Date
8-24-2023
Department
Helms School of Government
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice (PhD)
Chair
Marlana Lynn Hancock
Keywords
Homicide incidence, violent crime, crime statistics, gun violence, unknown patterns, historical context, sociological theories
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Smith, Santel Dion, "Exploring Unknown Patterns of Criminality in Homicide: A Quantitative Exploratory Analysis of Crime in Macon-Bibb County" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 4751.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4751
Abstract
The phenomenon of violent crime and homicide has largely been of interest to criminologists and sociologists for years, with correlating implications on the socioeconomic, sociocultural, and political landscape. Over the past two years in the United States, there has been a significant surge in both violent crime and homicide in the country, prompting calls for policy action to mitigate the impacts on vulnerable populations. In Macon, a similar upward trend in violent crime and homicide has emerged, even exceeding the average violent crime rate recorded nationwide (Stebbins, 2021). Despite the rising crime rates, there is a scarcity of literature on the precipitating factors that triggered the current trend, the conditions that sustain the high rate of homicide incidence, and the underlying patterns of criminality. The purpose of this study was to explore a five-year trend of the unknown patterns of criminality in homicide in Macon-Bibb County through an exploratory quantitative framework suitable for investigating under-researched problems.
