Homicide Risk Grows for Preschoolers, Minority Women

WASHINGTON —  As homicide rates soar to record levels across the nation, preschoolers and elderly minority women are increasingly at risk of becoming victims, according to a study released Wednesday.

In addition, California has the third-highest homicide rate in the nation, according to the study, “Homicide in the United States: Who’s At Risk.” The study analyzed a half-century of crime statistics and found that young children and nonwhite women, particularly those older than 75, “have become much more vulnerable to the risk of being killed.”

“Children killing children is not such a sensational story anymore,” said Carol De Veta, senior research demographer for the nonprofit Population Reference Bureau. “We’re showing that this is a pattern that is really becoming solid. We just see the risk factors for victims growing younger and younger.”

Homicide rates for children age 4 and younger rose to their highest levels in 40 years for all races and both sexes, while the rates for minority preschoolers have increased by about a third.

For minority children age 4 and younger, the 1990 murder rates were 8.9 homicides per 100,000 for boys and 8.6 for girls. Both have been climbing since 1950, when they were 2.4 for both sexes.

For white youngsters, the rates climbed from 1.0 to 2.7 per 100,000 for boys and from 1.2 to 2.1 for girls.

The homicide rate for older minority women also rose sharply in the last decade, from 6.7 for every 100,000 people to 11.7 today. De Veta attributed the rise, in part, to the growing independent lifestyle of elderly residents, particularly those who are frail and live alone in larger cities.

California’s murder rate was third behind Louisiana and Mississippi. California averaged 13.6 murders annually for every 100,000 residents, compared to a national rate of 10. The District of Columbia reported 66.5 murders per 100,000 residents.

The overall national murder rate of 10 victims per 100,000 residents marks a slight decrease from the 1991 rate of 10.5 but is still higher than during most of the 1980s.

The Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit research group that reports on population issues and trends, said 70 people are killed each day in the United States as the result of homicides--or about 25,500 a year.

“Public opinion polls show that Americans currently rank crime, particularly violent crime, at or near the top of their concerns,” the main researchers, F. Landis MacKellar and Machiko Yanagishita, said. “Newspapers, television and radio programs suggest that violent death has become a way of life, especially among young adults.”

The bureau’s work confirmed other national studies showing that African Americans, particularly young black men, face the greatest threat of violent death: 38.8 victims per 100,000 residents from 1989 to 1991. Hispanics were next at 15.5, followed by Native Americans at 11.7, whites at 5.7, and Asian Americans at 5.5.