r, robbery and assault reached record levels in 1980, for instance, rates in almost every category (of crime) dropped for half a decade. Then, fueled by the crack cocaine epidemic, violent crime climbed back up. A new murder record was set in 1992, even though the total number of youths--the cohort most associated with crime--was dropping. The shrinking of the teen population did seem, however, to reduce the number of property crimes (Gest, 1994).
Although the actual number of murders has fluctuated over the past ten years, the number of random murders has not declined. Relatives or acquaintances of the victims have always been most likely to have committed murders, but the proportion of murders committed by strangers to the victims may now be as high as one third (Gest, 1994). Carnegie Mellon University criminologist Alfred Blumstein attributes the "large growth in crimes committed (to) young people who appear not to have absorbed much concern about the value of human life" (Gest, 1994).
Additionally, violence in the workplace, including homicides, is growing as well. Although murderous episodes at job sites are comparatively rare, a Labor Department review identified "45 revenge-type murders by workers or former employees" in 1992 (Gest, 1994). And a "preliminary compilation" by the National Safe Workplace Institute counted 70 cases involving personal or family feuds. According to Institute Director Joseph Kinney, although the number is a sharp increase from less than 20 per year in the 1980s, "it is hardly at epidemic proportions" (Gest, 1994).
As compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, figures show that some 80 percent of violence occurs between persons of the same race. Approximately one-fifth of all reported crime incidents are interracial, with 15 percent of those committed by black offenders upon white victims, 2 percent involving white offenders and black victims, and about 3 percent involv...