, ethnicity, and community setting. For instance, an overrepre-sentation of a particular ethnic group in perpetration of a specific type of interpersonal violence could reflect a true difference in perpetration or a bias in arrest of individuals from that ethnic group. Self-report surveys, although less likely to reflect underreporting or bias than arrest data, are also limited by characteristics of the sample selected, the lack of a regular survey methodology (such as a national interpersonal violence perpetration survey), and possible inaccuracies in self-report. Accordingly, it is important to supplement perpetration data with other sources of information, such as victimization surveys, in order to provide the best estimate of actual rates.

There are also many different types of interpersonal violence and an assortment of agencies tasked with reporting perpetration rates for one or more types of interpersonal violence. There is no single repository of perpetration data for all types of interpersonal violence. In the United States, the most comprehensive source of information on arrests for certain interpersonal violence criminal offense categories is the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since 1930 and based on monthly reports from nearly 17,000 state and local agencies. Four types of offenses that would be considered interpersonal violence are reported: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Offense data are provided separately for males and females and by age group, but data on ethnicity are limited to race, and data on socioeconomic status of offenders are not provided. However, studies that have examined the geographic distribution of interpersonal violence, particularly UCR offenses, suggest that crime rates are higher in lower-income and inner-city communities.

The UCR must be supplemented by other sources of information for forms of interpersonal violence perpetration not specifically addressed. Two additional types of interpersonal violence of major concern (and linked to age of victims) are child maltreatment and elder abuse. Most child maltreatment perpetration data in the United States are provided annually by the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF). However, data for elder abuse (and other types of interpersonal violence, such as violence in the workplace and intimate partner violence perpetration) often rely on surveys or estimates from various sources of information that are not always available annually or for the most recent year.