Comparing characteristics of homicides in Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Abstract

There are many challenges when conducting European cross-national research on homicide. In particular, European cross-national knowledge on lethal violence has been hampered for a long time because European countries tend to differ in the data sources they used and in their definitions of homicide. To stimulate cross-national research efforts in Europe, this chapter compares the characteristics of homicides in Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden. More specifically, in a three-year research project, financed by the European Union, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden joined forces to build a first joint database on homicide in Europe, referred to as the European Homicide Monitor, EHM. This Monitor exclusively contains data from the three countries on 1,577 homicide cases, involving 1,666 victims and 1,917 offenders. On the basis of these data, first findings indicate evidence of cross-national differences between Finnish, Dutch and Swedish homicides, and especially in (a) the average homicide rate, (b) location of homicides, (c) offenders’ modus operandi, (d) the average age of homicide victims and offenders, and (e) the birth country of offenders and victims. Although this chapter shows that building a joint European Monitor is feasible, it also indicates that several methodological issues still exist when conducting cross-national research on homicide.