INTIMACY AND HOMICIDE: COMPENSATING FOR MISSING DATA IN THE SHR*

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Abstract
The Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program remains the most accessible and widely used database on lethal violence in the United States. However, researchers using this database must address the problem of missing data, which typically is the result of the failure to file, inconsistent filing of reports to the FBI by local police agencies, or incomplete records about the characteristics of specific incidents of homicide (particularly, missing information about perpetrators), even when reports are filed. Williams and Flewelling (1987) proposed methods of compensating for missing information, and this paper revisits their assessment by again determining the extent of the problem and the consequences of adjusting for it. Alternative methods are proposed and analyzed, with a focus on relationship‐specific rates (i.e., rates of family, intimate nonfamily, acquaintance, and stranger homicide). The implications of the results for further use of the SHR are discussed.

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