Poor people 'more likely to be murdered

The poorer you are the more likely you are to be murdered, new research has found.

A study of murder rates and wealth in Britain also revealed that murder rates among poor people have significantly increased over the last 20 years, mirroring an increase in poverty, while those for the wealthy have fallen dramatically.

The joint study from the Universities of Bristol, Sheffield and Edinburgh examined murders between 1981 and 2000 and found that the poorest 10% of Britons were 182% more likely to be murdered than the national average, while the murder rate among the richest 10% was half the average.

The researchers also examined how people in different sections of society are murdered. They found that poorer people are likely to be murdered by being cut with a knife or broken glass (52%), followed by strangling (21%) and then firearms (13%). In affluent areas, by contrast, a higher proportion of people are poisoned or strangled.

Although there have been some changes in the methods of murder over time ? the use of poison in poor areas has risen by 15% over the last 20 years, for example, while strangling for both rich and poor is falling out of fashion ? "much the same methods of murder are used now as they were 20 years ago, just more often in poorer areas and less often in the less poor parts of Britain".

The research, to be published in the March issue of the academic journal Health and Place, also questioned the myth that gun crime is a key factor behind the high murder rate in poor areas of Britain. In fact, guns are more likely to be used in affluent areas when murders are committed ? 29% in the wealthiest areas, compared to 11% in the poorest.

"There has been no change in the proportion of murders committed with firearms in richer areas despite the introduction of legislation designed to limit their use," the researchers note.

"Murder remains rare in Britain but the increasing risk of violent death among some population groups is a cause for concern," the study concluded. "The rise in murder in Britain has been concentrated almost exclusively in the poorest parts of the country."