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Nevada ranks first in domestic violence killings
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
A report released Tuesday says Nevada had the highest rate of domestic violence killings by men against women in the nation.
The study looked at FBI statistics from 2009 in which one man killed one woman, a typical indicator of domestic violence. Nevada's rate of homicides per 100,000 people was 2.7. Alabama was second with a rate of 2.64 per 100,000 people.
The annual report was released by the nonprofit Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C., which has an anti-gun agenda.
The group's study ranked Nevada first in four of the past five reports.
William Sousa, a criminal justice professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the report should be examined with some skepticism.
Because of the large tourist population in cities such as Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada's base population is much higher than census data indicate.
"If they're using the wrong base number, that (the high numbers) shouldn't be a surprise," he said.
Sousa pointed to states such as South Dakota, tied for eighth in the study, which have very low populations.
Larger states, such as Texas, New York, and California, did not appear in the study's top 10.
Sousa said domestic violence is a nationwide problem facing many communities.
The study "does a disservice to some states, and in other states it makes it seem like less of a problem then it really is," he said.
The FBI does not recommend comparing states when analyzing its data.
"If the FBI is saying that about their own numbers, that should give us a sense of what the study really is," Sousa said.
Lt. Rob Lundquist, who oversees the domestic violence detail for the Metropolitan Police Department, said numbers have been trending down within the jurisdiction since 2009.
Domestic violence homicides were in the mid-30s in 2009 and 2010. There have been 11 domestic homicides this year, with five involving women.
Lundquist said the Police Department has been proactive in its approach to domestic violence.
In August 2009, police began a risk assessment program for victims of domestic violence and the most violent offenders. Victims now are directed to SafeNest, an organization against domestic violence that provides counseling.
"We've definitely had a big reduction," Lundquist said. "I know the report has us listed as No. 1, but that data is old, and we have been trending down."
Any recent efforts would not have been reflected in the report's 2-year-old data.
Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.
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@ Fannie Mae: to put this as clearly as I can; between the way this editorial is written, and attitudes like yours, it is clearly implied that ALL men are either dangerous lunatics, or cowards and wimps and losers. With nothing else in between. And from the reactions here, I hope you can see that a lot of men know this, AND that they know this is very little different from saying that ALL women are either madonnas or whores. It is a tragedy that this conversation should have been hijacked into wrangling over unproductive stereotypes like these, because domestic violence against women is a REAL problem that needs REAL solutions. Not emotional venting or political posturing.
When is the Department of Domestic Violence war on fathers and families going to end? Uncle Sam is not your Daddy.
@ Fannie Mae: PS - you say that any man who would allow himself to be "knocked down twice" by his "lunatic bipolar wife," and still "can't stop thinking about her" must be a wimp, or a loser, with low self-esteem. That is certainly possible. But it is equally possible that he was brought up to be a GENTLEMAN; to never, ever, under ANY circumstances strike a lady. And to treat all women as ladies, regardless of whether they ACT like it. It is also possible that he knew perfectly well that if he did defend himself, these days HE would be the one who would probably go to prison. Next, it is equally possible that his wife was just deeply, profoundly immature, and not in love with him, and trying to drive him away the same way a teenaged drama queen would. By acting as offensively as possible. And he could have refused to "take the bait," and leave, because he knew perfectly well that these days she would probably take him for every penny he would ever earn, if HE divorced HER. Finally, it could be that he was just trying to understand what went wrong. Or, believe it or not, that he actually did love her. I suppose women NEVER make mistakes, and fall in love with the wrong person, or grieve over broken relationships?
@ Fanny Mae: No. Wrong. I will be the first to admit that there are dangerously out-of-control men alive in this world. We wouldn't be having this discussion at all if that were not true. But there are also a whole lot of really decent, honest, honorable GENTLEMEN who truly love women, even if they may not understand them, and would not dream of hurting them for "all the tea in China." The blame lies just as much with women like you, to be honest, who can't even recognize that, and mistake it for cowardice or wimpiness. Why are you blaming that man for not knowing how to respond to his "lunatic bipolar wife", but NOT blaming her for being lunatic bipolar? I suppose you're going to say that that's HIS fault as well? Wild allegations that only stir up resentment do not help solve the serious problem of domestic violence against women, Fannie Mae. Honestly.
@Gard D, Dude you're a shill for the republican party or what. How the &^%$ does our elected and christian president Obama have anything to do with domestic violence? You're a joke of the saddest kind. Now shut-up and get real job.
As my beautiful niece says in her Valley Girl voice, "WHAT-EVER!" Now that I've lived some years, I know of plenty of men who were married to good women who loved them and took care of them and their families, but the men have done crazy, idiotic things. Guys, it must be your make-up or something that just makes you so out of control. I know of a man who got knocked down at least twice by his lunatic bipolar wife. When they split up, he said he couldn't stop thinking about her. Is that nuts or what? Any man who is going to sit around and get beat up by a woman is a WIMP, a loser. He has to have very low sel-esteem.
@Jack.Webb...I put men's rights in quotations because I meant it to be sarcastic. I wasn't scoffing at the actual rights of men but the Men's Rights Movement which I find to be as ridiculous as extreme feminism. While I don't doubt that there are men who are physically abused by women, it seems clear that women are more at risk of serious injury or death from DV.
@ Jack.Webb: well, of course. In fact, that's my point. Trying to trivialize or diminish the danger of domestic violence against women, by discrediting studies on the subject or pointing out that women aren't perfect either, in itself can be seen as a form of psychological violence against women. Just like women trying to claim that ALL men are dangerous lunatics, as an earlier poster did, is in itself a form of psychological violence against men. Neither one helps solve the problem.
I love the reactions blaming it on the President...that's hysterical you guys. I'm sure it has nothing to do with Las Vegas being overpopulated by white-trash, bud light drinking, riverside county, f-250 driving nitwits. Just start arresting all the clowns who have angel-devil decals in their rear window...it may be prior restraint, but it will cut the incidence in half.
And the worst of the worst just keeps rolling along..........can we make ONE good list????