USA: FBI CRIME REPORT SHOWS MURDER RATES REMAIN HIGHER IN DEATH PENALTY STATES

November 6, 2015: The U.S. Department of Justice released its annual FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2014, reporting no change in the national murder rate since 2013.
In the Northeast, the region with the fewest executions, the murder rate declined 5.7%, from 3.5 to 3.3 per 100,000 population. The murder rate was 1.7 times higher in the South, which carries out the most executions of any region. That region saw a 3.4% increase in the homicide rate, and its 5.5 murders per 100,000 population remained the highest rate of any region. Murder rates in the West and Midwest declined by 3.8% and 5.4%, respectively.
A DPIC analysis of weighted murder rates found that death penalty jurisdictions continue to have a higher murder rate than non-death penalty jurisdictions (including Washington, D.C.): 4.7 per 100,000 compared to 3.8 per 100,000. Ten of the eleven states with the highest murder rates have the death penalty, while six of the eight lowest do not. In 2014, the estimated number of murders in the nation was 14,249. This was a 0.5 percent decrease from the 2013 estimate, a 3.2 percent decrease from the 2010 figure, and a 14.9 percent drop from the number in 2005. There were 4.5 murders per 100,000 people.
The murder rate fell 1.2 percent in 2014 compared with the 2013 rate. Of the estimated number of murders in the United States, 46.0 percent were reported in the South, 20.5 percent were reported in the Midwest, 20.5 percent were reported in the West, and 13.1 percent were reported in the Northeast. Law enforcement reported 721 justifiable homicides in 2014. Of those, law enforcement officers justifiably killed 444 felons, and private citizens justifiably killed 277 people during the commission of crimes. In 2014, the estimated number of violent crimes in the United States decreased 0.1 percent when compared with 2013 data.
The estimated number of murders decreased 5.5 percent in the Northeast, 5.2 percent in the Midwest, and 2.7 percent in the West. However, the estimated number of murders increased 4.4 percent in the South. In the nation in 2014, 47.4 percent of overall violent crimes were cleared by arrest or exceptional means, 64.5 percent of murder offenses and 20.2 percent of property crimes. In 2014, an estimated 1,165,383 violent crimes occurred nationwide, a decrease of 0.2 percent from the 2013 estimate. When considering 5- and 10-year trends, the 2014 estimated violent crime total was 6.9 percent below the 2010 level and 16.2 percent below the 2005 level.
Nationwide, law enforcement made an estimated 11,205,833 arrests in 2014. Of these arrests, 498,666 were for violent crimes, and 1,553,980 were for property crimes. The highest number of arrests were for drug abuse violations (estimated at 1,561,231 arrests), larceny-theft (estimated at 1,238,190), and driving under the influence (estimated at 1,117,852).
Arrests for Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter are estimated at 10,571. The estimated arrest rate for the United States in 2014 was 3,512 arrests per 100,000 inhabitants (3.5%). 73.3 of the persons arrested in the nation during 2014 were males. In 2014, 69.4 percent of all persons arrested were white, 27.8 percent were black, and the remaining 2.8 percent were of other races. According to an official report (Prisoners in 2014 NCJ 248955), the United States held an estimated 1,561,500 prisoners in state and federal custody at the end of 2014. This was down 1% from the previous year, and the smallest total prison population since 2005.
More than a third (34%) of the decrease was attributed to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) population. Nearly 3% of non-Hispanic black males and 1% of Hispanic males were serving sentences of at least 1 year in prison at yearend 2014, compared to less than 0.5% of non-Hispanic white males. An estimated 516,900 black males (37%), 453,500 white males (32%), and 308,700 Hispanic males (22%) were in custody. Black men had the highest imprisonment rate in every age group and were in state or federal facilities 3.8 to 10.5 times more often than white men and 1.4 to 3.1 times more often than Hispanic men.
Fifty percent of federal inmates and 16% of state prisoners were convicted drug offenders. Among Hispanics, 26% were sentenced for immigration offenses. Female prisoners accounted for approximately 7% of the total prison population. Fifty percent of the female prison population was white and 21% was black. A total of 131,300 inmates were held by private prison facilities in 30 states and the BOP, which was a decrease of 2,100 prisoners from 2013. According to another report (Correctional Populations In The United States, 2013) by yearend 2013, 3.91 million were under adult correctional supervision in the community on probation, 853,200 on parole, and 731,200 in local jails. (Source: Fbi, BJS, Hands Off Cain, 06/11/2015)