Murder by intimates declines since 1976.

In 1996, substantially fewer murders of intimates were committed by spouses, former spouses, common-law spouses, same sex partners, boyfriends, and girlfriends than in any other year since 1976, according to a recent Justice Department study.

Highlights of the report follow.

* In 1976, there were nearly 3,000 murder victims of intimates; in 1996, there were just over 1,800 victims. In 1996, nearly 3 out of 4 of these murder victims were female.

* Overall, during the 1976-1996 period, murder by intimates fell by 36 percent. Spouse murder fell by 52 percent. The sharpest decrease was among African American male victims.

* Since 1976, murders by intimates with guns have declined. However, in 1996, 65 percent of all these murders were committed with a firearm.

* The recent declines in the murder rate have been mirrored by declines since 1993 in nonlethal violence by intimates. These offenses include rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault.

* During 1996, there were an estimated 840,000 female victims of violent crimes inflicted by an intimate, compared with 1.1 million in 1993. In 1996, violence by an intimate accounted for about 21 percent of all violence experienced by women but only 2 percent of violence experienced by men. Women 16 to 24 years old experienced the highest per capita rates of this violence.

* About half of the violent incidents experienced by women were reported to police. African American women were more likely to make these reports than were women of other races. The most common reasons given for not reporting these crimes to the authorities were that they were personal or private matters, that the victim feared retaliation, and that the police would not be able to do anything about the crimes.

* About 10 percent of women victimized by a violent intimate sought professional medical treatment. About half these injured victims were treated for bruises or similar trauma, and about half of those treated had sustained injuries to the head and face.

* About 25 percent of convicted violent offenders in local jails and about 7 percent of violent offenders in state prisons have committed a violent crime against an intimate. More than half of inmates serving time for violence against an intimate were using drugs, alcohol, or both at the time of the incident. Nearly 40 percent of offenders sentenced to local jail for intimate violence had a criminal justice status--such as probation, parole, pre-trial release, or a restraining order--at the time they committed the crime.

The Justice Department study presents up-to-date analyses of intimate violence drawn from a number of Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and Department of Justice statistical programs, including the National Crime Victimization Survey, a hospital emergency department study, BJS surveys of jail and prison inmates, and the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

Violence by Intimates (NCJ-167237 (Mar. 1998)), is available by calling the BJS fax-on-demand system at [phone] and selecting document numbers 98, 99, and 100, or by calling the BJS Clearinghouse at [phone]. The study is available on the Internet at http://www.ojp. usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/vi.htm.