DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GANG AND NONGANG HOMICIDES

VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study by Maxson et al. was to assess the differences between gang related homicides and other homicides. The study addressed both the nature of the differences and relative effects of situational variables in producing the differences between gang and nongang related homicide. The question of whether gang related homicides warrant distinctive public concern was also a focus. METHODOLOGY: A quasi-experimental, secondary method was used to analyze data collected from law enforcement investigation files on over 700 gang and nongang designated homicides within jurisdiction on the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPD and the LASD were treated as separate samples due to differences in sampling and jurisdictional practices. To maximize the comparability between gang and non-gang incidents, all homicides included in the analyses had at least one named suspect between the ages of 10 and 30. The LASD data included all gang homicides between 1979 and 1981. Non-gang homicides were selected according to a random sampling design stratified by rate of gang homicide per station. The data were analyzed using bivariate and discriminant analyses. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: There are rough qualitative as well as quantitative distinctions between how and where gang/nongang homicides occurred. According to the LASD and LAPD data, gang killings were far more likely to take place in public settings, were somewhat more likely to involve automobiles and shooting out of a vehicle, and were more likely to include additional offenses, particularly attempted homicide and assault with a deadly weapon. Gang murders were more likely to involve guns and more weapons overall. Gang murders are more likely to include additional offenses, particularly attempted homicide and assault with a deadly weapon. Gang cases were more likely to inflict injuries in addition to the homicide, although the difference in the number of injured victim companions per injury case did not reach statistical significance. Gang homicides appeared to be considerably more visible and more violent, yet the differences are not so striking. As compared to the nongang setting, gang killings are less dramatically different than is often depicted, but more broadly different than is generally recognized. The second aspect of possible differences is the characteristics of the homicide suspects and victims. LASD data showed that gang homicides involved two and a half times as many participants, and they were twice as likely to never have had known prior contact with their victims. Homicide victims and suspects charged with homicide are about five years younger in gang incidents, and in the LASD jurisdiction, gang suspects were more often Hispanic, almost never white, and are in contrast to the more even ethnic breakdown in nongang cases. The LAPD data showed homicides have more black participants as well as high amounts of Hispanic participants, but very few white suspects as victims, even in nongang cases. The participant variables showed a general pattern of lower coefficients of association in the LAPD data than is true in the LASD tables. Discriminant analysis was utilized to assess the differentiation between designated gang and nongang cases in the multivariate context. In both LASD and LAPD data, the proportion of variance in the discriminant function was high. All coefficients - mean age of suspects, Hispanic suspects, street location, number of participant suspects, presence of a gun, mean age of victims, proportion of male suspects, no prior contact between victims and suspects, number of victims, black suspects, associated violent offenses, automobile present, mean age of victims, and mean age difference - were significant. In the LAPD data, mean age and ethnic status of suspects were most important followed by other suspect related variables. The LAPD data showed similar tendencies except that the discrimination between gang and nongang cases was smaller. In both, participant variables were most important. From these findings, the author concludes that there are substantial differences between gang and nongang homicides. Gang homicides differ with respect to ethnicity, age, number of participants, relationship between participants, as well as occurrence in public places, use of automobiles, and firearms, properties clearly related to the group nature of the events. AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS: The authors stated that the issue of public concern regarding gang homicides is not very clear, but the data collected showed the potential threat of gang violence to the general public to be non-substantial. Since incidents present unique problems, many investigators may benefit from the specialized skills and experience of experts on gang. The implication of the differences between gang and nongang homicides for specialization in law enforcement can be more broadly drawn as gang/nongang violence. The authors claimed that, given the nature of these differences, investigative specialization may be justified in police departments. EVALUATION: This article makes some important contributions. The first is the dissection of homicide into more specific types. Clearly, we see that gang and non-gang homicides have some important differences that would be masked with a singular look at homicides in general. The revelation of these differences, however, does not correlate with the perceived widespread nature of gang homicide. Further research should seek to further investigate these differences in both descriptive and theoretical ways and with a broader data base. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) KW - California KW - Gang KW - Homicide Victim KW - Comparative Analysis KW - Violence Situations KW - Victim Offender Relations KW - Public Environment KW - Firearms KW - Racial Differences KW - Ethnicity KW - Age Factors KW - Juvenile Victim KW - Juvenile Violence KW - Juvenile Offender KW - Adult Violence KW - Adult Offender KW - Adult Victim KW - Homicide Offender KW - Law Enforcement KW - Police KW - Public Awareness