Homicide Deaths in Devon and Cornwall: New Data Reveals Trends

New data came out about homicide victims. It looks at who the victims are and their killers. Women are often killed by someone they knew. Men are usually killed by strangers or acquaintances.

The Home Office tracked homicides until March 2024. They found 570 victims, a 3% drop. This is the lowest number since 2016. Devon and Cornwall Police investigated nine of these.

Female homicide victims decreased by ten percent. Male victim numbers stayed about the same. Most homicide victims are male (around 73%). About 27% of the victims are female.

Over a third of killed women knew their murderer. The killer was usually a partner or ex. This was the main link between female victims and suspects. Parents were suspects in 11% of female homicides. Sons or daughters were suspects about 6% of the time. Only 4% of female victims were killed by a stranger.

Only 2% of male victims were killed by partners or exes. Men were often killed by friends (23%). Strangers also killed a lot of men (20%).

Homicides happened in Devon’s five safety areas. These areas match local authority lines. Exeter, Torbay and other areas had homicides. Cornwall recorded the other four homicides.

Most suspects were male, about 93% for male victims. Regarding female victims, 88% of suspects were male. Many victims were young, between 16 and 24. Adults aged 35 to 44 were often victims too.

Teenagers were victims in 64 homicide cases. Knives caused 83% of those deaths involving teens. Half of male victims died from sharp things. Over a third of female victims did too.