An empirical analysis of 30 years of U.S. juvenile and adult sexual homicide offender data: race and age differences in the victim-offender relationship.
Little is known about the racial patterns of crimes committed by sexual homicide offenders (SHOs). This study examined race and age influences on victim-offender relationship for juvenile and adult SHOs. A large sample (N = 3868) from the Supplemental Homicide Reports (1976-2005) was used. Analyses of victim-offender patterns included examining victim age effects (child, adolescent, adult, and elderly). The findings revealed several race- and age-based differences. Black offenders were significantly overrepresented in the SHO population. This finding held for juveniles and adults independently. White SHOs were highly likely to kill within their race, "intra-racially" (range 91-100%) across four victim age categories, whereas Black SHOs killed both intra-racially (range 24-82%) and inter-racially (18-76%), with the likelihood of their killing inter-racially increasing as the age of the victim increased. This study underscores the importance of considering victim-offender racial patterns in sexual murder investigations, and it offers practical implications for offender profiling.
Chan
Heng Choon Oliver
HC
Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620-8100, USA.
Myers
Wade C
WC
Heide
Kathleen M
KM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D006708:Homicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001741:Black or African American