Multiple Imputation of the Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976–2005

The Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR), assembled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have for many years represented the most valuable source of information on the patterns and trends in murder and non-negligent manslaughter. Despite their widespread use by researchers and policy makers alike, these data are not completely without their limitations, the most important of which involves missing or incomplete incident reports. In this analysis, we develop methods for addressing missing data in the 1976–2005 SHR cumulative file, related to both non-reports (unit missingness) and incomplete reports (item missingness). For incomplete case data (that is, missing characteristics on victims, offenders or incidents), we implement a multiple imputation (MI) approach based on a log-linear model for incomplete multivariate categorical data. Then, to adjust for unit missingness, we adopt a weighting scheme linked to FBI annual estimates of homicide counts by state and National Center for Health Statistics mortality data on decedent characteristics in coroners’ reports for deaths classified as homicide. The result is a fully-imputed SHR database for 1976–2005. This paper examines the effects of MI and case weighting on victim/offender/incident characteristics, including standard errors of parameter estimates resulting from imputation uncertainty.

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His latest book is Reproduction and Succession: Studies in Anthropology, Law, and Society,published by Transaction. A collection of essays, The Challenge of Anthropology: Old Encounters and New Excursions,is forthcoming from the same publisher.     

Book Reviews

Throughout the twentieth century, the city of Khartoum was the subject of analyses and knowledge produced by diverse actors, such as scholars, urban planners, government agents and institutions, urban dwellers and, more recently, actors from the humanitarian and private sectors. The aim of this article is to offer a critical analysis of Sudan urban studies from the 1970s onwards, and to illustrate their strengths and shortcomings. A revisitation of the work of anthropologist Richard Lobban on Tuti Island, where I recently conducted ethnographic fieldwork, will allow me to comment on Marxist anthropology as the theoretical framework used by Sudanist scholars in the early decades of urban studies, to focus on methodological strategies for data collection, and to analyse the use of concepts such as “urbanisation” and “community”. These reflections will be used to suggest a research agenda for urban studies in Sudan, as well as recent academic approaches to the treatment of the urban question.     

Reviews and notes

A response to block and Hirschhorn ? This piece grew out of discussions between the author and several (but not all) members of the editorial collective.

The Capitalist State: Its ‘Relative Autonomy’ Reexamined ? Presented at the 1981 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 8–11, 1981.

Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America by Bertram Gross, New York: M. Evans and Co., Inc., 1980, $15.95. ISBN 0–87131–317–0.

Wealth and Power in America by Gabriel Kolko, New York: Praeger Publishers, 1962, 178 pp.; American Class Society in Numbers edited by Bob Howard and John Logue, Kent, OH: Kent Popular Press, 1978, 98 pp.; Class in the United States: Workers Against Capitalists by Charles Loren, Davis, CA: Cardinal Publishers, 296 pp., 1977.

Feminism and Materialism. Women and Modes of Production, edited by Annette Kohn and AnnMarie Wolpe (London, Boston and Henley: Rout‐ledge and Kegan Paul, 1978), viii, 328 pp., paperback $9.00.

An Interview with Jacques Attali ? Jacques Attali was chief economic adviser to Mitterand before the Socialist Party victory in France.      

Validation of Spouse Violence Risk Assessment Inventory for Police Purposes

The Spouse Violence Risk Assessment Inventory (SVRA-I) is a new scale developed by the Israeli police to measure the likelihood of male perpetrators repeating violent behavior toward their partners. This article describes the objectives of the inventory, its distinction in comparison to existing inventories, and the process of its development. Our preliminary study demonstrated a reasonable level of inter-rater reliability. Two subsequent studies examined the relationships between clinical assessments and SVRA-I scores, and additional two studies tested the validity of the inventory against criteria of repeated partner abuse. The inventory was found to be a valid and efficient tool for predicting recidivism of intimate partner violence (IPV). In the discussion, we review the limitations of devices aimed at predicting repeated IPV.