The murder rate was 6 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, the lowest figure since 1967. The percentage of white and black murder victims was 50 percent and 48 percent, respectively. The remaining offenders were persons of other races. Fifty-one percent of murder victims knew their assailants. Thirty-two percent of all murders were a result of arguments, and 18 percent resulted from felonious activities such as robbery, arson, and other crimes.
Data indicate that murder is most often an intraracial offense.
Eighty-seven percent of white victims were slain by white offenders. Six out of every ten reported murders were committed with a firearm. The estimated total of 93,103 forcible rapes reported to law enforcement during 1998 was the lowest total in a decade. Approximately 67 of every 100,000 females in the country were reported rape victims in 1998, a rate that is 4 percent lower than in 1997. Robbery Robbery declined 10 percent in 1998 as compared to 1997 levels.