NCSC > Criminal > Violent Criminal Offenses  > Resource Guide
Share

Violent Criminal Offenses

Resource Guide

Contact an expert

Brian Ostrom

According the Federal Bureau of Investigation, violence offenses include the crimes of murder, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. While the number of violent crimes has been decreasing, these crimes continue to have a large impact on the court system, creating the need for juries to be prepared accordingly, and prisons adequately maintained to accommodate convicted offenders.

Links to related online resources are listed below. Non-digitized publications may be borrowed from the NCSC Library; call numbers are provided.

General

50 State Laws on DNA Data Banks. (July 2008). National Conference of State Legislatures. This web site provides a table with all fifty states listed to show which states have laws regarding the provision of DNA samples.  All 50 states require that convicted sex offenders provide a DNA sample, and states are increasingly expanding these policies to include all felons or many serious felony offenders. To date, 46 states require that all convicted felons provide a DNA sample to the state’s database.
A Gathering Storm- Violent Crime in America. (October 2006). This report is by the Police Executive Research Forum. Concerned that these violent crime increases represent the front end of a tipping point of an epidemic of violence not seen for years, representatives from more than 50 cities comprised of 170 mayors police chiefs and public officials convened on August 30, 2006, in Washington, D.C., at the National Violent Crime Summit. This report details their findings.
Alaska Violent Crimes Compensation Board. The Alaska Violent Crimes Compensation Board was established to help mitigate financial losses that are the direct result of violent crimes that occur to Alaskans and visitors to Alaska. In addition, the Board helps to foster victim advocacy and services and promotes victim recovery.
Hughes, Ryan J. Casual Factors Influence Repeat Violent Criminal Offenses in a GIS Spatial Context. (2008). This research focused on whether or not demographic characteristics influence repeat violent offenses. Discussions occurred regarding the potential of the correlation between demographic values in census block groups of the City of Madison, Wisconsin and repeat violent offenses from January 2000 to November 2007.
Goodey, Jo Compensating Victims of Violent Crime in the European Union With a Special Focus on Victims of Terrorism. (May 2003). This is a United Nations sponsored project to survey victim compensation programs in Europe.
NCSC Research Staff. Court Statistics Project: Criminal Section. (2006).

This section of the Court Statistics Project examines criminal caseloads and trends.
Crime in the United States - 2007. (2007). Department of Justice, FBI. This is an FBI web site that allows you to view and browse different categories of violent crimes and where they were committed.
Delaware Victims' Compensation Assistance Program. Delaware's Victims' Compensation Program  provides services to victims of violent crime.
Kansas City Missouri Commission on Violent Crime. (June 2006). The Commission on Violent Crime determined that the causes of homicide in Kansas City are the result of a confluence of housing, employment, and education policies dating back several generations. These policies have concentrated poverty and led to successively fewer assets and opportunities for advancement in the same geographic area that has historically been plagued by the greatest homicide rates. This confluence of community detriments is found primarily in the 64127 zip code.
Massachusetts Victims of Violent Crime Compensation. Through the Victim Compensation Division, the Attorney General’s Office is able to provide financial assistance to eligible victims of violent crime for uninsured medical and dental care, mental health counseling, funeral and burial costs, and loss of income or financial support as a result of crime-related injury.
National Association of Crime Compensation Boards Listing of State Compensation Websites. This is a fifty state listing of crime compensation boards.
Violent Crime Rates Statistics. (2006). This Bureau of Justice Statistics graphic shows a declining trend in the rates of violent crime nationally.
Weapon Use and Violent Crime. (September 2003). United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Statistics Special Report, NCJ 194820 This website displays statistics about weapon use and acts of violent crime.