Xref: access.usask.ca clari.tw.science:1287 clari.news.law.crime.violent:2071 clari.local.new_york:2458 clari.news.top:6989 Path: access.usask.ca!csd.unb.ca!sis!galileo.cc.rochester.edu!ub!rutgers!stanford.edu!lll-winken!looking!clarinews From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI) Newsgroups: clari.tw.science,clari.news.law.crime.violent,clari.local.new_york,clari.news.top Subject: America remains violent nation, report says Keywords: research, science, violent crime, legal Message-ID: Date: 12 Nov 92 23:08:08 GMT References: Lines: 56 Approved: clarinews@clarinet.com X-Supersedes: Location: new york city, new york ACategory: national Slugword: violence Priority: major Format: regular ANPA: Wc: 542; Id: z4415; Sel: nxnsr; Adate: 11-12-120pes; Ver: 0/1; V: sked Codes: ynsrrnx., ynlxrny., xxxxxxxx, tbza.... Note: adv 630 pm est WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The United States remains one of the most violent countries in the industrialized world and greater efforts are needed to stem the carnage, a National Academy of Sciences report concluded Thursday. In the report ``Understanding and Preventing Violence,'' a 19-member expert panel assembled by the academy's National Research Council recommended a wide range of new research to help understand the roots of violence. ``The panel found that a substantial knowledge base exists regarding some aspects of violent events and behaviors and that certain areas of knowledge are expanding rapidly,'' the report said. ``However, we were frustrated to realize that it was still not possible to link these fields of knowledge together in a manner that would provide a strong theoretical base on which to build prevention and intervention programs.'' Among the report's findings: --In 1990, more than 23,000 Americans were homicide victims. --Nearly one-third of the 19 million crimes reported in 1990 involved violence, with the most common crime being an assault. --U.S. homicide rates ``far exceed'' those in any other industrialized nation and the rates of other violent crimes in the United States are among the world's highest. --The U.S. homicide rate peaked in the 1930s, fell for the next 30 years and began to increase again in 1973. The rate peaked again between 1979 and 1981 before declining until 1984 and 1985. The current rate is now at about its 1980 level. --While the homicide rate is actually lower today than during earlier periods of history, the increased population means the total number of deaths ``are high by historical standards.'' --Minorities are more likely that whites to be victims of violent crimes, with blacks being 41 percent and Hispanics 32 percent more likely than whites to be victimized. --Young men are the most common perpetrators of violent crimes, representing 89 percent of all those arrested. --Contrary to public perceptions, ``serial murderers'' are responsible for only about 1 percent or 2 percnt of homicides. --While average prison time served per violent crime roughly tripled between 1975 and 1989, reported levels of serious violent crime did not decrease. --About 6 percent of violence victims are attacked by members of their own family. Among the panel's recommendations were: --Funding for research should be increased above the $20.2 million spent for violence research and intervention in 1989. --More research should be conducted into the underlying causes of violence, including whether there are any biological factors that predispose an individual to violence. --Specifically, researchers should study children over time to try to determine why some children exhibit patterns of aggressive behavior at early ages and why only a small proportion go on to commit violent crimes. --Studies should be conducted to determine which places, routine activities and situations could be modified to prevent violence. --Police activity should be studied to determine what best reduces violence, including the role of firearms and drugs in violent events.