April Zeoli
Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University
Key Findings
- Of all homicides in Newark, New Jersey, 70.36% of homicides were committed with firearms.
- Motives for homicides were ranked with gang violence with the highest (97.62%) followed by revenge (90.65%), drug motivated (87.5%), robbery (80%), escalated dispute (53.97%) and intimate partner violence (16.67%).
- There were no significant firearm-related clusters for robbery and intimate partner homicide.
- Firearms were most likely to be used in gang related, drug-motivated, and revenge homicides.
- Gang related homicides overlapped with revenge and drug related homicides.
Description
In the article, “ Modeling the Movement of Homicide by Type to Inform Public Health Prevention Efforts,” Zeoli and her co-authors examine prevention methods against homicide by tracking it in the same way public health officials monitor how infectious diseases spread. To conduct their research, the authors used data from the Newark Police Department Homicide Unit from 1997 to 2007 to geotag homicide locations (totaling 816 cases). The researchers coded motive into seven categories and also classified relationships between the perpetrator and victim. The data showed that 70.36% of homicides were committed with firearms. Motives for homicides were ranked with gang violence with the highest (97.62%) followed by revenge (90.65%), drug motivated (87.5%), robbery (80%), escalated dispute (53.97%) and intimate partner violence (16.67%). The researchers did not find any significant clusters for robbery and intimate partner homicide. They did find significant clusters for familial, escalating dispute, revenge, and drug-related homicides. Firearms were most likely to be used in gang related, drug-motivated, and revenge homicides. Finally, the results showed that gang related homicides overlapped with revenge and drug related homicides.The authors concluded that by tracking which types of homicide are spreading through different communities, police will be able to more effectively apply the correct intervention tactic to reduce the overall homicide rate.