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Homicide trends in the U.S.
Infanticide

The number of homicides of children under age 5 increased through the mid 1990's, but declined recently

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The infanticide rates have remained fairly stable or declined for all racial groups

Infanticide rates for --

black children have recently declined, reaching the lowest level recorded in 2004
white children have remained relatively stable
children of other racial groups have remained relatively stable.

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The younger the child, the greater the risk for infanticide

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A parent is the perpetrator in most homicides of children under age 5

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Note: Parents includes stepparents.

Of all children under age 5 murdered from 1976-2005 --

31% were killed by fathers
29% were killed by mothers
23% were killed by male acquaintances
7% were killed by other relatives
3% were killed by strangers

Of those children killed by someone other than their parent, 81% were killed by males.

**Relationship, 1976-2005**
Gender of offender	Parent	Other family	Friend/ Acquaintance		Stranger		Unknown

Male	5,273	757	3,825		438		328
Female	4,947	416	728		24		101

Most of the children killed are male and most of the offenders are male

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005.
See also Additional information about the data.

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis.

For additional statistical information on this topic, see the BJS publication Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims.

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