Showing posts with label criminology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label criminology. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

The Missing

FBI murder rates average 8% less than CDC murder rates nationally.  One reason is that murders in federsl fscilities or jurisdictions (prisons, military bases) are not reported by atate or lical police. But the FBI murder rates are for some states higher than CDC rates.  It appears that because FBI data is based on initial charges, deaths later determined to be justifiable or excusable homicides are corrected when CDC reports data.

I am suffering insomnia and I suddenly realized thst there is another category of murders that are not reported annually: the missing 

There are a startling number of remains found, often by hunters, of people who have been missing for years.  In some cases, their deaths can be determined to be homicides and perhaps even murders even when the remains are discovered decades later.  But they will not be included in annual FBI rates because their deaths have not been discovered.   Ditto for CDC rates. 

One of many cases 5/28/25 Fox News:
"Martinsson vanished on Jan. 17, 1982 after going shopping in a yellow Volkswagen Rabbit she had borrowed from her host family. Ten days later, authorities found the car in Boise City, Okla. with a man and woman inside.

"The man, 31-year-old Henry Lee Coleman of Los Angeles, had previously served ten years in prison after being convicted of rape in Oklahoma and was wanted in San Bernadino County, Calif. on a robbery warrant. The woman, 26-year-old Sabrina Ann Johnson of Seattle, had been picked up by Coleman before they drove east.

"Coleman was convicted of auto theft and sentenced to five years in prison, but authorities could not tie him to Martinsson's death."

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Interesting Claims

 I am not entirely sure of their methodology.  The article Psychopathy, gun carrying, and firearm violence.  The abstract claims:

Firearm violence was positively related to the affective and antisocial facets of psychopathy. Whereas gun carrying without a concealed permit and defensive gun use were associated with only the antisocial facet. Gun carrying with a concealed permit was not related to any of the facets. Conclusion: These findings build on existing research on psychopathy and gun carrying among youth, suggesting that examining the facets of psychopathy can contribute to our understanding of the individual-level risk of gun violence among adults. The results also enhance the nuanced exploration of psychopathy’s role in different aspects of gun behavior, providing valuable insight into important risk factors to target during the intervention. 

This surprises me not in the least.  However, the article that led me to it apparently has access to the article and contains this curious explanation of the surveyed population: 

The study was conducted using a sample of 343 adult participants who had been treated for violent injuries at a trauma center in Virginia. These individuals, ranging in age from 18 to 75, were recruited because they were considered to be at high risk for future violence. The majority of participants were male (74%) and identified as Black or African American (65%). All participants completed a series of interviews and self-report surveys to assess their psychopathic traits and gun-related behaviors.

Without question, violent criminals are also disproportionately victims as well.  I am just skeptical that you can assume victims are a meaningful match for the victimizers.