Violent Death in a Metropolitan County

Abstract

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.

Variants of homicide: a review

“…Yet people convicted of felony murder can be put to death while others, who did intend to kill their victims, get off with manslaughter. A Study by Rushforth 16 shows that in most of the cases of homicide, victims are killed by relatives, friends or acquaintances during or after quarrel. Killing by a stranger is almost exclusively of the felony type of homicide.…”

Urban Violence in the United States – Implications for Health and for Britain in the Future: Discussion paper

“…An initial report described long-term trends from 1940 to 1971 (Hirsch et al 1973). In this paper, more detailed information for the 17 years 1958-1974 inclusive will be summarized (Rush forth et al 1975, 1977, Ford et al 1979. These data have been collected by consistent methods, using uniform definitions and classifications, in a coroner's office that has been under the direction of a single forensic pathologist since 1936.…”

Mortalidade por causas externas no estado do Rio de Janeiro no período de 1976 a 1980

“…A importância da violência como fator de mortalidade já foi anteriormente descrita em trabalhos realizados na déca-da de 1970 4,28,29 . Neste período, as mortes violentas em adultos jovens americanos tiveram aumento de elevada proporção, enquanto que a mortalidade por outras causas mostrou declínio.…”

“…No México, no perí-odo de 70-74, as mortes violentas também tiveram comportamento semelhante 13 . Diversos pesquisadores têm investigado os fatores possivelmente envolvidos nas tendências da mortalidade por homicídios 2,3,4,12,21,22,27,28,29 . Estudos revelam que um dos fatores fortemente associado é a proliferação do uso de armas de fogo na população 2,28,29 .…”