What can a closer look at homicide tell us about the crime of murder?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A closer look at homicide may cast some light on the crime of murder. Marvin Wolfgang's 1958 study of homicides in Philadelphia found that about 25% of homicides were between family members, with women more likely than men to be both offenders and victims in this category. The study also found that males were more likely to be killed by friends or strangers than by family members, except that if a male was killed by a female, it was more likely to be his spouse.

Researchers have also found that not all homicide offenders intent to kill their victims. Sibling offenses are crimes, often motivated by instrumental ends, that result in an unplanned homicide. An understanding of sibling offenses may help explain why some criminal events end in murder while others do not and may assist in the prevention of lethal violence.

Studies of victim precipitation focus on victim characteristics that precipitate their victimization. Victim precipitation research does not attempt to blame the victim for the crime, but rather to examine individual and situational factors that may have contributed to and initiated the crime.

Other researchers have studied the use of weapons in homicide, primarily firearms. When examining the relationship between guns and homicide, a key distinction is that of instrumentality versus availability. Gun availability appears to be a stronger factor in explaining lethal violence than gun instrumentality.