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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447171/
RESULTS
Overall Trends
From 1979 to 1997, the absolute annual number of homicides due to legal intervention was as high as 349 and as low as 237, averaging 289. From 1979 to 1988, there was a statistically significant decrease in the number of deaths due to legal intervention, with an average annual change of –4.5% (Table 1▶). During the period 1988 to 1997, the number of deaths due to legal intervention rose by an average of 0.7% per year, but this increase was not statistically significant.
TABLE 1—
Annual Percentage Change in Incidence of US Deaths Due to Legal Intervention, 1979–1997
The proportion of deaths due to legal intervention averaged 1.3% of all homicides from 1979 to 1997 (range = 0.9%–1.6%). The death rate due to legal intervention for all US citizens averaged 0.14 from 1979 to 1997 (Table 1▶). When deaths due to legal intervention were stratified by ICD-9 code according to cause of death, of the 3233 total deaths occurring from 1988 to 1997, the vast majority (3126, or 97%) were caused by firearms. Unspecified or other causes, including physical force, accounted for the remainder. This pattern differs somewhat from the observed distribution of weapons used when homicide from all causes is examined, in which case firearms account for about 65% to 70% of all deaths.3
Differentials by Sex, Race, and Age
Of the 5486 total deaths due to legal intervention during the 19-year period 1979 to 1997, 5330 decedents (97%) were male. Whites accounted for 3447 deaths (63%), Blacks for 1885 deaths (34%), and “others” for 154 deaths (3%). When rates of death due to legal intervention were examined, striking variations by race and sex became apparent (Table 1▶). The average annual rates of death due to legal intervention were more than 27 times higher for men than for women. When mortality was stratified by race and sex, death rates of Black males on average were 4.7 times those of White males from 1979 to 1988 and averaged 3.2 times higher from 1988 to 1997 (ranges = 3.4–6.7 times and 2.6–5.0 times, respectively).
When age-specific death rates for the period 1988 to 1997 were examined, mortality rates for both White and Black males were highest in the 20- to 24-year-old age group (Figure 1▶). This pattern roughly parallels the age distribution of death rates for homicides due to all causes, which peaks at 15 to 24 years.3Age-specific death rates among males for the period 1979 to 1989 exhibited similar trends.
RESULTS
Overall Trends
From 1979 to 1997, the absolute annual number of homicides due to legal intervention was as high as 349 and as low as 237, averaging 289. From 1979 to 1988, there was a statistically significant decrease in the number of deaths due to legal intervention, with an average annual change of –4.5% (Table 1▶). During the period 1988 to 1997, the number of deaths due to legal intervention rose by an average of 0.7% per year, but this increase was not statistically significant.
TABLE 1—
Annual Percentage Change in Incidence of US Deaths Due to Legal Intervention, 1979–1997
The proportion of deaths due to legal intervention averaged 1.3% of all homicides from 1979 to 1997 (range = 0.9%–1.6%). The death rate due to legal intervention for all US citizens averaged 0.14 from 1979 to 1997 (Table 1▶). When deaths due to legal intervention were stratified by ICD-9 code according to cause of death, of the 3233 total deaths occurring from 1988 to 1997, the vast majority (3126, or 97%) were caused by firearms. Unspecified or other causes, including physical force, accounted for the remainder. This pattern differs somewhat from the observed distribution of weapons used when homicide from all causes is examined, in which case firearms account for about 65% to 70% of all deaths.3
Differentials by Sex, Race, and Age
Of the 5486 total deaths due to legal intervention during the 19-year period 1979 to 1997, 5330 decedents (97%) were male. Whites accounted for 3447 deaths (63%), Blacks for 1885 deaths (34%), and “others” for 154 deaths (3%). When rates of death due to legal intervention were examined, striking variations by race and sex became apparent (Table 1▶). The average annual rates of death due to legal intervention were more than 27 times higher for men than for women. When mortality was stratified by race and sex, death rates of Black males on average were 4.7 times those of White males from 1979 to 1988 and averaged 3.2 times higher from 1988 to 1997 (ranges = 3.4–6.7 times and 2.6–5.0 times, respectively).
When age-specific death rates for the period 1988 to 1997 were examined, mortality rates for both White and Black males were highest in the 20- to 24-year-old age group (Figure 1▶). This pattern roughly parallels the age distribution of death rates for homicides due to all causes, which peaks at 15 to 24 years.3Age-specific death rates among males for the period 1979 to 1989 exhibited similar trends.
