Introduction
Many people frequently use the words “homicide” and “murder” interchangeably, but they are not the same. Homicide is a legal term referring to any killing of human by another human being. On the other hand, murder requires the intent to kill another human being. Homicide involves any death where a person has a fault, but there appears mitigating circumstances that can influence the charge of homicide. Those convicted of murder carry two charges, which include homicide and the malicious intent to kill. The United States laws carve exceptions form some killings, which would otherwise fall under criminal laws against murder or manslaughter. These are referred to as “justified homicide.” An example is killing another person in self-defense or defense of someone. Most states allow justified homicide in self-defense or another from credible threat of serious crimes such as armed robbery, rape, and murder.
In a worldwide study conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), homicide refers to intentional killing of a human being by another and is classified as the ultimate crime (UNODC, 2011). This study examined the global trends of homicide, and intentional homicide unlawful cause of death intentionally inflicted on a person by another ((UNODC, 2011). Even though factors leading to homicide vary across the globe, the result is always a deceased individual. According to UNODC (2011), the rate of global homicide stood at 6.9 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2011. Fortunately, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation reports, the United States’ 2011 rate falls below the global average at 5.5. This is just an average because there are some cities with the U.S. that far exceed this average. Two cities of interest include Chicago and New York.
A report released by the FBI in 2012 indicated that the city of Chicago registered high number of homicide than any other city in the United States, surpassing even New York. This was so despite the fact that the population of Chicago is only a third the residents of New York. A new crime statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported 500 murders in Chicago in 23, up sharply from the 432 recorded the previous years (FBI, 2013). On the other hand, New York reported 419 murders in 2013, compared with 515 in 2012.
As of December 2013, the number of homicides reported stood at 332. This represented a drop of 20 percent below the rate of 2012 of 419 murders, and the first time the city experienced less one homicide a day on average over half a century (Sanburn, 2014). The reasons behind the decline continue to spark fierce debate, with some attributing it to gun control. The decline represents a dramatic change from 2001, when there were 641 murders in New York, and from 1991, when the murder rate skyrocketed to a record high of 2,245. When New York introduced an accurate method for recording murder in 1963, the total homicide in the city stood at 548. Since 2001, the crime rate in New York City has declined by 32 percent, and in a country with a population of 8.4 million, there have been fewer than 320 homicides (Sanburn, 2014).
While New York City has experienced considerable decline in the rate of murders, some other crimes are on the rise once more. Robberies and rape have dropped by 5 percent, but non-violent theft and serious assault have increased by 3 and 5 percent in 2013 in New York, mainly due to the rise of smartphone theft (Sanburn, 2014). While many credit NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk initiative for the sharp decline in the murder rate, several other high-crime cities like Los Angeles and Chicago have also seen similar drops in murders this year. The city of Chicago has also experienced lowest murder rates since 1960s in 2013. In addition, stop-and-frisk encounters decreased by 60 percent in 2013, and NYOD offices recovered 11 percent fewer guns in 2013.
Chicago experienced the lowest rate of crime in 2013, including few murders in 48 years (Sanburn, 2014). In 2013, the city reported 415 murders, according to data from police Spokesman Adam Collins (Sanburn, 2014). In addition, according to the same report, there were 738 fewer shooting victims in 2013 compared to 2012. Overall, crime rate in Chicago dropped by 16 percent, according to reported cases. According to Beirne & James (2011), gang homicide accounts for the largest proportion of homicides among youths in some U.S. cities. However, few surveillance systems collect data that can provide information on how to develop prevention strategies for gang homicide. According to latest reports, Chicago tallied 446 homicide cases in 2013. However, the city’s homicide rate especially the toll on young victims has captured national attention.
Reports indicate that murder and homicide rates have significantly declined after the introduction of gun bans. The department of police and other city officials in Chicago has pointed out that the drop in shootings, homicide, murder, and other violent crimes coincide with changes in police strategies. These include tactics targeting street gangs that are responsible for accounts for the large majority of the city’s gun crimes and, significantly, about $100 million in overtime pay for hundreds officers deployed nightly to high crime areas. As pointed out by Chicago city mayor, Rahm Emanuel, in addition to putting more police, officers on the street, various programs for young people have played a critical role in bringing the numbers of violent crimes down. Studies suggest that more youths engage in gang homicide than older people do. Consequently, engaging youths in constructive activities can help them out of criminal activities. According to Sanburn (2014), about 20,000 youths from Chicago participate in the city’s summer jobs program.
The reasons behind the remarkable decline in crime rate have attracted a big debate. Some have attributed this to the controversial police tactic of stop-to-frisk as the main driver despite criticism that it amounts to little more than racial profiling. However, innovative policing has helped reduce the crime rate in New York City considerably. For example, more recently, New York police started targeting gang violence by closely monitoring family and social circles of criminals, and by paying closer attention to social media use by gang members. Additionally, rising incomes, reach of law enforcement, and real estate has transformed entire urban neighborhoods in New York.
Economic factors
Economic factors affect the homicide rates in cities, poverty, economic inequality, and unemployment. Studies examining economic inequality by most researchers focus on the disparity that indicates the relative deprivation. Studies focusing on poverty focus on the percentage of a population living in poverty, which refers to below or at the federally determined poverty line. Though the researchers did not test unemployment, it was understand as a percentage of the able-bodied population without employment. These three factors have an impact on violent crime because of the disadvantages that result from them in high or low degrees.
Studies indicate that poverty correlate with violent crimes. Shaw and McKay’s (1942) study proposed social disorganization theory, which suggests that areas experiencing cultural transition due to the settling of immigrants with different morals, cultural and values leads to successful breeding of higher levels of crime (Anderson, 1999). The study examined juvenile delinquency and concluded that poverty was one of the main factors promoting crime. Further studies have reaffirmed the positive correlation of poverty to violent crime, especially homicide (Vigil, 2003). An examination of income inequality and poverty line by Vigil (2003) concluded that states with greater economic inequality and poverty tend to have higher homicide rates. Some studies have concluded that inequality accounts for impact than poverty on violent crime (Beirne & James, 2011). Unemployment also contributes to improvement to impoverishment resulting from dependence on household receiving an income in order to attain a good economic position. Many studies on the relation of unemployment to crime have concluded that there is a stronger positive correlation to property crime rather than violent crime (Anderson, 1999).
Southern culture of violence
Many studies have consistently found high homicide rates in the South in comparison to other regions of the country. Social norms and cultural factors found in the South stem from the frontier herdsmen that moved into the region from their emigrant economies characterized by political instability and lawlessness (Beirne & James, 2011). Men wanted to develop a “culture of honor” to defend their property and masculinity. Following the lack of organized law enforcement, such people adopted these laws of retaliation as the law of the land (Vigil, 2003). Researchers attribute this culture to increased prevalence of the homicide rate.
Most crimes including murder and homicide are concentrated in urban areas where most victims and criminals have existing criminal records. Not only are cases of gang violence higher in urban areas compared to surrounding areas, but 60 percent of the United States firearm homicides happen in the 62 largest cities of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas (U.S. Bureau of Census, 2010). According to Beirne & James (2011), cities tend to have high crime rate because of the density of the population. In places with a higher number of businesses and houses together, it becomes much easy to mug, burgle, or extort than places with few buildings. Cities have many people and property that present easy way to commit a crime. Additionally, the relatively large number of people and the resulting lower probability of recognition of urban encourage people to commit crime and disappear. Economic hardships and pressures of life are more prevalent in cities than in smaller towns or countryside. Living in concentrated areas increases the chances of conflict, thereby resulting to frequent assaults and other criminal activities.
Conclusion
Previous literature on the effects of the factors mentioned above is profuse, but there is lack of comprehensive literature providing a comprehensive analysis of these factors. In addition, there is little evidence that discusses homicide in Chicago and New York City. This study will aim at filling the lack with both and adding to the developing knowledge of problems related to homicide in Chicago and New York City.
References:
Anderson, E. (1999). Code of the streets. New York: Norton.
Baron, L. & Murray, S. (1988). “Cultural and economic sources of homicide in the united states.” The Sociological Quarterly 29(3): 371-390. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.
Beirne, P. & James, W. (2011). Criminology: A sociological approach. 5th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Vigil, J. (2003). “Urban violence and street gangs.” Annual Review of Anthropology 32: 225-242. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.
U.S. Bureau of Census. (2010). American Community Survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved April 8, 2013 (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/data_documentation/data_main/).
Sanburn, J. (2014). Murders in U.S. cities reach record lows again. Time U.S. Retrieved from http://nation.time.com/2014/01/02/murders-in-u-s-cities-again-at-record-lows/
United Nations. (2011). Global Study on Homicide. United Nations: Office on Drugs and Crime.
