Justifiable homicides
The number of justifi able homicides declined through 2000 and
has seen slight increases since then
? The number of justifiable homicides of felons committed by
police exceeded the number committed by citizens ( gure 51).
? In the last 10 years, the number of justifiable homicides has
increased by 25.4% from 500 in 1999 to 630 in 2008
http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf#page=27Trends by city size
Changes in homicide trends have been driven by changes in
the number of homicides in large American cities
From 1980 to 2008—
? Over half of homicides (57.7%) occurred in cities with a
population of 100,000 or more .
? More than a third of all homicides in large cities occurred in the
biggest cities (those with a population of 1 million or more).
In large cities of all sizes, the homicide victimization rate has
declined steadily since the early 1990s
The homicide victimization rate—
? in cities with a population of 1 million or more dropped
dramatically from 35.5 homicides per 100,000 U.S. residents
in 1991 to an all-time low of 11.9 homicides per 100,000 U.S.
residents in 2008
? in cities with a population of 100,000 to 249,999 was the lowest
among large cities, ranging from a high of 15.0 homicides per
100,000 in 1994 to a low of 8.8 homicides per 100,000 in 2008.
As with the victimization rate in large cities, the homicide
o ending rate has also declined since the early 1990s
The homicide off ending rate in cities with a population of—
? 1 million or more dropped from 45 off enders per 100,000 U.S.
residents in 1991 to an all-time low of 12 off enders per 100,000
U.S. residents in 2008
? 500,000 to 999,999 increased between 2004 (14.5 off enders per
100,000) and 2008 (17.8 off enders per 100,000), but remained
below the off ending rates from the late 1980s and early 1990s,
which averaged around 22 off enders per 100,000.
