Suicide rates in Cuyahoga County (metropolitan Cleveland) rose from 10.2 in 1958 to 12.5 per 100,000 population in 1974 (23 per cent increase) with the greatest rise among nonwhite males (from 5.9 to 13.1, or 122 per cent). Increased rates were observed in both the city (19 per cent increase) and suburbs (35 per cent increase). Rates increased among young nonwhite and white adults of both sexes aged 15-34 years, but decreased slightly among adults aged 65 years and older. These findings are consistent with national trends.Alcohol was present in the blood of one-fourth of the individuals who were "dead on arrival," and at intoxicating levels in 20 per cent. There were increasing percentages of victims with positive blood alcohol

Analysis of homicide patterns in Cuyahoga County, Ohio (metropolitan Cleveland), for 1958-1974 discloses the following major trends: a dramatic rise in overall homicide rates in the city (320 per cent) and suburbs (200 per cent); an increase in justifiable homicide; a doubling of the percentage of homicides incident to other felonies; a markedly increased incidence of homicide among younger persons; a conspicuous rise in firearm killings (now 81 per cent of all homicides); and a continued preponderance of intraracial homicide, with the highest rates among nonwhite males in the city. The trends in Cuyahoga County are consistent with those in other United States metropolitan counties. Homicide is responsible for a major part of the decreased life expectancy among young, urban, non-white men. The factor most consistently associated with these trends is the increased use of handguns.