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54Urban crime and violencePer 100,000 inhabitants302520151050Figure 3.3Arab statesRates of homicides:Selected regionaltrends (1986–2000)Source: Shaw et al, 2003, p48Figure 3.4Homicide rates andwar casualtiesSource: UNODC, 2005b, p54Incidence per 100,000 population4035302520151050AfricaAll countriesof the worldEastern Europe andthe Commonwealth ofIndependent StatesEuropean UnionLatin Americaand the CaribbeanSub-SaharanAfricaSoutheast Asiaand the Pacific1986 19901995 2000the population (300 million versus 784,000). Although it isimportant, there are many other factors at work besidespopulation size that explain crime counts and rates. Not theleast of these is how data is reported and recorded at localand national levels.Using another sample, Figure 3.2 shows that 73 percent of the mostly industrialized nations (38 out of 52)providing information on crimes reported to the policeshowed an increase in both crime counts and rates between2001 and 2002, while 19 per cent experienced decreasedcounts and rates, and 8 per cent higher counts but reducedrates. 27 The overall increase in counts and rates is generallyconsistent with victim survey data for this time period.However, this data includes ‘crime attempts’ that make itdifficult to compare with other official crime data sets. Giventhe very short interval, no trends can be clearly discerned.Homicides at global and regional levelsHomicides are considered in terms of global, regional andnational levels since in many cases the data overlaps.Homicides are violent contact crimes. The definition ofhomicide generally includes intentional and non-intentionalhomicide. Intentional homicide refers to death deliberatelyinflicted on a person by another person, including infanticide.Non-intentional homicide refers to death that is notThe AmericasSoutheastAsiaEuropeWar casualtiesEasternMediterraneanHomicideWesternPacificdeliberately inflicted on a person by another person. Thisincludes manslaughter, but excludes traffic accidents thatresult in the death of a person. 28 Homicide is widely consideredthe single most important indicator of violent crime,and there are often many other lesser crimes (such asrobbery) that are associated with it. Moreover, it is theoffence that is most likely to be reported. Consequently,homicides are likely to be recorded by the police. 29 Despitethis, it should be clear that homicide is a rare crime,especially when compared with property crimes such aslarceny and theft.Homicide rates are associated with combinations ofsocial, economic, cultural and political factors that areunique to localities, even though similar underlying riskfactors tend to be found globally, such as poverty, unemployment,and cultural and social norms that may encourageviolence as a way of settling disputes. These risk factors arediscussed in more detail in the section ‘Factors underlyingcrime and violence’. Figure 3.3 provides a picture ofhomicide rates for selected global regions. It clearly showsthat Latin America and the Caribbean region and sub-Saharan Africa have the highest rates of homicides, while theEU and the Arab States have the lowest rates. For the periodof 1990 to 2000, WHO data shows that violent crime,including homicide, grew globally from about 6 incidents per100,000 to 8.8 per 100,000 individuals. 30Figure 3.4 includes homicide and war casualty ratesfor various regions. It shows double-digit homicide rates forAfrica and the Americas, and significantly lower rates inSoutheast Asia, Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean andespecially the Western Pacific. Although there are manyfactors at work, some of the divergence between regionsreporting high and low homicide rates is associated withbroad socio-cultural constraints on violence and the developmentand perceived efficacy of criminal justice systems. Highwar casualty rates for Africa reflect large numbers of localizedconflicts that have taken place there over the lastdecade. Research suggests that the deadly after effects ofcivil wars linger for about five years after combat itself stops,increasing the per capita rate of homicide by about 25 percent irrespective of changes to income levels, equality or thenature of state institutions. 31Figure 3.5 reports the same homicide data regionally,but also shows suicide rates. Suicide is considered an intentionalcrime in many countries. With the exception of theEastern Mediterranean region, suicide rates are almost theinverse of homicide rates in other regions. Among otherthings, this data suggests that poverty is less of a risk factorassociated with suicide than cultural and social values andnorms that discourage (or support) self-harm as a viablesolution to problems. Interpreted this way, it reinforces thefundamental importance that informal institutions play inshaping behaviour.Homicides trends in citiesHomicide rates for 37 selected cities drawn mainly fromdeveloped countries and based on police reports arepresented in Figure 3.6. Also shown is the EU average for