Homicide in the United Kingdom - Essay Example

?Homicide in the United Kingdom Defining Homicide Throughout the world, country’s laws and definitions regarding homicide vary. In Australia for example, Biles (1982) demonstrates that homicide figures include all murders, attempted murders and manslaughters. This indicates that official statistics treat successful and failed murders as a single category, in which homicide is defined and convictions are made based on the assaults intended to be fatal regardless of outcome, plus assaults that were fatal regardless of intent. However, Daly and Wilson state ‘we lose the conceptual unity of intention that was the rationale for including attempted murders by defining homicide in this way’ (1988:14). Richards (1999) provides a clearer definition of homicide and refers to it as the interpersonal assaults and other acts directed against another person (e.g. poisoning) that occur outside the context of warfare, which prove fatal. This definition is supported by The Law Commission (TLC) who indicate homicide as ‘the unlawful killing of a human being by another human being’ (2005: 3). Homicide offences include murder, manslaughter and infanticide. In England and Wales, the structure of law concerning homicide centres on two broad offences; murder and manslaughter (TLC, 2005). Murder is classed as the most serious form of homicide, and has traditionally been associated with pre-meditated thought on the part of the perpetrator. However, TLC (2005) states that there doesn’t have to be an intention to kill or even a pre-meditated intention to kill to class a person guilty of committing murder. The Homicide Act (1957) introduced the concept of conviction for manslaughter and a person can be convicted of committing manslaughter rather than murder if they intentionally kill a person as a result of losing self-control through being provoked or if a ‘reasonable person’ would have reacted in the same way. The Law Commission (2005) summarises the 3 general homicide offences in Figure 1. Figure 1 – Forms of Homicide and Definitions Homicide Type Definition First Degree Murder Most serious homicide, in which a person has the intention to kill Second Degree Murder Encompasses the most serious homicide other than First Degree murder. It includes; unlawful killings whose offender intended to cause harm unlawful killings whose offender realised their actions involved unjustified risk of causing death but went ahead with their actions offender provoked, diminished responsibility or duress Manslaughter Comprises unlawful killings where the offender ; kills through conduct that is gross neglect (involuntary) kills though intending to cause harm (voluntary) How is Homicide Reported by Police Statistics? Richards (1999) claims that homicide is one of the few crimes that really get under-reported, and so homicide rates reasonably provide accurate measures of crime levels. However, it is also important to note that how government data counts homicide rates varies between Scotland and England and Wales. In Scotland for example, a single offence is counted for each act of homicide, regardless of the number of victims or offenders, e.g. Lockerbie in 1988 is closed as one act of homicide, rather than 270. In England and Wales however, each act of homicide is counted as an individual act. Richards (1999) also notes that a homicide case is generally presented in official statistics in the year in which the police record it. This however isn’t always the year in which the crime in committed, or when the accused is brought to trial, or when the suspect is either found guilty or innocent of homicide. During the past 50 years Parliament has barely touched the law of murder (TLC, 2005). The irregularity that exists in the way a person is convicted (as either murder or manslaughter) has resulted in seriously flawed homicide laws, which lack proper structure to convict people appropriately. However, police statistics relating to homicide rates do provide a number of useful information. For example, they let us measure murder and manslaughter rates over long periods of time, which can help police and policy makers investigate trends and patterns to help tackle homicide rates. They also provide police with socio-demographical characteristics of victims, e.g. their gender, age, race, etc, which can be useful in indicating whose most at risk from being attacked. Successful arrests and convictions of offenders also aid police statistics in regards to the relationship, if any between the attacker and victim, e.g. former lovers, family relatives, etc. Finally, homicide statistics provide a means to see what weapons are used by offenders to kill or cause serious bodily harm to their victims, e.g. firearms and knives. It is the purpose of the remainder of this report to explore these factors in order to aid understanding of homicide in the UK. Homicide Rates Over The Past Half Century Figure 2 depicts the number of homicide offences in England and Wales from 1946 to 1997 according to the House of Commons Research Paper (1999). Figure 2 – England and Wales Homicide Rates 1946-1997 Year Cited in Richards (1999): House of Commons Homicide Statistics Figure 2 depicts that homicide rates have steadily increased throughout over the second half of the 20th Century. For example, in 1946, 347 cases were initially recorded as homicide, with a homicide rate of 8.1 per million of the population. By 1997, 738 deaths were initially recorded as homicide (14.1 per million of population), a rise of 9% from 1996, and the second highest total of the 20th Century according to Richards (1999). The year with the highest homicide rates of the previous century was in 1995, with 753 deaths classified as homicide (14.5 per million of population). The lowest homicide rates in any given year were recorded in 1961, with 265 cases (5.7 per million of population). The sharpest rise in homicide rates occurred between 1973-74, from 465 (9.4 per million of population) to 599 cases (12.1 per million of population). Richards (1999) also notes that the average annual increase in homicide has been 2.1% a year up till 1999. However, it is also important to note that 15% of deaths initially recorded as homicide are reclassified. Since 1997, homicide rates in England and Wales’s have also declined and the Home Office (2010) predicts that England and Wales’s current homicide rate stands at 13.5. The reduction of homicide rates in recent years in England and Wales is also reflected in Scotland’s homicides rates. For example, in 2009-10, The Scottish Governments Crime and Justice Series (2010) indicated a 20% reduction in the number of homicide cases reported (78 in 2010 compared to 97 in 2009). This is also the lowest number of cases recorded in Scotland since 1998, in which 87 were reported. Scotland’s current homicide rate also represents 15 victims per million of the population. Scotland’s statistics also indicate that homicide involving more than 1 victim remain rare. In 2009-10 for example, there was only one such case, which is a similar statistics to previous years. Thirty two per cent of homicide rates recorded in Scotland in 2009-10 also involved more than 1 accused person, and a total of 118 people are connected with the 78 recorded homicide cases. Figure 3 – Scotland’s Homicide Cases 1980-2009 Cited in The Scottish Governments Crime and Justice Series (2010) Race and Homicide Statistics O’Flaherty and Sethi (2010) argue that ethnic minorities are over-represented as victims of homicide compared to the general ethnic make up of the population, i.e. there are a disproportionate number of black homicide cases compared to white homicide cases based on the number of black and white people in certain countries. For example, O’Flaherty and Sethi (2010) argue that African-Americans are roughly six times as likely as white Americans to die at the hands of a murderer, and roughly seven times more likely to murder someone. Homicide is the second most important reason for the racial gap in life expectancy in the US behind heart disease. The statistics presented from the UK Home Office (2010) also reflect the statistics presented in the US as depicted in Figure 4. Figure 4 – Homicide Rates Between Victim’s and Suspect’s Ethnicity Adapted from UK Home Office (2010) Figure 4 indicates that a disproportionate number of homicide cases include victims who are black (11%) or Asian (8%), which is significantly higher than their representation in England and Wales’s population (2.5% black and 4% Asian). However, ethnic minorities tend to be located in urban areas, where homicide rates are significantly higher, which is therefore reflected in homicide statistics according to Richards (1999). The graph also indicates that whilst only 11% of ‘other ethnic groups’ victimised a white person, 21% of Black and 38% of Asian victims were attacked by a suspect of a different race to themselves, e.g. 21% of Asians were attacked by a white suspect. However, due to England and Wales’s non-white population forming around 90% of the total population, white people live in areas where there are fewer ethnic minorities, and so their greatest chance of being victimised in a homicidal attack comes from a white person. Likewise, ethnic minorities are also more likely to come into contact with white people, and so they too are statistically more likely to be attacked by a white person. There is also a surprising statistic that fewer suspects are identified in relation to attacks on black people compared with any other race. For example, out of the 105 cases of homicide on black people in 1997, Richards (1999) indicates that 42 of these cases (40%) had no suspect. This is compared to only 10% of no suspects identified in relation to white attacks in the same year (96 out of 992 reported cases). Homicide and Gender Homicide rates between the sexes differ according to Richards (1999). In England and Wales in 1997 for example, a third (244) of homicide victims were female whilst 426 victims out of 650 were male. The Scottish Governments Crime and Justice Series (2010) also indicated that 66% (52 out of 78) of victims were male in 2009-10, with the overall homicidal rate for males of 21 victims per million of population, which was twice the rate for females (10 victims per million of population). Further homicide rates in Scotland relating to gender are depicted in Figure 5. Figure 5 – Male and Female Homicide Rates in Scotland, 2001-2010 Adapted from The Scottish Governments Crime and Justice Series (2010) Figure5 indicates that significantly more males than females have been victims of homicide over the past decade. For example, in 2005 110 victims out of a total 137 homicide cases were male, compared with just 27 females. The average victim rate per million for males is 35.2, compared with 8.7 for females. The general pattern over the past decade suggests that homicide rates are starting to fall, especially amongst males, were rates have halved from 105 in 2003 to 52 by 2010. Female homicide rates have remained constant throughout the decade with around 30 cases per year. Young males aged 16-20 were also 6 times more likely to be victims of homicide compared to Scotland’s national average. The statistics also indicate that 74% of solved homicide cases from 2000-2010 involved males killing males. Only 2% of all cases involved females killing females. Age and Homicide Children under the age of 1 are most at risk of homicide with 57 offences per million of the population in 1997 according to Richards (1999). Apart from child homicide, The Scottish Governments Crime and Justice Series (2010) also found that the highest recorded rates of homicide victims lay in the 21-30 and 31-50 aged groups for males (45 and 33 victims per million of population respectively) and the highest rates for females was in the 16-20 and 31-50 aged groups (18 and 17 per million of population respectively). For the people accused of homicide, young males aged 16-20 (135 per million of population) and 21-30 (107 per million of population) were the most likely to commit a homicide. This trend is similar to young females, in which those aged 16-20 also had the highest homicide suspect rate. Victims Relationship to Suspect Figure 6 indicates that The Scottish Governments Crime and Justice Series (2010) found that of the 78 homicides cases recorded in 2009-10, the suspect was known to the victim as an acquaintance (53%) a relative (9%) or a partner (19%). Only 19% of victims were killed by a total stranger. Figure 6 – Victim’s Relationship to Suspect Adapted from The Scottish Governments Crime and Justice Series (2010) However, there were also differences between male’s and female’s relationship with their suspect. For example, from 2000-2010, 523 males were killed by an acquaintance compared to just 53 women. However, females were more than twice as likely to be killed by their (ex)partner (101), compared to males (47). The Home Office’s Full Equality Impact Assessment (2011) also reports that 54% of female homicide is by a partner, ex-partner or lover. In contrast, only 5% of male victims are killed by their partner, ex-partner of lover. O’Flaherty and Sethi (2010) also note that black people are less likely to be killed by a spouse or lover. Use of Firearms The Home Office (2010) indicates that from 2007-2010, the most common method of killing was with a sharp instrument, such as a knife, which accounted for 733 cases, accounting for 37% of total homicide cases in England and Wales. Seven per cent of homicide cases in this 3 year period involved a shooting. These shooting rates are similar to those observed by Richards (1999) in which a total of 59 shootings occurred. Of these shootings, 39 were by a hand gun, 12 through a long barrel shot gun, 4 by a sawn off shotgun and 3 by a riffle, plus a few unknown firearms. These statistics are also similar to The Scottish Governments Crime and Justice Series (2010) results as depicted in Figure 7. They indicate that killing with a sharp object is over 3 times more common to the next most popular homicide method, which is hitting and kicking (15%). However, there are gender differences, and for females the second most common method of killing is strangulation (26%). Figure 7 – Victims Main Method of Killing, 2010 Adapted from The Scottish Governments Crime and Justice Series (2010) Conclusion Homicide rates have started to decline on over the past 5 years in the UK. However, homicide rates are uneven between various people’s socio-demographic characteristics. Homicide victims and suspects alike tend to be male, young and from ethnic backgrounds. Victims are also likely to know their attacker, whether this be an acquaintance, family member or partner. The most common killing method appears to be with a sharp instrument such as a knife, and firearm attacks are also increasing in number. Over the coming decades, homicide rates will only fall if effective government policy and tougher murder and manslaughter sentences are introduced. Measures to reduce racially motivated homicides are also needed to effectively tackle racial issues. References Biles, D (1982) The Size of the Crime Problem in Australia in Daly, M and Wilson, M (1988) Homicide. New York. Aldine De Gruyter. Daly, M and Wilson, M (1988) Homicide. New York. Aldine De Gruyter. Home Office Full Equality Impact Assessment (2011). Crime and Policing Group. Accessed on 15th May. Available at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/DHR-EIA?view=Binary Home Office (2010) Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2009/10 Volume 2 to Crime in England and Wales. Accessed on 14th May. Available at http://search.homeoffice.gov.uk/search?q=cache:R5FxGpnesXIJ:www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb0111/hosb0111-supp%3Fview%3DBinary+homicide+rates&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&client=default_frontend&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&site=default_collection&access=p&oe=ISO-8859-1 O’Flaherty and Sethi, B (2010) Homicide in Black and White. Journal of Urban Economics. Volume 68 (3), pp 215-230. Richards, P (1999) House of Commons Research Paper 99/56: Homicide Statistics. Accessed on 14th May. Available at http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/rp99/rp99-056.pdf The Law Commission (2005) A New Homicide Act For England and Wales. Accessed on 14th May. Available at http://www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission/docs/cp177_Murder_Manslaughter_and_Infanticide_consultation_overview_.pdf The Scottish Governments Crime and Justice Series (2010). Homicide in Scotland 2009-2010. Accessed on 14th May. Available at http://scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/334452/0109352.pdf Read More