Deviance 10e Alex Thio Chapter Four: Physical Violence This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

Introduction Myths cloud our understanding of physical violence E.g. African Americans are more likely to kill whites and that women kill their husbands due to infidelity Terrorism now accounts for much violence, especially in Israel and London

Assault and Aggravated Assault Assault: unlawful use of physical force against another person Aggravated assault involves intent to kill or the use of a deadly weapon, where the victim survives rather than dies Assaulters are less likely than murderers to use firearms Assault rises dramatically during the summer

Who is More Likely to Kill? Over 90% of murderers in the U.S. are in the lower classes While making up 12% of the general population, blacks account for 45% of the murders Most killings are INTRA-racial

Who is More Likely to Kill? – cont. Southern region has the highest rate (10 per 100,000) Large cities have a significantly higher murder rate than small cities/rural areas More men than women kill, and kill other men Women usually kill in defense of themselves in an abusive relationship Both male and female murderers are relatively young highest murder rate is aged 15-19 for males and aged 20-24 for females

TABLE 4.1 How Urban and Rural Murder Rates Differ

Who is More Likely to Kill? – cont. Today, the overall murder rate in the United States is lower than it was in the mid- 1980s Since 1985 murders committed by teenagers are on the rise Reasons: many inner-city teenagers carry guns to protect themselves, availability of guns, dysfunctional families, drugs, the declining quality of public schools, and increased violence on TV and in the movies.

Patterns of Killing Fewer murders occur during fall and spring, and more during July and August; they also peak during December Saturday night is the time of week murders most often occur. Higher class murders, though, are more premeditated and show no variation by time of year or week

Patterns of Killing – cont. Men commit murders inside and outside the house Women almost exclusively kill in their own homes, especially in the kitchen If guns were less available, many heated arguments would result in aggravated assaults rather than murders In America, over 10,000 handgun homicides occur each year In other industrialized nations such as Canada, England, and Japan, where guns are much harder to get, the number is less than 100

Characteristics of Homicide Of all crimes, homicide is least likely to involve strangers (less than 20%) In 1 of 4 homicides the victim first attacks his subsequent slayer (victim-precipitated homicide) most homicides result from a "character contest" among lower-class

Characteristics of Homicide – cont. Homicide-suicide offenders first kill another person and then themselves Sociologists see suicide as remorse Psychologists see suicide as psychosis Mass murder: killing a number of people at about the same time and place Offenders usually die by their own hands or the hands of the police Serial murder: involves killing a number of people one at a time. Most murder in one city, plan what they do, stalk their victims, and lure them into traps Often suffered abuse while children and cannot feel remorse for hurting others.

Figure 4.1 Most Victims Know Their Killers

The Social Profile of Serial Killers Most serial killers: Usually seem like ordinary people Are typically blue collar workers Are usually white men in their late 20s or 30s Are typically motivated by an intense desire for power and sadism

Global Perspective: Homicide Homicide rates are higher in developing countries Latin America has the highest homicide rate in the world – characteristic of “machismo culture” in the highly patriarchal societies such as the Middle East, women are likely to fall victim to “honor killings” by their male relatives The U.S. has the highest homicide rate among developed countries

School Violence School violence is attributed, in part, to the availability of guns, media violence, and a culture of violence Offenders are highly likely to be those rejected by parents and peers

Stalking Stalking: act of pursuing someone that creates the fear of being assaulted or killed Most stalkers know their victims Most cases are men stalking women No racial differences

Hate Killing 9,000 Americans per year experience hate crimes African Americans and gays are the most likely victims Most hate killers are part of hate groups, which are often formed in prison Three types of hate killers: thrill hate killers defensive hate killers mission hate killers

Genocide Genocide: whole-scale killing of a racial or ethnic group Perpetrators have a job of killing others under orders Bystanders are average citizens who usually do nothing

Genocide – cont. Theories of genocide: physical or psychological separation between perpetrators and victims dehumanization of victims obedience to authority when asked psychological ability to dissociate from the insanity of killing Power – The more power that a government has, the greater its ability to carry out killing on a large scale

Terrorism Terrorism: violence intended for a government but victims are usually innocent citizens e.g. Timothy McVeigh, al Qaeda The suicide attacks of 9/11 were said to be waged against “the Great Satan” or the U.S., as part of a holy war The U.S. has obtained assistance from friendly Muslin countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan Following 9/11, most Muslim nations express less support for terrorism than in the past

Why Do People Kill? Two popular theories: external restraint theory: tries to explain how the presence or absence of restraints controls the expression of frustration subculture of violence: basic cause of high homicide rates in poor neighborhoods

Does the Death Penalty Deter Murder? The death penalty is not very effective in deterring murder However, it does prevent the offender from committing further crime And satisfies the societal cry for retribution