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California Homicide Facts

With a large and diverse population, homicides are not uncommon in the state of California. In the last year for which statistics are available, there were 2,483 homicide crimes resulting in 1,967 arrests. Over the last 10 years the homicide rate in California has dropped 15.4 percent.

What does the term "homicide" mean?
The term "homicide" is defined by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program as the "willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another." Homicide includes murder and non-negligent manslaughter, but does not include attempted murder, justifiable homicide, manslaughter by negligence, and suicide.

Contributing circumstances to homicides

• 38.7 percent of homicides occurred as a result of an argument, with 7.4 percent occurring as the result of a domestic violence-related argument
• 33.7 percent of homicides were gang-related
• 7.4 percent of homicides occurred as a result of a rape, robbery, or burglary
• 5.4 percent of homicides were drug-related
• 14.9 percent occurred as a result of "all other" contributing circumstances

Offender's relationship with homicide victim

• 43.2 percent of victims were friends or acquaintances of offenders
• 40.6 percent of victims were strangers to offenders.
• 6.3 percent of victims were spouses of offenders
• 6.8 percent of victims were parents or children of offenders
• 3.1 percent of the relationships of victim to offender fell into the "other relative" category

Where homicides are committed

• 44.5 percent of homicides occurred on streets or sidewalks
• 22.2 percent of victims were killed at their places of residence
• 33.2 percent of homicides occurred in "all other" locations
• The greatest percentage of males (49.1 percent) were killed on streets or sidewalks
• The majority of females (51.2 percent) were killed at their places of residence

Weapons used in homicides

• 74.1 percent resulted from the use of firearms, of these 65.9 percent resulted from the use of handguns and 8.2 percent resulted from the use of all other types of firearms
• 12.8 percent resulted from the use of knives
• 5.3 percent resulted from the use of personal weapons (hands, feet, etc.)
• 3.1 percent resulted from the use of blunt objects (clubs, etc.)
• 4.7 percent resulted from the use of weapons grouped in the "all other" category

Age related homicide facts

• Most homicide victims under the age of five were killed because of child abuse (88.2 percent)
• Gang or drug-related homicides account for the greatest percentage of homicides for victims aged 5-17 (58.7 percent) and 18-29 (49.2 percent)
• The greatest percentage of homicide victims aged 30-39 (46.7 percent) and aged 40 and over (55.6 percent) were killed as a result of argument-related conflicts

If you or someone you love is facing homicide, murder or manslaughter charges, please contact the law offices of Bamieh and Erickson today to speak with one of our sophisticated criminal defense attorneys.

The Law Offices of Bamieh & Erickson, PLC

692 East Thompson Boulevard

Ventura, CA 93001-2829

(805) 643-5555

Bamieh & Erickson represent clients in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, including:

Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, West Lakes, Simi Valley, Fillmore, Ojai, Santa Paula; Santa Barbara, Goleta

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