Title: Homicide Fact: Race Matters | Psychology Today
Headings: Homicide Fact: Race Matters
Scott A. Bonn Ph.D.
Homicide Fact: Race Matters
Murder is an intra-racial crime

Content: According to the UCR, the victimization rate for blacks peaked in the early 1990s, reaching a high of 39.4 homicides per 100,000 persons in 1991. After 1991, the victimization rate for blacks fell until 1999, when it stabilized near 20 homicides per 100,000 persons. In 2008, the homicide victimization rate for blacks was 19.6 homicides per 100,000 persons while the rate for whites was 3.3 homicides per 100,000 persons. article continues after advertisement
The offending rate for blacks showed a similar pattern to the victimization rate, peaking in the early 1990s at a high of 51.1 offenders per 100,000 persons in 1991. After 1991, the offending rate for blacks declined until it reached 24 per 100,000 persons in 2004. The rate has fluctuated since then, increasing to 28.4 offenders per 100,000 persons in 2006 before falling again to 24.7 offenders per 100,000 persons in 2008. In 2008, the off ending rate for blacks was 24.7 offenders per 100,000 persons compared to the rate for whites of 3.4 offenders per 100,000 persons. To summarize the data on homicide and race, and offer perspective, the UCR reveals that both the offending rate and victimization rate for blacks are six times greater than the same rates for whites. Moreover, this pattern is not new. The staggering racial disparity in homicide rates is due to the fact that blacks are so grossly over represented among both victims and offenders.