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Homicide Narrative
More than 20,000 people die by the hands of another in
the US each year. About 60% of homicides occur in families. Males
account for about 90% of all homicides. Explaining these large
numbers requires many sources of information and many approaches.
Homicides may look alike because of weapons used.
Homicides may have the same motives shared by perpetrators, but no
two homicides occur exactly alike for the exact same motives.
Although, some are more alike than others. Relationships between the
victim and the perpetrator may show commonalities in family
homicides, business relationships, and street homicides.
Two common approaches for understanding homicide
include what I call the "external view" and the "internal view." I
use the same classification for explaining suicide. The external
view seeks to explain homicide by exploring the perpetrator's
immediate environment, biography, and more. The internal view seeks
to explain homicide by psychotically models for violent behavior.
Freudian and Behaviorist models as well as others exist among these
pages.
Crossing over between these two approaches
occurs when homicides perpetrated by friends and acquaintances
occur.
Family Homicides
Homicides between family members account a large
number of violent deaths. In fact, a person has a greater risk of
death by homicide in the family than anywhere else, but for the
military and police ranks. In Canada, 6 out of 10 victims of family
homicide are children.
Mass Murder
We have witnessed mass murder in the USA far too many
times in last twenty years. Terrorism by US citizens against US
citizens shocked all of us. Then terrorism by foreigners committed
against US citizens brought us to a new threat.
Before we knew to expect about 20,000 homicides in the
US. Now the the recent mass murder of police officers gives rise to
concerns for our own safety. Florida
has suffered mass murder of the worst sort. |
Culture
Culture has an influence on homicide without question.
In some cultures homicide occurs at a greater rate then in another
culture.
When we write of "culture" we think about symbols,
language, music, art, dance, religion and more.
Television
Television empowers marketers more than any other
medium. Edward R. Marrow's penetrating journalism brought millions
of Americans news from around the world, first on radio and then
television. As a result cigarette manufacturers gained a vast
market.
Lucille Ball's comedy antics would soon replace
Marrow's real-world journalism and TV would never serve the public
need as before her arrival.
As such Television also serves as an inexpensive
baby-sitter for young mothers. As a consequence many of us grow up
with marketing agents' messages as part of our ideology, our systems
of belief.
The role of television in American homicide shows the
power of ideas and images.
As a result of the sensationalist story tellers and
the gun's role in the "West." millions of young Americans grew up
with an image of the American West. This image unveiled the handgun
as part of the American psyche. Homicide took a mere trigger pull as
a result.
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Women
Domestic violence usually occurs because of the male's
aggression against the female. At times this aggression leads to
homicide either for the woman as victim or the male as victim.
When females become victims of homicide, murder, in a
domestic violence setting, it occurs because the male loses control
and often acts under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both.
When the female perpetrates the homicide, murder,
against the male it occurs often enough because of the female acts
in self-defense.
Before 1974 violence against wives in domestic
settings were labeled "misdemeanors" in most states. Because the
police do not make arrests for misdemeanors, women were left at home
with an assultive husband. A survey conducted in 1975 showed that
about 28% of married couples reported a violent assault between
spouses during their relationship.
In 1974 the first battered women's shelter opened. By
1980 the first Family Violence Survey, which proceeded many reforms,
reflected the high rate of violence in families.
On the legal scene, police officers responded to
family violence as emergencies and made arrests. Judges began to
recognize spousal abuse as a defense for against murder charges.
Judges may have noted that when women strike out with
lethal force, usually they do so against a family member in
self-defense. Males tend to strike out with lethal force against
strangers or acquaintances. Males account for 90% of homicides as a
result. |
(Students - You are welcome
to use this web site as a resource if you show quotation marks where
needed. Remember to show appropriate reference links. Do not
plagiarize. Example: "Most homicides result from crimes of passion."
http://www.homicide-cleanup.com/www.crimescenecleanup.com) |
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Theories of crime causation use social
disorganization, strain/deprivation theory, and southern subculture
of violence to explain homicides.
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Columbus brought gun powder to the Americas. Little could he have
known how far and deep the consequences of this technology would
penetrate human existence.
With the advances in gun-smiting and fire-power, the native
population soon lost control over their land. The rifle and the
handgun served as tools of conquest unlike any weapons known.
As centuries passed popular culture became a popular market for
penny-per-word story tellers. Soon a mystique grew around the
"six-gun" because of its power to save or destroy life. Wyatt
Europe, Billy the Kid, and all of the other western archetypes
associated with the six-gun became the stuff of stories for young
and old to enjoy.
This all became possible about 10 years before the Civil War broke out. At that time hand guns became a more viable weapon for homicide. Before, rifles and handguns were poor tools for committing homicide. Most homicide cleanup work followed murder by clubs, axes, and knives.
It's a matter of technological improvements. With advancing industrialism came improved weapons. The smooth bore rifle gave way to rifle barrels with groves. This simple improvement caused firearms to project lead with greater accuracy. By placing a spin on bullets the bullets remained true to their target. Simply revolving as they punched through wind and rain helped lead remain on target.
Today's gun manufacturers supply a hungry market for semi-automatic weapons, handguns and rifles. As a result more firearms have become more lethal. From the single-shot accuracy of a cylinder revolver to the 20 shot semi-automatic hand gun, gun buyers have a wide choice of weapons.
Imagine one of thes high-powered, semi-automatic weapons in use at Valley Forge as the American Revolution broke out. On the side of the revolutionaries (rebels if you prefer), a stunning victory might have followed within the first hour. One soldier on horseback carrying such a weapon behind enemy lines would have created a route and murderous scene beyond belief.
Today's orientation shows that modern guns can be fired accurately over considerable distances. Even so, even police officers have trouble hitting their targets in gun battles.
To increase these odds, manufacturers now produce thousands of semi-automatic pistols. Citizens may carry these weapons wherever they work or drive. Seven to twenty rounds of ammunition fit into their magazines. Each round inserts into the weapon automatically as it reaches its loading chamber. By the 1990s, hospitals received a new type of gunshot victim on a routine basis. Victims were now arriving with multiple gunshot wounds on gurneys. Now victims bled from multiple wounds from high-caliber bullets that carry greater killing power. Now bullets were designed with a hollow point, giving each bullet an explosive power once it entered its human target. Homicides became a more easily attained goal for murdering thugs. |
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The Police
When small groups of 3 and 4 police officers become
vic times of homicide, how might citizens feel about their own
safety? Should we wonder if the mass murder of law enforcement
officers grew from some recent form of social environment new to
society, or is homicide against law enforcement a historical norm
only recently recognized because of mass media?
A recent homicide against four Lakewood,
Washington police officers on Sunday, November 29, 2009,
died as a result of gunshots fired by a mentally disturbed convict.
The killer walked into a coffee shop used by off-duty police
officers to complete their papers work, and in cold blood shot the
four officers to death.
This incident came after other multiple-homicides
against police officers in the US.
We all count on the police to record crimes against
victims of crime. We count on the police to do more now than ever
before, and we expect our police officers to know more. We should
ask, how might we help the police protect us while we do what what
we can to protect the police.
We count on the police to protect us against homicide.
We often cannot count on the police to protect us from homicide. The
police do their best, but the police cannot protect us from our own
family members.
If we look to family violence and seek answers to
police targeted for mass homicide. We may find useful answers to
what now looks like a growing trend of citizen perpetrated,
terrorist-like attacks on our police forces. |
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If you have an interest in how your county government really
works, visit "How
Crime Scene Cleanup Works." |
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Family Structure and
Dynamics
Students of homicide often look to the family as a
source of social stability. The family may also serve as the creator
for social problems. Many questions arise about homicide and law
enforcement. The family's structure and dynamics play a role in
homicide.
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Sociology
Look to sociology for a contextual explanation of
homicide. It happens that a homicide cleanup practitioner finds some
part of a homicide perpetrator's contextual motivation on the crime
scene.
A sociologist finds the perpetrator's actions in a
social context. In fact, one of sociology's most important insights
is this: Understanding the social context in which people make
choices is as important as important as the choices they make, in
part. |
For professional homicide cleanup service, call our
toll-free telephone number at any time. We are here to clean after
homicides.
Homicide is the taking of a person's life legally and
illegally. |
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Homicide Types
Homicide means the taking of another human
life. It does not necessarily mean "murder." Homicide may occur by
accident, by negligence, and more. Below I make note of the types of
homicide, most having something to do with a follow up homicide
cleanup.
Homicide Type and Style Homicides are classified by type and
style. A single homicide is one victim, one homicidal event; double
homicide is two victims, one event, and in one location; and a
triple homicide has three victims in one location during one event.
Anything beyond three victims is classified a mass murder; that is,
four or more victims in one location, and within one event. There
are two types of mass murder: classic and family. A classic mass
murder involves one person operating in one location at one period
of time. That period of time could be minutes
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Washington
State Victim's Benefits
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