HOMICIDE AMONG BLACK-MALES IN JEFFERSON-COUNTY, ALABAMA 1978-1989

This study examined 1505 of 1573 (96%) homicides occurring in Jefferso n County, Alabama, between 1978 and 1989, that were investigated by th e Coroner/Medical Examiners' Office. During this 12 year period, Jeffe rson County's average annual homicide rate was 18.9 per 100,000 compar ed to an 11.3 per 100,000 State of Alabama's rate and a 9.3 per 100,00 0 US rate. In Jefferson County, the average annual homicide rate among blacks (41.4) was almost six times the rate among whites (7.1). The h ighest average annual race-specific homicide rate was in black males ( 75.9), followed by black females (12.4), white males (10.4) and white females (4.1). Black males in the 25-34 year age group had the highest rate (159.7), followed by black males in the 35-44 year age group (15 1.7) and then by black males in the 15-24 year age group (96.2). These rates ranged from almost eight to over eleven times the rates of simi larly aged, black females or white males and were over 33 times higher than the rates for white females of the same age. Our results emphasi ze the high rates of black male on black male violence, the acquaintan ce of the black male victim and perpetrator, and the importance of arg uments as an inciting event. Moreover, we determined that while the ra w numbers and rates for black homicides were and are staggering, the a verage annual homicide rate for black males was actually declining at a greater rate than for all other race-sex groups. Further, our result s suggest that a number of hypothesized determinants commonly believed to be associated with the increase in the homicide rate among black m ales between 15 and 24 years of age, such as drug use, increased avail ability of firearms and increased child abuse were not, in fact, major determinants of the change in homicide rates.