Violent Death in a Metropolitan County

Abstract

Analysis of homicide patterns in Cuyahoga County, Ohio (metropolitan Cleveland), for 1958–1974 discloses the following major trends: a dramatic rise in overall homicide rates in the city (320 per cent) and suburbs (200 per cent); an increase in justifiable homicide; a doubling of the percentage of homicides incident to other felonies; a markedly increased incidence of homicide among younger persons; a conspicuous rise in firearm killings (now 81 per cent of all homicides); and a continued preponderance of intraracial homicide, with the highest rates among nonwhite males in the city.