NCJ Number
138044
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (1992) Pages: 137-149
Date Published
1992
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This race-specific analysis of homicide rates and macrostructural variables among U.S. central cities found differences in the factors that influence homicide rates in predominantly white central cities and predominantly black central cities.
Abstract
So as to eliminate the potentially biasing effects of homicide rates in cities with few African Americans, only those central cities with an African-American population of at least 11.6 percent were included in the analysis. Using a combination of FBI statistics, U.S. Bureau of the Census data, and information on patterns of residential segregation in U.S. urban areas, data were obtained for 126 central cities. Through an analysis of the general homicide literature, 10 predictor independent variables were used. Statistically significant predictors of white homicide rates were the proportion of 20- to 34-year olds in the white population, the percent of those divorced and separated, proportion of the city which is white, percent below the poverty line, and the white-black income ratio. In contrast, the regression equation of African-American homicide rates revealed that only two of the variables -- population size and segregation -- yielded a statistically significant relationship. These findings suggest that only African Americans who live in large, segregated communities are at high risk for homicide victimization. These results suggest that the two racial groups may be subject to different social forces that may require the analysis of homicide rates in African-American communities to use factors not usually considered in homicide research. 1 table, 4 footnotes, and 30 references