Running Head: Criminal Homicide Rates in a Decade 1

Research Paper: Has Homicide Increased in The Past 10 Years?

Valerie Perez
Salt Lake Community College
Criminal Homicide Rates in a Decade 2

Research Final
Crime rate statistics are consistently being reported and watched. As populations

increase a common question and concern is if crime increases simultaneously. Criminal

justice is necessary to keep peace and structure within society. In this paper I will

discuss crime rate data pertaining specifically to homicide rates. I will use data and

graphs to research the answer if homicide rates are increasing or decreasing within the

10-year between 2009-2019.

Homicide Rates and the UCR Program

Criminal Homicide and murders are categorized as a violent crime within the FBI’s

Uniform Crime Reporting Program. The official definition through the UCR website is

categorized and separated through different situations “a.) Murder and nonnegligent

manslaughter: the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another. Deaths

caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, and accidental deaths

are excluded. The Program classifies justifiable homicides separately and limits the

definition to: (1) the killing of a felon by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty; or

(2) the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen. b.)

Manslaughter by negligence: the killing of another person through gross negligence.

Traffic fatalities are excluded” (UCR, 2004). There are different cases that fall under

criminal homicide under the law. The UCR program consists of four different data

collection, it publishes a report annually with statistics for all to read. It has been created

to help provide data that is easier to find and understand. The UCR remains to be a

large resource for crime data and information.

Criminal Homicide Rates in a Decade 3

Criminal Homocide Rates

20000
18000
16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Criminal Homocide Rates

UCR Data Research

The following chart shows criminal homicide statistics taken from a population per

100,000 people, this data was taken between 2009-2019. This chart shows the increase

and decrease of homicide throughout the years. Starting in 2009 homicide rates were at

15,399, however there is a slight decrease between 2010-2011. After 2014 homicide

rates increase and continue steadily. Between 2009-2019 there is not a significant

increase or decrease, the rates stay overall consistent with limited changes. 2016 did

have a slightly larger increase which could be due to the U.S presidential elections. With

big changes in the country, it affects overall population and behaviors. With current

data, I predict there to be another slight increase for 2021 with another presidential

election. Especially due to the reason that Trump was a candidate in both elections, the

controversy could have affected society and individuals. Overall criminal homicide has

increased slightly between 2009-2019 this could have been due to political influences.
Criminal Homicide Rates in a Decade 4

Criminal Homicide Rates

2009 2012 2015 2017 2019

Criminal Homicide Rates

Additional Data

With an
Homicide Victim Sex

0%
25%

75%

Male- 32,595 Female- 10,984 Uknown- 167

abundance of data and statistics it is crucial researchers be cautious of misleading

graphs. They are graphs with limited information or deceptive information. The graph

listed above is a misleading graph created based off data from the first graph presented.

The difference in the graph above, is it fails to show the number of homicides in that

year. Without specific detail and an enhanced image, it is easy to assume there is a

large increase between 2009-2019. In the above graph we saw the increase was by a
Criminal Homicide Rates in a Decade 5

couple thousand in this one, the graph doesn’t give specifics and the difference looks

extreme.

In the Homicide Victim Sex graph, we see additional data pertaining to the specifics of

criminal homicide. Within the 10 years we see that majority of victims have been male

between 2009-2019. A quarter of the overall statistics show that females are victims of

criminal homicide. Only a small portion of these victims are unidentifiable. This graph

shows detailed data pertaining to a specific time frame. This allows us to determine

whether data is accurate or not. This graph has shown through the increase in criminal

homicide, majority of victims are male and female account for one fourth of overall

victims.

Conclusion

In conclusion although there are different cases of murder the UCR helps define

criminal homicide as a life taken by another through different situations. The Uniformed

Crime Reporting Program continues to be a resource that both citizens and law

enforcers can access. These tools helped find the main question, has criminal homicide
Criminal Homicide Rates in a Decade 6

increased or decreased within the last 10 years (2009-2019). Overall data has

maintained stable with slight increases and decreases. Through various data and

through visualizing of graphs we find that indeed criminal homicide has increased

slightly between 2009-2019. However, the increase was limited and has maintained and

stabilized. Through research we do find we must be cautious and be able to identify

misleading graphs and information to get accurate representations of data and how they

affect us.

Reference Page

 “Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 2000–2019.” FBI
UCR, 2019, ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-
pages/tables/table-1.