Chicago Homicide From the Sixties to the Nineties (From Trends, Risks, and Interventions in Lethal Violence: Proceedings of the Third Annual Spring Symposium of the Homicide Research Working Group, P 17-50, 1995, Carolyn Block and Richard Block, eds.)

• NCJ Number: 159892
• Author(s): C R Block; A Christakos
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 34 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/NCJRS
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. NIJ Research Report, See NCJ-154254 for complete document.

Annotation

This paper used data on over 22,000 homicides recorded by police in Chicago between 1986 and 1993 in order to determine patterns of risk for specific groups in the population, in specific areas of the city, and for specific types of lethal violence.

Abstract

The results show that a rapid increase in the Chicago homicide rate during the late 1980's and early 1990's can be attributed to a sharp rise in the victimization risk of young non-Latino black males. The increase in homicides occurred only in street gang- related homicides, and possibly in extrafamilial expressive confrontations. Two situational factors -- type of weapon used and involvement of drugs -- were closely related to these trends in youth homicide. The recent homicide escalation has been particularly risky for young victims, many of whom have been killed with high caliber or semi- or fully automatic weapons. 30 figures and 53 references