NCJ Number
74023
Date Published
1980
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Results are reported from a study involving a spatial analysis of retail/commercial homicides in Detroit for the years 1968-1974.
Abstract
The relatively high homicide rate in Detroit, Mich. compared to other major urban areas suggests the appropriateness of the selection of this city for an analysis of serious and violent commercial crime. In 1974, the most recent year included in the study, Detroit had 801 homicides (including justifiable homicide and nonnegligent manslaughter), the highest annual number ever recorded. Of these 801 homicides, police files indicate that 149 (resulting from 135 incidents), or 19 percent, were at commercial locations; however, somewhat less than half of the 149 victims died as a result of actions against them because of a crime against a business. More than 90 percent of the retail/commercial homicides (as defined in this analysis) occurring in Detroit during each year of the study were in retail stores. Among the victim classifications of employees, owners/managers, patrons, offenders, and others, offenders constituted the largest proportion of retail/commercial homicide victims. Data further indicate that retail/commercial homicides, like several other negative features of retail business (particularly high vacancy rates), is moving outward and reaching into city segments that are adjacent to suburban communities. If the retail/commercial blight, high vacancy rates, and rising homicide rates prevalent in these peripheral areas cannot be curtailed, it appears that nearby suburban areas wil be the next locales for increasing percentages of retail homicides. Tabular data and 9 notes are provided. For related papers, see NCJ 74011.