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The Spatial Distribution and Social Ecology of "Public" and "Private" Homicide Types in Toronto: A Case for Data Disaggregation

Homicide Studies

Published online on

Abstract

The core assumption underlying the disaggregation of homicide by type is that a singular focus on the monolithic category "homicide" obscures the multidimensional nature of lethal violence. The goal of this article is to contribute to the emerging literature on neighborhoods and different homicide types by examining the spatial distribution and ecological correlates of young male homicide and intimate femicide in Toronto, Canada, for the period 1988-2003. Findings suggest that there is a significant difference across homicide types in the effect of only one of the independent variables under examination: an index of socioeconomic disadvantage. The discussion of this finding highlights the problems that small numbers associated with disaggregated homicide types may pose for detecting neighborhood effects in social ecological research.