Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008

From 1980 to 2008, nearly 1 out of 5 murder victims were killed by an intimate, and 2 out of 5 female murder victims were killed by an intimate. This BJS report presents findings from data on homicides that occurred in the United States from 1980 through 2008. It also includes overall homicide rates for 2009 and 2010. The report analyzes homicide trends by age, sex, and race, including homicides of children under age 5 and of persons age 65 or older. It examines the relationship between the victim and the offender, particularly in cases of intimate and family homicide. Data include homicides involving multiple victims and offenders, circumstances surrounding the death, justifiable homicides, law enforcement officers killed, homicides cleared, and homicide trends by city size and weapon use. The data are primarily from the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports with summary data from the annual report, Crime in the United States, for 2009 and 2010.