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Cross-National Variation in Homicides: Is Race a Factor?

NCJ Number
170534
Journal
Criminology Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1998) Pages: 139-156
Author(s)
J L Neapolitan
Date Published
1998
Length
18 pages
Annotation
J.P. Rushton's use of international crime data to analyze the relationship between violent crime and the racial composition of a country's population is critically examined, with emphasis on analyses of international differences in homicide rates.
Abstract
Rushton's research was published in 1990 and 1995. It has indicated that predominantly black countries have higher rates of violent crime than do predominantly white countries, which have higher rates than predominantly Asian countries. Rushton attributes these differences to innate, inheritable factors on which the races vary. However, Rushton's use of international crime statistics and analysis has numerous problems, particularly the use of one-way analysis of variance and the lack of consideration of other causes of variation. In contrast, regression analysis that includes dummy race variables and other relevant explanatory variables indicates no significant association between race and homicide rates across countries. Moreover, homicide rates are probably the best and only valid indicator of cross-national variations in violent crime. This finding is the case whether Rushton's data published in 1995 are reanalyzed or whether the analysis focuses on properly adjusted, inspected, and selected homicide rates taken from Interpol's International Crime Statistics during 1988-94. Footnotes, tables, appended tables, and 70 references