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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this research conducted by Cheatwood and Block was to determine whether or not homicide committed by juveniles was increasing between 1974 and 1984 and to investigate the differences between juvenile and adult criminal homicide.
METHODOLOGY:
The authors employed a quasi-experimental research design in this study, drawing on data from homicide files of the Violent Crimes Unit for the City of Baltimore. The homicide files contained information about all homicides reported to police, regardless of whether or not the offenders were prosecuted. The data set used in this study consisted of the 1,894 homicides occurring in Baltimore from January 1, 1974 through December 31, 1984 for which there was information about suspects.
The authors defined a homicide event as a "situation in which one or more persons kill(s) one or more persons" (p. 272). For each homicide event, the researchers coded the age, race, and gender of both victim and offender, as well as when the offense took place, whether or not it took place in the course of another felony, and the type of weapon used to inflict death. These factors comprised the independent variables. The dependent variable was the homicide event, which was classified as being an adult event or a juvenile event. When the homicide involved multiple suspects, the event was classified as being either "adult-dominated" or "juvenile dominated," depending on the proportion of respective members of each. The authors called those suspects under age 18 juveniles.
Data were analyzed using probit regression analysis. The dependent variable was dummy coded such that juvenile homicide events were given a value of one and adult homicide events were assigned a value of zero. Correlation matrices were also constructed to enable the researchers to conduct a component analysis of the descriptive characteristics of offenders within the groups of adult offenders and juvenile offenders.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The researchers found that 2,519 suspects were believed to have participated in the 1,894 homicide events in Baltimore City between the years 1974 and 1984. Almost one-fourth of the homicides (24.3%) took place in the first two years, but the remaining three-quarters were spread out with no apparent pattern. Homicides involving juvenile offenders were found to range from 10% of the total (in 1980 and 1984) to 17% of the total (1974, 1977, 1981). The authors concluded that, contrary to popular belief, there was no significant increase in homicide committed by juveniles in the ten-year period in question.
It was found that offenders ranged in age from eight to 80 years, with the typical offender's age falling between 28 and 29 years old. Most homicides involved only one victim and one offender. The majority (61.1%) of fatal wounds were inflicted with firearms, although a substantial number (25.5%) of victims were killed with knives. Males were overwhelmingly the victims (83%) and offenders (88%) in the recorded homicides. Blacks were disproportionately represented as both victims (82.5%) and offenders (86.5%). Most (89.5%) of the homicides were found to be intraracial events.
One of the major differences between adult and juvenile homicide events was the number of offenders involved. In adult homicides, almost 84% had lone offenders; for juveniles, this number was 45.7 percent, suggesting that the majority of juvenile homicides were committed by multiple offenders. Juvenile homicides were also more likely to be committed in the course of another felony. Juvenile offenders used guns more than adult offenders, were more likely to be male, and the homicide events were more likely to be interracial.
The regression analysis revealed that the strongest predictor of whether or not an offender was an adult or a juvenile was the presence of multiple offenders, a primarily juvenile occurrence. Other important predictors were age of victim and presence of a concurrent felony.
The principal component analysis demonstrated the differences between adult and juvenile homicide events. In particular, it was found that juvenile homicide events do not as frequently involve multiple victims nor do they involve nonblacks killing nonblacks; instead, juvenile homicides are more likely to involve multiple offenders killing lone victims who are older and nonblack during the course of another felony.
The authors drew several conclusions from their different analyses. First, they found that the characteristics of adult and juvenile homicide events were quite similar in that they were predominantly "black, male, interracial shootings of lone male victims" (p. 288). These findings indicated that the difference between adult and juvenile homicide was not significant. The authors did, however, find several patterns suggesting that the homicide event differed depending on the age of the offender, including the finding that juveniles were more likely to be involved in multiple-offender, concurrent-felony homicides, enabling them to commit more interracial homicides with victims older than themselves. In short, the authors concluded that adult and juvenile homicide events were quite similar in several respects, but that clear differences between the two were also readily observable.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
1970s
1980s
Maryland
Juvenile Homicide
Juvenile Violence
Juvenile Offender
Homicide Offender
Offender Characteristics
Adult Violence
Adult Offender
Adult Homicide
Comparative Analysis
Age Factors
Homicide Rates
Homicide Incidence and Prevalence
Violence Rates
Violence Incidence and Prevalence
03-05 |