THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 24, 1995 TAG: 9510240320
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
The number of homicides in the United States fell in 1994 for the third straight year, the government announced Monday.
The homicide rate fell 8.2 percent, from 10.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 1993 to 9.7 in 1994, the National Center for Health Statistics said. The number of homicides fell from 25,470 in 1993 to 23,730 in 1994.
Some of the nation's largest cities, including Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles, already have noted downturns in their murder rates. And New York is expected to end this year with 48 percent fewer killings than its record high 2,245 in 1990, according to the research center.
The national center didn't speculate about the cause of the falling homicide rate, but police attribute the drop in part to a higher profile on the streets by law enforcement officers in high-crime areas.
Early indications suggest the drop in the homicide rate continued nationwide through March 1995 as well, the center said. From 1987 through 1991, the homicide rate had risen by 5 percent a year.
The drop in homicide rates in 1994 meant that it fell from 10th to 11th among the leading causes of deaths in the United States overall. The leading cause of death in America is heart disease.
Homicide remains the second leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 24, according to the research center, with accidents the most common cause, particularly involving motor vehicles.
The center's annual summary of births, marriages, divorces and deaths also showed a 9 percent increase in deaths from AIDS, from 38,500 in 1993 to 41,930 in 1994. That increase, however, was less than the 15 percent jump the previous year.
AIDS is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, and the leading cause among those ages 25 to 44.
Life expectancy increased in 1994 to 75.7 years at birth, up from 75.5 in 1993, the center also reported.
The number of births fell 1 percent, from 4,039,000 in 1993 to 3,979,000 in 1994. That birth rate was the lowest since 1978.
The marriage rate increased slightly from 9 per 1,000 in 1993 to 9.1 in 1994, but was still below the rate from 1965 to 1992.
There was a slight increase in the number of divorces, but the rate remained the same at 4.6 per 1,000 people.
KEYWORDS: MURDER RATE STATISTICS by CNB