Homicide drop in Finland, 1996–2012

Abstract

Homicide rates have decreased in Finland since the late 1990s by over 40%. The decrease has been part of a general trend in Western developed nations. This article provides a descriptive single-country case study of the drop by disaggregating and comparing the Finnish homicides during three periods: 1998–2000, 2003–2007 and 2008–2012. The data are mainly from the Finnish Homicide Monitor and comprise all intentional homicides (excluding attempts) reported to the Finnish Police. The study aims to probe the generality versus specificity of the homicide drop in terms of homicide structure and patterns. The results indicate that rather than being completely general, the Finnish drop has been largely driven by a decrease in alcohol-related violence of working-age men. This decline seems to have comprised all male population groups, but in terms of relative risk it has been most drastic among the economically active population and less significant in the traditional high-risk group of Finnish homicidal crime, unemployed alcoholics. However, since the risk and absolute share of homicides committed by unemployed alcoholics are high, lesser risk changes in that category are substantially important. Disaggregated description additionally reveals that the general homicide drop hides ‘localized’ counter-trends such as an increase of crimes committed by young females. The findings are discussed in the context of findings from other European countries and from the point of view of future research needs in homicide drop studies.