Palm Beach County Youth Violence Prevention...

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Palm Beach County Youth Violence Prevention Project

Center for Criminology and Public Policy Research

Dr. Bill Bales

Subcommittee Meetings West Palm Beach, September 15-16, 2005

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Presentation Outline n  Purposes of the Project n  Summary of Previous Findings New Findings n  Offender Demographics Recalculated to include

Hispanic Population n  Profile of Homicide and Violent Offenders n  Time of Homicides and Violent Crimes n  Homicide Victim Drug Use n  Offender/Victim Relationship n  Mapping

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Purposes of the Project 1.  Determine the historical and current

trends of violent crime in Palm Beach County, particularly aimed at predicting youth violence and incidents involving firearms

2.  Identify ways to decrease the amount of violent youth crime within Palm Beach County

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Purposes of the Project

3.  Ensure that local agencies are involved in identifying and prioritizing evidence based violence prevention strategies throughout Palm Beach County.

Including the following agencies:

Ø  Prevention Ø  Law Enforcement Ø  Courts Ø  Corrections

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Summary of Previous Findings n Reported crime rate in PBC (UCR) has

been decreasing steadily over the past 15 years

n Violent crime and violent crime involving firearms leveled off over the past five years

n Homicide was declining moderately over the last 15 years; however 2004 had the second highest number of murders (89) since 1990

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Summary of Previous Findings n  The use of firearms in homicides increased in

last 5 years n  The largest and fastest growing age group of

homicide offenders is 20-24 years of age n  Over the next 5 years, age and race groups that

have a high risk of violent offending are projected to increase at a much faster rate than the overall population

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Characteristics of Individuals Arrested for Murder and Victims of Violent Crimes with Firearms in Palm Beach County

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Victims of Violent Crimes Committed with a Firearm by Age Groups

217

703

855

580447

374

534

262

107

0100200300400500600700800900

LE 14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-49 50-59 60-99

2000-2004

Data Source: PBC Law Enforcement Records

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Victims of Violent Crime Committed with a Firearm by Gender and Race

2954

1181

17861625

674

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Male Female White Black Hispanic

2000-2004


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Offenders of Violent Crime Committed with a Firearm by Age Groups

64

618642

209

97 74 74 5711

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

LE 14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-49 50-59 60-99

2000-2004


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Offenders of Violent Crime Committed with a Firearm by Gender and Race

1741

120

541

1115

202

0200400600800

10001200140016001800

Male Female White Black Hispanic

2000-2004


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Murder Rates by Age Groups

2

17

36

16

8 8 8 7 5

05

10152025303540

LE 14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-49 50-59 60-99

2004-2005

Data Source: FDLE Computerized Criminal History Records

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Profile of Homicide and Violent

Offenders (2004)

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Age at First Arrest for Homicide and Violent Offenders Arrested in 2004

84% of Violent Offenders have an arrest record before the age of 30

79% of Homicide Offenders have an arrest record before the age of 30 Data Source: FDLE Computerized Criminal History Records

13.7% 9.7%

20.7% 20.9% 17.3% 25.4%

31.9%

23.1%

0 5

10 15 20 25 30 35

LE 14 15-17 18-19 20-29

Violent Offenders Homicide

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Prior Offenses of Homicide and Violent Offenders Arrested in 2004

68.0%

51.5%

30.0% 33.6% 29.5%24.6%

28.5%35.8%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Violent Drugs Prob. Violation Firearms

Violent Offenders Homicide

Data Source: FDLE Computerized Criminal History Records

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Victims of Homicide – Drug Use

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Homicides Involving a Firearm with A Victim Under 30 - Toxicology Results

56.9%

20.7%3.4%

37.9%

10.3%

0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%

Alcohol

Cocaine

Hallucinogen

Marijuana

Rx-Abuse

2000-2005

Data Source: PBC Medical Examiner Records

45.3% of the 121 of Homicide Victims had some form of dangerous drugs in their system at the time of death

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Characteristics of Homicide and

Violent Crimes with a Firearm

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Weapons Used in Homicides

70.1%

4.9%13.0% 3.2% 7.4%

1.4%0.0%

10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%80.0%

Handgun/Firearm

Rifle/Shotgun

KnifeBlunt Object

HandsPoison/Drugs

2000-2004

Data Source: FDLE Supplemental Homicide Reports

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Percent of Violent Firearm Crimes by Day of the Week: 2000-2004

Saturday16%

Friday 18%

Thursday12% Wednesday

13%

Tuesday13%

Monday14%

Sunday14%


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Percent of Violent Firearm Crimes by Time of Day: 2000-2004

12-3am15% 3-6am

7%6-9am4%

9-12am8%

12-3pm10%

3-6pm12%

6-9pm17%

9-12pm27%


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Percent of Homicides Involving a Firearm by Time of Day: 2000-2004

12-3am21%

3-6am17%

9-12am0%

12-3pm9%

3-6pm5%

6-9pm19%

9-12pm21%

6-9am8%

Data Source: PBC Medical Examiner Records

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Homicide Offender/Victim

Relationships

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Homicide Offender/Victim Race

61.7%

27.1%

3.2% 7.9%

0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%

White/W

hite

Black/Black

White/Black

Black/White

2000-2004


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Homicide Offender/Victim Gender

64.1%

5.5%

23.3%

7.1%

0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%

Male/Male

Female/Female

Male/Female

Female/Male

2000-2004


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Homicide Offender/Victim Relative

31.3%25.0%

14.6% 14.6%8.3%

6.3%

0.0%5.0%

10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%30.0%35.0%

Spouse

ChildOther Family

Co-Habitant

Parent

Sibling

2000-2004


16.3% of Homicide victims had some relationship to their offenders

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Crime Mapping

Palm Beach County Youth Violence Prevention...

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