HOMICIDE IN THE UNITED STATES

Homicide in the United States

Homicide in the United States

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program defines murder and nonnegligent manslaughter as the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another. The classification of this offense is based solely on police investigation as opposed to the determination of a court, medical examiner, coroner, jury, or other judicial body. The UCR Program does not include the following situations in this offense classification: deaths caused by negligence, suicide, or accident; justifiable homicides; and attempts to murder or assaults to murder, which are scored as aggravated assaults.

Trend

Year

Number of offenses

Rate per 100,000 inhabitants

2003

16,528

5.7

2004

16,137

5.5

Percent change

-2.4

-3.3

National Volume, Trends, and Rates

The UCR Program's homicide data for 2004 showed that for the first time in 4 years, the estimated number of murders in the United States decreased. An estimated 16,137 persons were murdered nationwide, a decline of 2.4 percent from the 2003 figure. An analysis of 5- and 10-year trend data showed that the 2004 estimate increased 3.5 percent from the 2000 estimate, but decreased 25.3 percent from the estimated number of murders a decade ago (1995).

Nationwide, the 2004 data yielded an estimated rate of 5.5 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, a 3.3-percent decline from the 2003 rate and a 0.8-percent decrease compared with the 2000 rate. In addition, the 2004 rate was 33.2 percent lower than the national murder rate for 1995.

Regional Offense Trends and Rates

The UCR Program divides the United States into four regions: the Northeast, the Midwest, the South, and the West. (More details concerning geographic regions are provided in Appendix III.) A regional overview of the 2004 murder data follows.

The Northeast

In 2004, the Northeast accounted for 18.6 percent of the Nation's population and 14.1 percent of the estimated number of murders. With an estimated 2,269 murders, the Northeast registered a 1.9-percent decline when compared with the 2003 estimate. The offense rate for this region was estimated at 4.2 murders per 100,000 residents, a 2.1-percent decline compared with the 2003 rate.

The Midwest

The Midwest accounted for 22.4 percent of the United States' total population and 19.3 percent of the estimated number of murders that occurred in 2004. There were an estimated 3,109 murders in this region, a figure 3.4 percent lower than the 2003 estimate. The Midwest experienced a murder rate of 4.7 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, a 3.9-percent decrease from the 2003 rate.

The South

The Nation's most populous region, the South, accounted for 36.1 percent of the total population in 2004. Forty-three (43.0) percent of the estimated number of murders were reported in this region. The estimated 6,942 murders reflected a 3.7-percent decline when compared with the previous year's figure. The region posted an estimated rate of 6.6 murders per 100,000 in population, a 5.0-percent decline from the 2003 rate.

Table 2.2

Murder by MonthPercent Distribution, 2000-2004

Month

2000

2001 1

2002

2003

2004

January

8.4

7.9

8.2

7.7

7.9

February

7.3

6.2

6.8

6.8

6.7

March

7.6

7.1

7.8

8.0

8.4

April

7.7

7.9

7.7

8.3

8.0

May

8.5

8.3

8.0

8.7

8.8

June

8.5

8.5

8.1

8.3

8.3

July

9.3

9.5

9.7

9.3

9.5

August

9.4

9.0

9.2

9.1

9.4

September

8.3

8.6

9.7

8.6

8.6

October

8.7

9.3

8.4

8.3

8.3

November

7.7

8.5

7.9

7.8

7.9

December

8.7

9.2

8.6

9.0

8.1

1 The murder and nonnegligent homicides that occurred as aresult of the events of September 11, 2001, are not included.

 

Table 2.3

Murder Victimsby Race and Sex, 2004

 

Sex

Race

Total

Male

Female

Unknown

White

6,929

5,031

1,896

2

Black

6,632

5,562

1,067

3

Other

365

269

95

1

Unknown

195

128

41

26

Total

14,121

10,990

3,099

32

 

The West

Twenty-three percent of the ...