The risk of offending on homicide victimization: A case control study

Little research has been done to examine the risk an individual's criminal offending has on subsequent lethal victimization. Theoretical explanations for this relationship stem from the lifestyle theory, which suggests that offenders are at risk of victimization because they frequently interact with other criminals, cannot rely on legal authorities for protection, or become the objects of retaliatory behavior A sample of homicide victims and two samples of nonvictims from Prince George's County, Maryland, have been collected for a case control study. The nonvictim samples were drawn from Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration records. In various bi- and multivariate models, the results find strong support for the premise that previous offending increases the risk of homicide victimization.