NCJ Number
94976
Date Published
1984
Length
379 pages
Annotation
Data from the National Center on Health Statistics (NCHS), FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), and the Miami Medical Examiner's Office as well as police and court records describe the victims, offenders, and prosecution and sentencing of homicide cases in Dade County, Fla.
Abstract
Homicide rates from 1917 to 1982 reveal two peak periods, 1925-1926 and 1980; however, there were more homicides in 1925-1926. In 1980 there were 569 homicides; the homicide victimization rate was 35 per 100,000 population. Males were five times more likely to be killed than females, and blacks were three times more likely to be killed than whites. Blacks had a victimization rate twice that of Hispanics. However, the victimization rate for the 125,000 1980 Mariel refugees was approximately equal to that of blacks. The most frequent motive for homicide was a domestic or other argument, followed by drug rip-offs, self-defense, and robbery. A Dade County resident was three times more likely to be killed in an argument and four times as likely to be killed in a robbery than the average U.S. resident. The answer to why Dade County has such a high homicide rate and why the rate peaked in 1980 cannot be found in traditional theories of 'too may crazies, too many guns, or too many drug dealers.' Dade County may have experienced societal stresses in both 1925-1926 and 1980 that resulted in a domestic 'war' and in which a temporary culture broadened the rationalization that approved of violence. The 1980 ghetto riots, the arrival of the Mariel refugees, and the continuation of the drug wars resulted in the arming of the county and an increase in fear and paranoia. Extensive tabular data and detailed case narratives, arranged by ethnicity of victim, are appended. A total of 114 references are provided.