REPORTING ON VIOLENCE

BASIC DATA

ASSAULTIVE VIOLENCE: SETTING THE STAGE

Assaultive Violence Table of Contents

Homicide
 Sexual Assault
 Robbery
    -Victims, U.S.     -Victim/offender relationship, U.S.     -Victims, U.S.
    -Victims, California
     -Victims, U.S.     -Victims, California
    -Victim/offender relationship, U.S.     -Victims, California     -Weapons, U.S.
    -Victim/offender relationship, California     -Arrestees by race, U.S.
     -Weapons, California
    -Victim/offender relationship by race, U.S.     -Arrestees by race, California     -Victim injury, U.S.
    -Victim/offender relationship by race, California Aggravated Assault
     -Arrestees by race, U.S.
    -Victim/offender relationship by sex, U.S.     -Victims by age group, U.S.
     -Arrestees by race, California
    -Victim/offender relationship by sex, California     -Victims by age group, California Risk Factors
    -Arrestees by race, U.S.     -Victims, U.S.     -Poverty, U.S.
    -Arrestees by race, California     -Victims, California     -General, U.S.
    -Weapons, U.S.     -Victims rate by race, U.S.     -Alcohol, U.S.
    -Weapons, California
     -Victims rate by race, California General Information
    -Arrestees by race, U.S.     -Victims, U.S.
    -Relationship to other causes of death, California     -Arrestees by race, California
     -Victims, California
    -Homicide Victims by age groups, U.S.     -Weapons, U.S.     -Crime reporting, U.S.
    -Homicide Victims by age groups, California     -Weapons, California
    -Victims and firearms, California
    -Homicides by circumstance, U.S.
    -Homicide Victims by age and race, U.S.

Violent crime includes:

Murder
willful killing of one human being by another
Rape
physically forced or psychologically coerced sexual intercourse, which is an act of vaginal, anal or oral penetration by the offender, including penetration by a foreign object, and by definition all victims are female.
Aggravated Assault
an attack by one person on another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury
Robbery
taking or attempting to take anything of value from a person by force or threat of force or violence and/or putting the victim in fear

HOMICIDE

Victims, U.S.

There were 18,209* people murdered in 1997 in the United States.

*Supplemental data is available for only 15,289 murdered people.

Victims, California

There were 2,579 people murdered in 1997 in California.

Victim/offender relationship, U.S.

In 1997, the murderers in 7,721 homicides were identified; the murderers of 7,758 people were not identified. Data indicated that nearly half (48%) of all murder victims knew their assailants. 13% of all murder victims were related to their offenders and 35% were acquainted with them. 14% of victims were murdered by strangers. The relationship between victim and offenders were not known in 38% of the murders. [see table below].

Victim/offender relationship, California

In 1997, the murderers in 1,720 (67 percent) homicides were identified; the murderers of 859 (33 percent) people were not identified. Of the solved homicides, 65 percent of the victims and murderers knew each other, while 35 percent were strangers. Of those homicides in which the victim and perpetrator knew each other, 22 percent were family members, and 78 percent were friends or acquaintances, including gang members. [see table below]

Victim/offender relationship by race, U.S.

The overwhelming majority of murders are intraracial. In 1997, 94 percent of the black murder victims were slain by black offenders, and 85 percent of the white murder victims were killed by white offenders. [see table below]

Victim/offender relationship by race, California

The Crime and Delinquency in California annual report does not include this information. However, reporters can request the data from the California Department of Justice. It takes a day or two for researchers to do a special computer run for the information.

Victim/offender relationship by sex, U.S.

Males are overwhelmingly the victims and perpetrators of violence. Nationally in 1997, 88 percent of male homicide victims were killed by males, and 89 percent of female homicide victims were killed by males; 11 percent of male homicide victims were killed by females, and 10 percent of female homicide victims were killed by females. In the remaining cases the sex of the offender was unknown.

Victim/offender relationship by sex, California

The Crime and Delinquency in California annual report does not include this information. However, reporters can request the data from the California Department of Justice. It takes a day or two for researchers to do a special computer run for the information.

Murder arrestees by race, U.S.

In 1997, blacks comprised 51.2 percent of the murder arrestees, whites 44.7 percent, all other races the remainder.

Murder arrestees by race, California

In 1996, Hispanics comprised 43.8 percent of the murder arrestees, blacks 26.2 percent, whites 21.2 percent and all other races the remainder.

Weapons, U.S.

In 1997 of weapons used in murders:

Of those murders for which firearms were reported:

Weapons, California

In 1997, of weapons used in murders:

Of those murders committed with firearms:

Relationship to other causes of death, California

In 1996, homicide was the fifth leading cause of premature death before the age of 65, after cancer, heart disease, unintentional injuries and HIV.

Homicide victims by age group, U.S.

In 1996, for 5- to 14-year -olds homicide was the 3rd leading cause of death, for 15- to 24-year-olds, homicide was the second leading cause of death. For those 25 to 44, homicide was the sixth leading cause of death.

Homicide victims by age group, California

In 1996, of total homicide victims:

Homicide victims and firearms, California

In 1997, 71 percent (1,835) of homicide victims were murdered with firearms. Of these, 48 percent are Hispanic (884), 29 percent are black (530) and 15 percent are white (283).

Homicides by circumstance, U.S.

In 1997, of homicides committed:

Homicides by circumstance, U.S. Homicide victims, highest and lowest rates by age and race, U.S.

In 1988, the highest rate of homicide occurred among black males (58.1 per 100,000) and the lowest rate among white females (2.9 per 100,000). The highest rate of homicide occurred among black males ages 25 to 34 (108.9 people per 100,000) and the lowest rate among white females 5 to 9 years old (0.7 per 100,000).

  • Homicide Surveillance, 1979-1988, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 41/No. SS-3, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 29, 1992.
  • National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Health Communications, 770-488-4902, CDC - Office of Health Communication

    SEXUAL ASSAULT

    Victim/offender relationship, U.S.

    In 1992 and 1993, women annually reported about 500,000 rapes and sexual assaults to interviewers. (Rape is physically forced or psychologically coerced sexual intercourse, which is an act of vaginal, anal or oral penetration by the offender, including penetration by a foreign object, and by definition all victims are female; sexual assault is some other type of sexual behavior forced on the victim, including grabbing or fondling the victim.) Friends or acquaintances of the victims committed the majority of these rapes or sexual assaults. Strangers were responsible for about 1 in 5.

    Rapes and sexual assaults

    Victims, U.S.

    In 1997, of the violent crimes reported to police, 96,102 were forcible rapes. By definition, all victims were female.

    Victims, California

    In 1996, of the violent crimes reported to law enforcement officials, 10,238 (3.7 percent) were forcible rapes. By definition, all victims were female.

    Rape arrestees by race, U.S.

    Whites comprised 58 percent of the arrestees, blacks 40 percent, all other races the remainder.

    Rape arrestees by race, California

    In 1996, Hispanics comprised 39.5 percent of the arrestees, blacks 29.8 percent, whites 26 percent and all other races the remainder.

    For sexual assault, the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program does not collect information about the personal relationship between the victim and the perpetrator or the use of alcohol by victim or perpetrator. Male rape is counted as aggravated assault.

    AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

    Victims by age group, U.S.

    Assault victims are overwhelmingly young, with the rates declining with increasing age. In 1994, the rate of assault was 104.8 per 1,000 people ages 16 to 19 and 3.6 per 1,000 people 65 or older. [see table below]

    Victims by age group, California

    The Crime and Delinquency in California annual report does not include this information. However, reporters can request the data from the California Department of Justice. It takes a day or two for researchers to do a special computer run for the information.

    Victims, U.S.

    Of the violent crimes reported to police in 1997, 1,022,492 were aggravated assaults.

    Victims, California

    Of the violent crimes reported to police in 1997, 163,346 (63.4 percent) were aggravated assaults.

    Victims, rate by race, U.S.

    In 1994, there were 16.6 aggravated assaults per 1,000 black persons, 10.9 per 1,000 whites and 11.8 per 1,000 persons in other racial categories.

    Victims, rate by race, California

    The Crime and Delinquency in California annual report does not include this information. However, reporters can request the data from the California Department of Justice. It takes a day or two for researchers to do a special computer run for the information.

    Aggravated assault arrestees by race, U.S.

    In 1997, whites comprised 61 percent of the arrestees, blacks 37 percent, all other races the remainder.

    Aggravated assault arrestees by race, California

    In 1996, Hispanics comprised 39.3 percent of the arrestees, whites 33.3 percent, blacks 21.2 percent and all other races the remainder.

    Weapons, U.S.

    In 1997, of reported aggravated assaults:

    Weapons, California

    In 1997, of reported aggravated assaults:

    For aggravated assault, the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program does not collect information about the personal relationship between the victim and the perpetrator or the use of alcohol by victim or perpetrator.

    ROBBERY

    Victims, U.S.

    Of the violent crimes reported to police in 1997, 38 percent (497,950) were robberies.

    Victims, California

    Of the violent crimes reported to the police in 1996, 34.3 percent (94,137) were robberies.

    Weapons, U.S.

    In the United States in 1997, of weapons used in robberies:

    Weapons, California

    In California in 1997 of weapons used in robberies:

    Victim injury, U.S.

    About 10.7 percent of all the robberies occurring in 1994 involved injury to the victim.

    Arrestees by race, U.S.

    Blacks comprised 57 percent of the arrestees, whites 41 percent, all other races the remainder.

    Arrestees by race, California

    In 1996, blacks comprised 38.3 percent of the arrestees, Hispanics 40.0 percent, whites 16.6 percent and all other races the remainder.

    For robbery, the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program does not collect information about the personal relationship between the victim and the perpetrator or the use of alcohol.

    RISK FACTORS

    Poverty, U.S.

    In 1996, people in households with an income below $7,500 a year were twice as likely as those from households with annual incomes of $50,000 or more to be victims of violent crimes.

    General, U.S.

    Males, young persons, blacks, Hispanics, residents of central cities and the poor tend to have higher rates of victimization than others.

    Alcohol, U.S.

    An estimated 51% of all prisoners (52% of State and 34% of Federal) said they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs while they committed their current offense. Among State prisoners the incidence of alcohol or drug use at the time of offense showed little variation by offense type, ranging from 52% of violent offenders to 56% of public-order offenders.

    GENERAL INFORMATION

    Victims, U.S.

    In the United States in 1997, 1,634,773 violent crimes were reported to law enforcement officials:

    Victims, California

    In California in 1996, 274,675 violent crimes were reported to law enforcement officials:

    Crime Reporting, U.S.

    In the United States in 1994, less than 42 percent of violent crimes were reported to the police. There were 6.6 million crimes of violence; of these, 4.2 million were attempted but not completed.

    3/12/99