NCJ Number
173718
Journal
Homicide Studies Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: August 1998 Pages: 291-304
Date Published
1998
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Data from 1,450 homicides that occurred in Miami during 1985-95 were used to compare immigrant (Haitian, Hispanic) and nonimmigrant (white, black) criminal homicide.
Abstract
The research extended the city-level research tradition initiated by Marvin Wolfgang in his study of patterns and correlates of homicide among white and black Philadelphians in the 1950s. The study noted that current policy debates focus on immigration as a contributing factor to rising crime rates. Study information came from Miami police records. Results revealed that the groups with higher proportions of foreign-born members had comparatively low homicide rates. Findings underscored the need to extend homicide research to include diverse ethnic groups in research designs that attempt to disentangle the relative influence of social conditions, ethnicity, and immigration on patterns of criminal homicide. Tables, notes, and 25 references (Author abstract modified)