Agency report
Minnesota homicides, 1985 to 1997

Minnesota Homicides, 1985 to 1997 presents findings on statewide, regional and local trends, demographics of offenders and victims involved in homicide, weapons used, the victim-offender relationship and the circumstance or event leading up to the commission of the offense. Comprehensive statewide information on homicide in Minnesota has not been gathered before. State policy-makers and the public receive pieces of information about murder incidents through media reports. In addition, only limited annual aggregate counts for a few data categories are available. A 1998 report published by the Criminal Justice Center, Armed with Data: Creating a Multistate Perspective, provided limited information on guns used in crime across the four-state region of Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska and Montana. While the project did look at homicide, data for Minnesota alone was not included. A greater understanding of the factors surrounding and contributing to homicide will lead to better decision-making and policy development.