An overview provides national statistics and international comparisons and concludes that homicide in the United States has mainly been an event involving males of the same race and that the South has consistently had higher rates of homicide than other regions of the United States. Additional chapters examine perspectives and theories on causes, the reasons for the concentration of violence in relatively few areas in cities, the classification of homicide and assault incidents, a recommended new classification method, and patterns of capital punishment in relation to the geography of perceived seriousness of violence. Further chapters focus on the roles of neighborhood ecology and climate; the relationship between drugs and violence; and policy implications of patterns of violence, including relationships between violence and poverty, gun control, drugs, public health, and policing. Figures, tables, maps, and approximately 400 references