Adversary effects and the tactics of violent offenders
Corresponding Author
Richard B. Felson
Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
Correspondence Richard B. Felson, Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University, 1017 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16801.
Email: rbf7@psu.edu
Search for more papers by this authorKeith L. Hullenaar
Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Richard B. Felson
Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
Correspondence Richard B. Felson, Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University, 1017 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16801.
Email: rbf7@psu.edu
Search for more papers by this authorKeith L. Hullenaar
Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
We examine the implication of adversary effects for target choice, lethal intent, and the use of weapons and allies in violent incidents. Adversary effects refer to the tendency of offenders to make tactical decisions based on the coercive power of victims and potential victims. Using the victim's gender as a proxy for coercive power, we analyzed violent incidents from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (2005–2014). The sample included over six million assaults, robberies, and homicides. Consistent with adversary effects, offenders who attack males (vs. females) are more likely to (a) kill victims; (b) use guns, knives, blunt objects, poison, and automobiles; (c) use male (but not female) allies; and (d) use multiple allies. The evidence for target choice is mixed: unarmed female offenders, but not unarmed male offenders, are more likely to target females than males. The evidence shows how a simple theoretical principle can parsimoniously account for basic patterns of violence in society related to gender, weapons, and group violence.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data that support the findings of this study came from the National Incident-Based Reporting System and the National Crime Victimization Survey. These data are available at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/series/128 and at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/studies/37322, respectively.
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