NCJ Number
235529
Date Published
2010
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This report presents data on domestic-violence offenses in Alabama for 2009, including victim and offender characteristics and the nature of the victim-offender relationship.
Abstract
For the purposes of this report, domestic violence occurs when the relationship of the victim and offender is husband, wife, common-law spouse, ex-husband, ex-wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, ex-girlfriend, or ex-boyfriend. Data encompass both adult and juvenile victims. Of the 20,167 violent offenses reported to police in 2009, 12 percent were domestic-violence incidents. Domestic violence was indicated in 2,368 offenses reported in 40 homicides, 267 rapes, 85 robberies, and 1,976 aggravated assaults. A total of 1,141 incidents of domestic violence were cleared, yielding a 49-percent clearance rate. There were 29 domestic simple assaults, representing 36 percent of all simple assaults reported in 2009; 15,174 domestic simple assaults were cleared (51-percent clearance rate). Seventy-seven percent of the victims were females, and 23 percent were males; 52 percent of the victims were Black and 48 percent were White. Offenders were Black in 58 percent of the offenses; and in 78 percent of the cases, the offender was male. A firearm was the weapon used in 14 percent of the offenses; hands, fists, or feet were used as a weapon in 52 percent of the cases; a knife was used as a weapon in 14 percent of the cases; and other dangerous weapons were used in 20 percent of the offenses. Forty-seven percent of the victims suffered injuries: 9 percent with a firearm; 19 percent with a knife; 52 percent with hands, fists, or feet; and 20 percent with other dangerous weapons. In 26 percent of the offenses, the victim was the wife/ex-wife of the offender; and in 46 percent of the cases, the victim was the girlfriend/ex-girlfriend of the offender. 6 figures