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Contents
of Homicide trends in the U.S.
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Homicide
trends in the U.S.
Age trends
The rise
in teen involvement in homicide as both victims and offenders beginning
in the mid-1980's was dramatic
Homicide victimization
rates for teenagers and young adults increased dramatically in the late
1980's while rates for older age groups declined
- Homicide victimization
rates for children under age 14 have remained stable and low relative
to older groups
- The homicide victimization
rate for 14-17 year-olds increased almost 150% from 1985 to 1993
- 18-24 year-olds
experienced the highest homicide victimization rates, a change from
the late 1970's when 25-34 year-olds had the highest rates
- The victimization
rates have generally declined for adults ages 25-34, 35-49, and 50 and
over
- Since 1993, victimization
rates for teens and young adults have declined but still remain considerably
higher than the levels of the mid-1980's
To
view data, click on the chart.
View
an animation of homicide victimization rates
by age from 1980 to 1998.
Additional detail
is available about homicides of children under age 5, infanticide,
and homicides of persons age 65 and older, eldercide.
For more information
about age patterns in violent victimization see Key
Facts at a Glance.
Homicide offending
rates followed a similar pattern
Offending rates for
teenagers and young adults increased dramatically in the late 1980's while
rates for older age groups declined
- the offending
rates for children under age 14 changed little
- 18-24 year-olds
have historically had the highest offending rates and their rates doubled
from 1985 to 1993
- the homicide offending
rates of 14-17 year-olds exploded after 1985, surpassing the rates of
25-34 year-olds and 35-49 year-olds
- Since 1993, offending
rates for teens and young adults have declined but remain higher than
levels prior to the mid-1980's
To
view data, click on the chart.
View
an animation of homicide offending rates by
age from 1980 to 1998.
For more information
about age patterns in violent offending see Key
Facts at a Glance.
The average age of both victims
and offenders has been declining
The average age of
--
- victims is greater
than that of offenders and fell from 35 years in 1976 to 31 years in
1994
- offenders fell
from about 31 years in 1976 to 27 years in 1994
- both offenders
and victims has increased slightly in recent years yet remains considerably
lower than it was prior to the mid-1980's
To
view data, click on the chart.
Young victims were more likely
to know the offender than older victims
To
view data, click on the chart.
Source:
FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-98
Additional
information about the data used in Homicide trends in the
U.S.
Related charts on this site
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