Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter

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1 Murder and non-negligent manslaughter are defined as the unlawful killing of another human being. Murder statistics tend to be the most reliable of all index crime statistics as most murders do not go unreported and the clearance rate for murder is the highest of all index crimes. Although murder consistently contributes the smallest numbers to overall violent crime, murder is often used as the primary subjective measure of violent crime. Reported Offenses During 2011, Pennsylvania reported 638 murders, a 2.9 percent decrease from The 2011 figure is 20.7 percent lower than in 1990, but 10.8 percent greater than in In 2011, there were 5.0 persons murdered for every 100,000 Pennsylvanians. This is a 3.9 percent decrease from the rate reported in Overall the murder rate has declined since However, this past decade saw an increase in the murder rate with a high of 6.0 in Since 2005 the rate has shown decline once again. Number of Reported Murders and Rate of Reported Murders Per 100,000 Population: Pennsylvania, 1990, 1995, * Measure Number Rate Note: Data for all years ( ) can be found in Appendix A. 1

2 Pennsylvania s 2011 reported murder rate of 5.0 murders per 100,000 population was greater than both the national rate of 4.7 and the Northeast Regional rate of 3.9. When comparing this to the Commonwealth s bordering states only Maryland had a higher murder rate in The Pennsylvania murder rate decreased since 2005, paralleling the rate observed in the Northeast Region and the national rate. Overall, since 2000, the Northeast rate stayed relatively stable while Pennsylvania increased slightly and the national rate has decreased slightly. Number of Murders Reported to Police Per 100,000 Population: 1990, 1995, * State Pennsylvania United States Northeast Note: Data for all years ( ) can be found in Appendix A., and FBI, Crime in the U.S. 2

3 In most counties, murder is an infrequent offense. In 2011, there were twenty-one counties that reported no murder offenses. Of those counties reporting murders in 2011, rates ranged from 0.7 in Franklin and Lebanon Counties to 21.1 in Philadelphia County. Eleven counties had rates equal to or higher than the statewide rate of 5.0. Number of Reported Murders Per 100,000 County Population: Pennsylvania, 2011 * Adams 0.0 Clinton 2.6 Lackawanna 2.3 Pike 1.8 Allegheny 5.5 Columbia 1.5 Lancaster 1.3 Potter 5.7 Armstrong 0.0 Crawford 4.5 Lawrence 5.5 Schuylkill 2.0 Beaver 1.2 Cumberland 2.5 Lebanon 0.7 Snyder 2.5 Bedford 6.0 Dauphin 5.2 Lehigh 4.5 Somerset 5.2 Berks 4.6 Delaware 5.5 Luzerne 3.7 Sullivan 0.0 Blair 1.6 Elk 0.0 Lycoming 0.9 Susquehanna 0.0 Bradford 0.0 Erie 2.8 McKean 2.3 Tioga 4.7 Bucks 1.3 Fayette 4.4 Mercer 0.9 Union 0.0 Butler 1.1 Forest 0.0 Mifflin 0.0 Venango 0.0 Cambria 2.8 Franklin 0.7 Monroe 2.4 Warren 0.0 Cameron 0.0 Fulton 6.8 Montgomery 2.0 Washington 2.4 Carbon 0.0 Greene 7.8 Montour 5.5 Wayne 1.9 Centre 0.0 Huntingdon 0.0 Northampton 1.3 Westmoreland 2.5 Chester 1.6 Indiana 1.1 Northumberland 0.0 Wyoming 0.0 Clarion 0.0 Jefferson 0.0 Perry 0.0 York 4.6 Clearfield 0.0 Juniata 4.1 Philadelphia

4 Arrests The number of arrests for murder in Pennsylvania followed the same trend as the number of reported murders. Arrests for murder numbered 448 during 2011 in Pennsylvania. This is 18.8 percent less than in 2010, 9.5 percent less than in 2000, and 43.3 percent less than in The number of arrests in 2011 is the lowest is has been in since The number of arrests for murder results in a rate of 3.5 arrests for every 100,000 Pennsylvanians. This is 18.6 percent lower than in 2010 and 47.0 percent lower than in Number of Arrests for Murder and Rate of Arrests for Murder Per 100,000 Population: Pennsylvania, 1990, 1995, * Measure Number Rate Note: Data for all years ( ) can be found in Appendix A. 4

5 Pennsylvania s arrest rate for murder was higher than the Northeast Regional rate of 2.5 and the same as the national rate of 3.5 in In comparison, no bordering states had a greater arrest rate than Pennsylvania, with Maryland having the same rate as Pennsylvania. The murder arrest rates for Pennsylvania, the Northeast, and the nation all experienced a decrease in Overall all areas have seen a decline since Number of Arrests for Murder Per 100,000 Population: 1990, 1995, * State Pennsylvania United States Northeast Note: Data for all years ( ) can be found in Appendix A., and FBI, Crime in the U.S. 5

6 Twenty-seven counties reported no arrests for murder during Additionally, five counties had arrest rates of less than 1.0 per 100,000 persons. The highest arrest rate occurred in Potter County with 17.2 arrests for murder per 100,000 persons, followed by Philadelphia County with Eleven counties had a rate that exceeded the statewide rate of 3.5. Number of Arrests for Murder Per 100,000 Population: Pennsylvania, 2011 * Adams 0.0 Clinton 0.0 Lackawanna 3.3 Pike 1.8 Allegheny 2.3 Columbia 0.0 Lancaster 1.1 Potter 17.2 Armstrong 0.0 Crawford 5.6 Lawrence 3.3 Schuylkill 1.4 Beaver 1.8 Cumberland 1.3 Lebanon 2.2 Snyder 2.5 Bedford 2.0 Dauphin 10.0 Lehigh 1.7 Somerset 2.6 Berks 5.8 Delaware 4.6 Luzerne 3.7 Sullivan 0.0 Blair 0.0 Elk 0.0 Lycoming 0.9 Susquehanna 0.0 Bradford 1.6 Erie 5.7 McKean 0.0 Tioga 2.4 Bucks 0.5 Fayette 3.7 Mercer 1.7 Union 0.0 Butler 1.1 Forest 0.0 Mifflin 0.0 Venango 0.0 Cambria 2.1 Franklin 0.7 Monroe 1.2 Warren 0.0 Cameron 0.0 Fulton 0.0 Montgomery 0.7 Washington 1.4 Carbon 0.0 Greene 0.0 Montour 5.5 Wayne 3.8 Centre 0.0 Huntingdon 0.0 Northampton 0.7 Westmoreland 1.6 Chester 1.0 Indiana 1.1 Northumberland 0.0 Wyoming 0.0 Clarion 0.0 Jefferson 0.0 Perry 0.0 York 2.3 Clearfield 0.0 Juniata 0.0 Philadelphia

7 Clearances One or more individuals may be responsible for committing a single offense. Additionally, one or more individuals may have committed numerous offenses. Therefore, the measure of clearances is a useful statistic. Clearances represent the percentage of actual reported offenses that have been solved, regardless of the number of offenders responsible for each offense. The offense of murder has one of the highest clearance rates in Pennsylvania. For 2011, 29.0 percent of index offenses, 55.2 percent of violent offenses, and 24.8 percent of property offenses were cleared in Pennsylvania. By comparison, 64.3 percent of murders were cleared. 7

8 Percent of Index Offenses Cleared: Pennsylvania, 1990 to 2011 * Offense Index 25.2% 25.0% 25.4% 24.8% 27.7% 25.1% 24.4% 25.3% 25.3% 26.6% 26.7% Violent 50.6% 49.3% 49.8% 49.6% 48.1% 48.5% 47.6% 48.2% 49.6% 52.2% 53.8% Property 21.8% 21.7% 22.1% 21.3% 24.9% 21.9% 21.2% 21.5% 21.9% 22.7% 22.4% Murder 80.7% 81.0% 80.2% 76.0% 75.5% 71.7% 74.7% 66.8% 79.3% 81.3% 77.1% Rape 64.1% 66.1% 63.5% 60.5% 61.5% 59.4% 58.9% 52.9% 56.8% 57.6% 58.5% Robbery 31.9% 31.0% 31.6% 29.5% 27.4% 28.8% 28.1% 27.9% 29.5% 31.1% 31.9% Aggravated Assault 62.8% 62.6% 63.3% 65.2% 64.6% 65.2% 65.5% 64.8% 63.3% 65.4% 66.7% Burglary 16.6% 16.2% 16.5% 17.1% 17.0% 17.5% 15.9% 16.3% 17.5% 17.7% 20.1% Larceny/Theft 24.6% 24.9% 25.1% 23.4% 29.2% 23.8% 23.6% 23.2% 23.5% 23.5% 23.0% Motor Vehicle Theft 17.6% 16.2% 16.4% 16.8% 15.9% 16.9% 15.1% 17.6% 18.2% 22.6% 20.3% Arson 22.9% 22.0% 24.0% 22.6% 22.6% 27.9% 22.7% 28.5% 23.5% 28.3% 20.3% Percent of Index Offenses Cleared (Continued) Offense Index 27.3% 27.3% 27.2% 27.4% 27.5% 27.6% 28.6% 29.2% 31.1% 30.3% 29.0% Violent 55.3% 54.5% 52.8% 53.2% 52.1% 53.3% 54.3% 55.9% 56.9% 56.7% 55.2% Property 22.9% 22.9% 23.0% 22.9% 23.1% 22.9% 24.0% 24.7% 26.9% 25.9% 24.8% Murder 73.5% 80.3% 75.1% 75.8% 71.2% 65.0% 63.8% 73.2% 73.6% 68.2% 64.3% Rape 59.6% 57.9% 57.4% 58.0% 59.2% 59.6% 58.6% 57.4% 55.4% 61.4% 56.5% Robbery 34.1% 33.0% 32.8% 32.1% 31.4% 31.8% 33.5% 34.8% 36.3% 35.2% 34.7% Aggravated Assault 68.0% 67.0% 65.5% 66.4% 64.8% 67.9% 68.0% 69.6% 70.4% 69.4% 67.6% Burglary 20.0% 19.1% 21.0% 19.3% 19.5% 19.5% 19.1% 19.2% 19.8% 19.9% 18.5% Larceny/Theft 23.5% 24.1% 23.7% 24.2% 24.4% 24.0% 25.5% 26.2% 28.9% 28.0% 26.9% Motor Vehicle Theft 22.2% 19.9% 20.1% 20.1% 20.0% 21.3% 23.0% 23.7% 25.1% 20.4% 19.8% Arson 24.6% 24.5% 25.2% 27.4% 26.2% 24.7% 27.7% 26.3% 26.2% 26.0% 27.2% Note: Index offenses do not include arson. Property offenses include arson. 8

9 Victims and Offenders Victims of murder are most often male minorities, accounting for 57.8 percent of all murder victims in In addition, 23.8 percent of murder victims were white males. Only 11.3 percent of victims were white females and 7.1 percent were minority females. Just over half of the victims were under age 30. Victims of Murder by Age and Race/Ethnicity: Pennsylvania, 2011 * White Minority Total Age Group Male Female Male Female Count % 19 and Younger % 20 to % 25 to % 30 to % 40 to % 50 and Older % Total Count Total % 23.8% 11.3% 57.8% 7.1% 100.0% Offenders of murder also tend to be both male and a minority. In 2011, 53.6 percent of offenders were minority males, and 34.2 percent were white males. Females only accounted for 12.2 percent of all offenders. More than a quarter of all offenders were age 20 to 24, with 61.6 percent of offenders being under age 30. Offenders of Murder by Age and Race/Ethnicity: Pennsylvania, 2011 * White Minority Total Age Group Male Female Male Female Count % 19 and Younger % 20 to % 25 to % 30 to % 40 to % 50 and Older % Total Count Total % 34.2% 6.2% 53.6% 6.0% 100.0% 9

10 Weapons and Circumstances Firearms are the weapon most commonly used to commit murder. During 2011, 73.8 percent of murders resulted from the use of firearms, and more specifically, 59.6 percent of murders were attributed to handguns. The percentage of murders committed by firearms in Pennsylvania has risen significantly since the early 1990s. In 1990, 54.7 percent of victims were murdered by use of firearms, compared to 73.8 percent in Percent of Murder Victims by Weapon Used: Pennsylvania, 1990, 1995, * Category Firearm 54.7% 68.1% 72.8% 74.0% 72.3% 69.5% 72.0% 71.6% 76.8% 73.0% 74.4% 71.8% 71.5% 73.8% Stabbings 18.6% 12.8% 8.7% 8.5% 8.6% 12.7% 7.9% 12.0% 7.2% 11.3% 9.3% 9.6% 10.4% 11.8% Blunt Instruments 5.5% 4.6% 2.9% 3.3% 4.0% 2.4% 4.3% 3.6% 4.2% 3.6% 3.6% 4.9% 4.0% 3.0% Personal Weapons 8.7% 8.0% 7.3% 4.0% 3.4% 3.8% 3.1% 2.8% 3.7% 3.3% 3.9% 3.5% 4.4% 4.2% Strangulation 1.6% 1.2% 1.0% 0.3% 1.0% 1.3% 1.9% 1.6% 0.6% 1.0% 1.3% 1.5% 1.8% 1.3% Fire 4.0% 1.0% 2.1% 1.4% 1.5% 2.4% 2.5% 2.0% 1.5% 1.4% 0.9% 0.5% 1.4% 0.3% All Other Weapons 6.9% 4.3% 5.2% 8.5% 9.2% 7.9% 8.2% 6.4% 6.0% 6.5% 6.7% 8.2% 6.5% 5.6% TOTAL Note: Data for all years ( ) can be found in Appendix B 10

11 In 2011, victims murdered by strangers only accounted for 5.8 percent of all murder victims, while 9.4 percent were killed by family members. In addition another 41.5 percent were murdered by persons known to them, but who were not family members, such as friends and neighbors. Therefore, 50.9 percent of murders were committed by someone known by the murder victim. Data indicates that for a large percentage (43.3%), the offender s relationship to the victim has not been determined. Murders are often committed in conjunction with another felony or an argument. During 2011, 38.9 percent of the victims were murdered within circumstances associated with other felonies. The most common felony circumstances were robberies and drug abuse violations. Another 34.0 percent of victims were murdered as a result of various types of arguments. 11

12 Appendix A Number of Reported Murders and Rate of Reported Murders Per 100,000 Population: Pennsylvania, Measure Number Rate Source: Pennsylvania State Police, Uniform Crime Report. Number of Murders Reported to Police Per 100,000 Population: State Pennsylvania United States Northeast Source: Pennsylvania State Police, Uniform Crime Report, and FBI, Crime in the U.S. Number of Arrests for Murder and Rate of Arrests for Murder Per 100,000 Population: Pennsylvania, Measure Number Rate Source: Pennsylvania State Police, Uniform Crime Report. Number of Arrests for Murder Per 100,000 Population: State Pennsylvania United States Northeast Source: Pennsylvania State Police, Uniform Crime Report, and FBI, Crime in the U.S. 12

13 Appendix B Percent of Murder Victims by Weapon Used: Pennsylvania, 1990 to 2011 * Category Firearm 54.7% 56.9% 64.6% 70.9% 61.3% 68.1% 73.0% 76.6% 69.4% 72.0% 72.8% 74.0% 72.3% 69.5% 72.0% 71.6% 76.8% 73.0% 74.4% 71.8% 71.5% 73.8% Stabbings 18.6% 18.0% 15.0% 10.6% 18.8% 12.8% 11.3% 8.3% 11.1% 9.5% 8.7% 8.5% 8.6% 12.7% 7.9% 12.0% 7.2% 11.3% 9.3% 9.6% 10.4% 11.8% Blunt Instruments 5.5% 8.2% 5.2% 3.8% 3.4% 4.6% 1.9% 3.2% 4.8% 3.7% 2.9% 3.3% 4.0% 2.4% 4.3% 3.6% 4.2% 3.6% 3.6% 4.9% 4.0% 3.0% Personal Weapons 8.7% 7.6% 6.1% 6.9% 8.1% 8.0% 5.2% 5.8% 7.3% 8.6% 7.3% 4.0% 3.4% 3.8% 3.1% 2.8% 3.7% 3.3% 3.9% 3.5% 4.4% 4.2% Strangulation 1.6% 0.9% 0.8% 0.9% 1.4% 1.2% 1.9% 1.0% 0.3% 0.0% 1.0% 0.3% 1.0% 1.3% 1.9% 1.6% 0.6% 1.0% 1.3% 1.5% 1.8% 1.3% Fire 4.0% 1.2% 1.1% 1.5% 1.3% 1.0% 2.1% 2.0% 1.0% 1.4% 2.1% 1.4% 1.5% 2.4% 2.5% 2.0% 1.5% 1.4% 0.9% 0.5% 1.4% 0.3% All Other Weapons 6.9% 7.2% 7.2% 5.5% 5.7% 4.3% 4.5% 3.0% 6.1% 4.8% 5.2% 8.5% 9.2% 7.9% 8.2% 6.4% 6.0% 6.5% 6.7% 8.2% 6.5% 5.6% Total