Aim: This paper aims to better understand the relationship between homicide and other public health outcomes, by studying their trends over time.Subject and Methods: Research in both criminology... Show moreAim: This paper aims to better understand the relationship between homicide and other public health outcomes, by studying their trends over time.Subject and Methods: Research in both criminology and public health has long identified that crime and violence tend to cluster together with adverse phenomena in the social and the health domain. However, such work has relied primarily on cross-sectional analyses. Here, we instead study trends over time. We take data from the Netherlands, between 2000 and 2020, and ask whether homicide shows similar trends over time as other public health phenomena – such as smoking behaviour, alcohol use, child mortality, adolescent pregnancies and suicide.Results: We observe, first, that all of the phenomena – with the exception of suicide – declined over the period under study. We then employ a time series analysis to examine whether these trends arise independently, or whether they are the result of structural similarities between phenomena. Results showed that the decline in homicide rates is linked to a similar decline in adolescent pregnancies – the rates of these phenomena “move together” during the period under study.Conclusion: This work shows that the phenomenon of homicide shares structural similarities with teenage pregnancies – a decline in one is linked to a similar decline in the other. More generally, the current work furthers our understanding of the place of homicide in the domain of (public) health. Show less
Detailed, comparative research on firearm violence in Europe is rare. Using data from the European Homicide Monitor, this paper presents the prevalence and characteristics of firearm homicides in... Show moreDetailed, comparative research on firearm violence in Europe is rare. Using data from the European Homicide Monitor, this paper presents the prevalence and characteristics of firearm homicides in Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland between 2001 and 2016. Furthermore, we compare firearm to non-firearm homicides to assess the degree of uniqueness of firearms as modus operandi. We find that the firearm homicide rate varies across our sample of countries. We also identify two country profiles: in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, most firearm homicides take place in public and urban areas, involving male victims and perpetrators. In these countries, the use of firearms in homicides is largely concentrated in the criminal milieu. In Finland and Switzerland, firearms are mostly used in domestic homicides, with a higher share of female victims. We explore these findings in relation to firearm availability in each country. Show less
Homicide statistics are often used as an indicator for violent crime more generally. In this work, we evaluate the empirical support for this convention in a Western European context,... Show moreHomicide statistics are often used as an indicator for violent crime more generally. In this work, we evaluate the empirical support for this convention in a Western European context, specifically the Netherlands. Using data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and from the Dutch Homicide Monitor, we compare homicide rates to rates of other violent crimes between 2010 and 2020. Results show that homicide and violent crimes are related in a general sense, but it is difficult to say what those relationships look like concretely. In other words, there is an empirical relationship between homicide and the overarching concept of violent crime, but relationships between homicide and individual violent crimes varied considerably. Based on these findings, we advise that researchers tread carefully when using homicide as an indicator of violent crime. Show less
Homicide is generally considered the most serious of all crimes and according to this line of reasoning, constitutes the “tip of the iceberg” of underlying crime. As such, homicide is frequently... Show moreHomicide is generally considered the most serious of all crimes and according to this line of reasoning, constitutes the “tip of the iceberg” of underlying crime. As such, homicide is frequently used as an indicator of the level of violence in cross-national and historical studies. The same could be said for drug-related homicide, specifically. Many drug-related violent incidents remain unreported – including torture, physical assault, threats and so on. In the absence of a full picture of the level of drug-related violence, it can be necessary to use other related indicators for which data is more readily available such as drug-related homicide (DRH). From this perspective, DRH would form a lethal tip of the iceberg of underlying drug-related criminal violence, which in turn could be an indicator of underlying drug market activity. If we indeed consider drug-related homicide as a tip of the iceberg of underlying criminal violence, then we would expect such homicides to cluster together in time and space with other types of criminal violence – in particular firearm-related homicides and other, non-lethal firearm incidents.In this working paper we seek to assess to what extent DRH cluster together with firearm- related violence and whether these forms of violence could be used as indicators of underling drug crime. Show less
A fuller understanding of drug-related violence requires good quality data. Having such data consistently up-to-date will provide benefit in policy-making and evaluation, as well as for operational... Show moreA fuller understanding of drug-related violence requires good quality data. Having such data consistently up-to-date will provide benefit in policy-making and evaluation, as well as for operational, monitoring and research purposes. For policy-makers, accurate data on drug-related violence will provide a fuller picture of the drugs trade and its societal impact — essential for planning and assessing policy responses, priority setting and resource allocation. Show less
Wieringen, L. van; Krüsselmann, K.; Weggemans, D.J.; Liem, M.C.A. 2021
It has been argued that the Internet presents numerous new opportunities for crime, including homicide. So far, empirical scholarly research in this domain is rather limited. In order to discover... Show moreIt has been argued that the Internet presents numerous new opportunities for crime, including homicide. So far, empirical scholarly research in this domain is rather limited. In order to discover how perpetrators have used the Internet in the homicides they have committed, we conducted an international newspaper search (2006–2017). Based on this analysis, we identify five distinct types of Internet use in homicides, namely Internet as an encyclopedia, Internet as a platform, Internet as a trigger, Internet as a market place, and Internet as a meeting place. Our findings indicate that these types do not significantly differ from key characteristics of homicides in general to the degree that they constitute unique forms of homicide. Rather, Internet-related homicides constitute a replication, or facilitation of already existing forms of homicide assisted through new technological means. Show less
Het is onduidelijk of en in hoeverre de aanslagen in nabijgelegen landen ook van invloed zijn op de risicobeleving van de Nederlandse bevolking Niet alleen aanslagen in buurlanden kunnen van... Show moreHet is onduidelijk of en in hoeverre de aanslagen in nabijgelegen landen ook van invloed zijn op de risicobeleving van de Nederlandse bevolking Niet alleen aanslagen in buurlanden kunnen van invloed zijn op de risicoperceptie in Nederland,1 maar ook het, door de overheid ingeschaalde, dreigingsniveau. De vraag rijst of en in hoeverre het relatief langdurig hoge dreigingsniveau (substantieel, niveau vier van vijf, sinds maart 2013) de risicoperceptie van de Nederlandse bevolking beïnvloedt. Show less
Weggemans, D.J.; Zwan, M.M.A. van der; Liem, M.C.A. 2018
The term “lone actor” has been applied to a variety of violent individuals, including jihadists, right-wing extremists, school shooters, and others whose crimes were ideologically motivated and... Show moreThe term “lone actor” has been applied to a variety of violent individuals, including jihadists, right-wing extremists, school shooters, and others whose crimes were ideologically motivated and generated much societal impact. It may be argued, however, that such a classification of this rare subset of violent offenders is an artificial one, based on political perspectives rather than on empirical findings. In this study, we examine and compare characteristics of European single perpetrators or lone actor terrorists to a large sample of European ‘common’ homicide offenders. Bivariate analysis shows that lone actors are significantly younger, more single, and more educated than homicide offenders. In terms of event characteristics, however, the two groups differ more substantially. Lone actors are more likely to attack ‘strangers’ in public places and to use firearms, while homicide offenders tend to attack victims they know in private settings and to use more hands-on methods. These differences may be understood through the notion of instrumental versus expressive motivations. Our findings question the classification of lone actors as an entity fundamentally different from our sample of single homicide offenders and call for future in-depth assessments of possible differences in homicidal drive. Show less
In deze editie komen enkele oud-winnaars van de Willem Nagelprijs (Marc Schuilenburg, Marieke Liem, Lieven Pauwels en Tom Daems) aan het woord komen over een carrière voor en na het winnen van de... Show moreIn deze editie komen enkele oud-winnaars van de Willem Nagelprijs (Marc Schuilenburg, Marieke Liem, Lieven Pauwels en Tom Daems) aan het woord komen over een carrière voor en na het winnen van de Willem Nagelprijs. Show less
