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Show Violent Crime Violence has become a major cause of death, stress, and injury in our society today.1 Therefore, it is an area of concern for public health officials and is a priority area in the Healthy People 2000 initiative in national health promotion. As defined by the U.S. Department of Justice in its Uniform Crime Reports.2 "violent crime" refers to any of four offenses: murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Except for rape, Utah rates of violent crime tend to be significantly lower than national rates. However, the gap is narrowing. Utah's rates are increasing in all four areas, while U.S. rates peaked in 1991 and appear to be declining. In terms of rape, Utah exceeded the national rate in 1991 and has continued to report higher rates of rape since. It is difficult to determine whether increased rates reflect an actual increase in the frequency of rape, or an increase in the reporting of rape due to an increase in litigation and support for victim's rights. Regardless, the data indicate the need to pay further attention to the issue of rape in Utah. 1 Centers for Disease Control (1994). Healthy People 2000 Review 1994. Washington, D.C. p. 42. 2 U.S. Department of Justice (1994). Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States 1994. Washington, D.C: Author. Table 89. Violent Crime Rates* Murder Rape Robbery Aggravated Assault Year Utah U.S. Utah U.S. Utah U.S. Utah U.S. 1983 3.3 8.3 24.6 33.7 63.4 216.5 161.3 279.2 1984 2.9 7.9 20.0 35.7 57.8 205.4 162.0 290.2 1985 3.0 7.9 22.9 37.1 55.0 208.5 184.0 302.9 1986 3.0 8.6 25.2 37.9 58.4 225.1 182.9 346.1 1987 3.2 8.3 22.0 37.4 52.7 212.7 162.6 351.3 1988 2.8 8.4 23.2 37.6 53.8 220.9 162.0 370.2 1989 2.7 8.7 28.6 38.1 52.7 233.0 173.0 383.4 1990 3.0 9.4 37.7 41.2 56.7 257.0 184.3 424.1 1991 2.9 9.8 44.5 42.3 54.6 272.7 179.0 433.3 1992 2.9 9.3 44.5 42.8 55.8 263.6 184.5 441.8 1993 3.1 9.5 44.6 40.6 58.6 255.8 194.7 440.1 ?Reported Crimes per 100,000 Population Figure 49 o jg 101 Murder Oh 8 6-o 8 4-1-H Utah ........U.S. S 2- Oh B 0- * 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 Murder is the willful or non-negligent killing of one human being by another, according to the Uniform Crime Reports. 100 Risk Factors |