Suicidal Intent in Victim-Precipitated Homicide

Abstract

Four decades ago, Marvin Wolfgang offered one of the most influential concepts in contemporary criminology when he coined the term “victim-precipitated homicide” to describe killings wherein decedents initiate the violent interactions that culminate in their death. One aspect of Wolfgang's work on victim-precipitated homicide that has not generated much attention among criminologists, however, is his notion that some of the individuals who precipitate their own violent deaths actually desired to die. Whereas criminologists have largely ignored Wolfgang's ideas about suicidal homicide victims, others have noted the presence of suicidal intent among victims of one specific sort of violence: police gunfire. For at least two decades, people in and around law enforcement have noted a phenomenon they commonly call “suicide-by-cop”—police shootings where suicidal citizens purposely provoke officers to shoot them. The present article uses suicide-by-cop as a platform to demonstrate how attention to Wolfgang's ideas about suicidal victims can enhance understanding of interpersonal violence.