NCJ Number
137107
Journal
Journal of Crime and Justice Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: (1991) Pages: 3-15
Date Published
1991
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Marvin Wolfgang's Patterns in Criminal Homicide stands as a model of social science research because of its question-driven foundation, the range of data and depth of analysis, and its comprehensive organization.
Abstract
In terms of homicide research, Wolfgang identified new types of homicide and raised a number of new questions through his examination of the event, the offender, the victim, and the victim-offender relationship. Based on this foundation, Wolfgang and other researchers have built a tradition which has generated new data, analyses, explanations, and questions; two key concepts which have emerged include the ideas of victim precipitation and the subculture of violence. There are three logical outgrowths for future research from Wolfgang's model. The first is an expansion of the questions being asked by criminologists. Second, researchers should consider the various levels of scale in homicide just as the different types of homicide are considered within these scales. Finally, a future research agenda should include continued studies of homicide in specific geographic areas and should also include historical and comparative analyses. 25 references