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Homicide in Estonia

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Handbook of European Homicide Research

Abstract

After regaining independence, the homicide rate in Estonia peaked at 29 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 1994. By 2009, the rate had fallen more than four times but it is still one of the highest in Europe. In comparison to 1994, the composition of homicide has changed as the share of criminal homicide has become almost nonexistent and most of the fatal incidence have an expressive nature and occur in the context of arguments between relatives and acquaintances. The authors suggest that there are social, economic, and regional factors that are relevant in analyzing homicide in Estonia, but it is crucial to pay attention to cultural traditions, especially drinking habits.

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Notes

  1. 1.

     The defintion of rural and urban differs from country to country or even within countries. Comparisons in homicide rates between rural and urban areas should therefore be taken cautiously.

  2. 2.

     Thus, the standardized offense ratio (SOR) for region i is the ratio between the observed number of offenses O(i) and the expected number of offenses E(i). In this analysis, an average offense rate was obtained by dividing the total number of offenses by the total size of the population. For each area i, this average rate is multiplied by the size of the chosen denominator in area i to yield E(i).

  3. 3.

     Homicide-suicide cases were not included in court data as these cases did not reach the court because there was no one to accuse and therefore the proceedings were ended by the prosecutor.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Criminal Policy Department, Estonian Ministry of Justice, Tallinn, Estonia

    Jako Salla & Andri Ahven

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Tallinn, Tallinn, Estonia

    Jako Salla

  3. Department of Urban Planning and Environment, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

    Vania Ceccato

Authors
  1. Jako Salla
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  2. Vania Ceccato
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  3. Andri Ahven
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Correspondence to Jako Salla .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Dept. of Criminal Law and Criminology, Leiden University, Steenschuur 25, Leiden, 2311 ES, Netherlands

    Marieke C. A. Liem

  2. , Department of Criminal Justice, Indiana University, Sycamore Hall 302, Bloomington, 47405, USA

    William Alex Pridemore

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Salla, J., Ceccato, V., Ahven, A. (2012). Homicide in Estonia. In: Liem, M., Pridemore, W. (eds) Handbook of European Homicide Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0466-8_27

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