PAST MEETINGS FOR HOMICIDE RESEARCH WORKING GROUP
Below is a list of our previous meetings. For more information on Proceedings, click on the meeting location to download:
2024-Annual Meeting – Clearwater Beach, FL
The 2024 HRWG annual meeting was held at the Sheraton Sand Key in Clearwater Beach, FL and focused on Homicide Research in the 21st Century: The Use of Technology and Other Innovative Methods.
2023-Annual Meeting -North Augusta, SC
The 2023 HRWG annual meeting was held at the Crowne Plaza in North Augusta, South Carolina and focused on Innovations of Homicide Research and Prevention.
2022-Annual Meeting – Excelsior Spring, MO
The 2022 annual meeting of the HRWG was held in Excelsior Springs, Missouri.
2021- Annual Meeting – Virtual
The 2021 HRWG annual meeting was held virtually and focused on Homicide During Protest and Panic. How have these global events separately or together impacted homicide, violence, and the criminal justice system as it relates to homicide or violence? How might they affect homicide, homicide investigations, and the criminal justice system as related to homicide and violence in the future? We call for papers, papers-in-progress, and poster presentations related to the study of homicide and violence; and this year, we are particularly interested in papers on the protests, police brutality, and/or the Covid-19 Pandemic.
2020 Annual Meeting- Cancelled due to COVID-19. We would have met in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. The 2022 meeting was held there.
2019 Annual Meeting – Clearwater Beach, FL
The 2019 HRWG annual meeting was held at the Sheraton Sand Key resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida and focused on Homicide in Public Places: Orlando. Las Vegas. Pittsburgh. Thousand Oaks. These high profile incidents and others like them entail far more than lives lost. Countless others are affected, leading some to claim it represents a “new normal.” Understanding, preventing, and responding to lethal violence requires a coordinated effort between the criminal justice system, first responders, researchers, as well as the public.
2018 Annual Meeting – Clearwater Beach, FL
The 2018 HRWG annual meeting was held at the Sheraton Sand Key resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida and focused on current issues in homicide research and challenges facing practitioners tasked with responding to homicide in the 21st century.
2017 Annual Meeting – Memphis, TN
The 2017 HRWG annual meeting was held at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN.
2016 Annual Meeting – St. Louis, MO
The 2016 meeting of the HRWG was held June 8-11 in St. Louis, MO with the theme “Gateway to Homicide: Patterns, Police, & Prevention ,” guiding the discussions. Dr. David Klinger served as the keynote speaker, offering insight into officer-involved shootings. Members John Jarvis and James McCutcheon opened the meeting with a workshop about using NIBRS data, and a trip to the Real Time Crime Center at the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department also was included in the itinerary.
2015 Annual Meeting – Clearwater Beach, FL
The 2015 HRWG annual meeting was held at the Sheraton Sand Key resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida. The theme of the 2015 annual meeting is “Future Directions: Status of Homicide Research in the 21st Century.” The conference included a keynote speech by Dr. Erin Kimmerle and focused on her work on the Dozier School for Boys murder case (read more here). A special presentations by the FBI (“Home-grown Terrorism: Mass Murder in the United States”) also was included.
2014 Annual Meeting – San Antonio, TX
Held in the heart of the Lone Star State, the 2014 annual meeting centered around the theme “The Changing Landscape of Homicide,” an idea that was woven throughout the meeting. The meeting was held at the Hotel Valencia in Downtown San Antonio, TX from June 4 – 7. The welcoming reception, co-sponsored by Texas State University’s School of Criminal Justice, included a keynote address by Michele Gay, co-founder of Safe and Sound – A Sandy Hook Initiative. Michele spoke to the group about the work her organization is doing in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings to help reduce lethal violence in schools.
In addition to a host of panels featuring research that embodied the year’s theme, HRWG members also took a field trip to the training facilities of A.L.E.R.R.T. (Active Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training). A.L.E.R.R.T. has been designated as the FBI’s national standard for law enforcement training in active shooter scenarios, and they shared their training and research with the group.
2013 Annual Meeting – Brunswick, GA
The 2013 meeting of the HRWG was held June 5-8 in Brunswisk, GA with the theme “Working Together: Partnerships to Investigate, Prevent, and Respond to Homicide and Violence,” guiding the discussions. Co-hosted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), and the University of North Florida, this conference opened with a presentation, “Considerations for the National Crime Victimization Survey,” by Lin Huff-Corzine and Greg Weaver. A highlight of this meeting was a tour of the FLETC training facilities and a trip to Crabdaddy’s restaurant.
2012 Annual Meeting – Chicago, IL
The 2012 meeting of the HRWG was hosted by the University of Loyola-Chicago from June 6-9. The keynote speaker, Frank Zimring, discussed the decrease in crime, especially homicide, in New York City. Other highlights included lunch with CeaseFire interveners, tours of Little Village and the Trauma Unit at Stroger, and a reception at the Block’s home.
2011 Annual Meeting – New Orleans, LA
The 2011 annual Meeting met in New Orleans, Louisiana, from June 8th-11th. The conference was held in the French Quarter at the Hotel Monteleone and was sponsored by Loyola University-New Orleans. The theme for this meeting was “Homicide: After the Disaster” and Ronal Serpas, Superintendent, New Orleans Police Department, served as the keynote speaker.
2010 Annual Meeting – Baltimore, MD
The 2010 annual meeting, hosted by the Department of Nursing, met in Baltimore, Maryland. The theme for this meeting was “Murder Knows No Bounds.” The activities began with a keynote presentation by Jacquelyn Campbell titled, “Failure to Connect the Dots: Media & Policy Omission of Domestic Violence as the Primary Risk Factor for Familicide and Homicide-Suicide.” It was at this meeting that a special session was held in honor of Margo Wilson, who did so much for the study of domestic violence during her lifetime.
2009 Annual Meeting – Amherst, MA
The 2009 HRWG annual meeting was held in Amherst, Massachusetts. The conference was sponsored by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the Sociology Department of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
2008 Annual Meeting – Huntsville, TX
The 2008 meeting hosted by Sam Houston State University was held in Huntsville, Texas, on the campus of Sam Houston State University at the George J. Beto Criminal Justice Center. Homicide offenders were the focus of this meeting, which was reflected in the proceedings, Homicide: A Focus on the Offender. It was at this meeting that the group toured the Texas state prison, including the prisoner leather-work area and the death chamber, which sits next to the University Center.
2007 Annual Meeting – Minneapolis, MN
The 2007 Meeting was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the offices of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). The activities started with a pre-conference workshop, “Three Case Study Murder Investigations,” offered by the BCA. The proceedings, Homicide Studies: Ten Years After Its Inception, edited by Katharina Gruenberg and C. Gabrielle Salfati, provide information about the presentations and activities.
2006 Annual Meeting – Richmond, VA
The 2006 Meeting was hosted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Virginia Commonwealth University. The theme was “Connecting Research to Practice: New Directions in the Study of Homicide and Violence.” The proceedings for this meeting, Connecting Research to Practice: New Directions in the Study of Homicide and Violence, provide information about the presentations and activities. One of the highlights was a reception followed by a talk given by the Richmond Police Chief. You may also remember it because the hotel had pictures in every guest room with “Virginia” spelled incorrectly as “Virgina.”
2005 Annual Meeting – Orlando, FL
The 2005 annual meeting was hosted by the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida, and held at the University of Central Florida. The activities started with a pre-conference workshop on “Analyzing and Understanding National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Data,” that was organized by John Jarvis of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The conference concluded with a technology demonstration by John Schultz, UCF, on the use of GPR in finding human remains. The proceedings, Homicide Research: Past, Present and Future, edited by C. Gabrielle Salfati, provide information about the presentations and activities at this meeting.
2004 Annual Meeting – Ann Arbor, MI
The 2004 annual meeting was hosted by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data from June 3 to June 6, 2004. The theme was “Linking Data to Practice in Homicide/Violence Prevention,” and the proceedings , edited by Valerie Pottie Bunge, Carolyn Rebecca Block, and Michael Lane, provide information about the presentations and activities at this meeting.
2003 Annual Meeting – Sacramento, CA
The 2003 annual meeting was hosted by the Epidemiology and Prevention for Injury Control Branch, California Department of Health Services from June 5 to June 8, 2003. The theme was on public health and criminal justice approaches to homicide research. It was at this meeting that the group decided to include short papers/long abstracts in the proceedings so authors could submit their article length papers to journals for publication. If you attended, you may also remember this meeting as the one where you were to turn onto a “street with no name” to reach the hotel.
2002 Annual Meeting – St. Louis, MO
The 2002 annual meeting was hosted by the University of Missouri-St. Louis from May 30 to June 2, 2002. The theme was the relationship between lethal and non-lethal violence. M. Dwayne Smith and Paul H. Blackman edited the proceedings, The Relationship Between Non-Lethal and Lethal Violence, published by the HRWG, which provides information about the presentations and activities at this meeting.
2001 Annual Meeting – Orlando, FL
The 2001 annual meeting was held at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL from June 22 to June 25, and focused on new directions in homicide research. The proceedings were edited by M. Dwayne Smith, Paul H. Blackman, and John P. Jarvis and the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI, provide information about the presentations and activities at this meeting. One of the highlights of this meeting was the “Pig Dig.”
2000 Annual Meeting– Chicago, IL The 2000 annual meeting was held at Loyola University – Water Tower Campus in Chicago, IL from June 24 to June 27. The theme was the diversity of homicide. The agenda and proceedings, The Diversity of Homicide, edited by Paul H. Blackman, Vanessa Levrier Leggett, and John P. Jarvis, was published by the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI, provide information about the presentations and activities at this meeting. The group toured the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Cook County Trauma Center where participants had the opportunity to view an autopsy.
1999 Annual Meeting – Quantico, VA
The 1999 annual meeting was held from June 27 to June 30, at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The meeting focused on the varieties of homicide. The proceedings , The Varieties of Homicide and its Research,” published by the FBI, provide information about the presentations and activities from the Quantico meeting.
1998 Annual Meeting – Ann Arbor, MI
The 1998 annual meeting was held from June 10 to June 13, 1998, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, sponsored by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) and the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). The meeting was attended by 58 members. The overall theme of the meeting was bridging the gaps through collaborations on lethal violence research, theory, and prevention policy. Carolyn Rebecca Block and Richard L. Block led the discussion related to data collection and analyses, which focused on collaboration efforts. The proceedings for this meeting, Bridging the Gaps: Collaborations on Lethal Violence Research, Theory, and Prevention Policy was published by NIJ. Kathleen Heide presented on youth violence in schools at the opening reception. The group spent the majority of their time listening to paper presentations and making suggestions related to data collection, but also toured ICPSR.
1997 Annual Meeting – Shepherdstown, WV
The 1997 annual meeting was held from June 8 to June 11, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, sponsored by the Firearms Division Tracing Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The meeting was attended by 74 members. Overall themes of the meeting focused on the intersection between policy and research. Carolyn Rebecca Block and Richard L. Block led the session discussions and the proceedings, Policy, Practice, and Homicide Research, were published by NIJ. The group toured the ATF facilities, as well as the Antietam Battlefield.
1996 Annual Meeting – Santa Monica, CA
The 1996 annual meeting was held in from June 9 to June 12 in Santa Monica, CA and was sponsored by the RAND Corporation. Carolyn Rebecca Block and Richard L. Block led the discussion of papers, while Pamela K. Lattimore and Cynthia A. Nahabedian from NIJ edited the proceedings for this meeting, The Nature of Homicide: Trends and Changes, which was also published by NIJ. In addition to paper and data-related presentations, RAND sponsored a dinner for the group at this meeting, where various entertainment industry personnel discussed Homicide as Entertainment.
1995 Annual Meeting – Ontario, Canada
The 1995 annual meeting was held from June 11 to June 14, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada. The Ottawa meeting had about 60 participants and featured field trips to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) labs. Orest Fedorowycz from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada, served as the program chair and host. Carolyn Rebecca Block and Richard L. Block led the discussion and Marc Riedel and John Boulahanis edited the proceedings, Lethal Violence, which was published by NIJ.
1994 Annual Meeting – Atlanta, GA
The 1994 annual meeting was held from June 12 to June 15, 1994, in Atlanta, Georgia, sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Emory University. Ninety members and guests of the HRWG attended, including national and international researchers. A variety of panels focused on issues pertaining to ongoing research by HRWG members, such as youth violence, gun control, violence surveillance systems, drug and alcohol related homicides, and workplace homicides. Carolyn Rebecca Block and Richard L. Block organized and led the discussion related to data collection and analysis of trends, risks, and interventions in lethal violence. In addition, they edited the proceedings for this meeting, Trends, Risks, and Interventions in Lethal Violence, which was published by NIJ. Keynote and special addresses were given by William Walker, Executive Director, and Reverend Dr. Derek B. King, special project assistant, both from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta. Group members agreed that tours or activities related to homicide will become a part of each annual meeting.
1993 Annual Meeting – Quantico, VA
The 1993 annual meeting of the HRWG was held from June 13 to June 17, 1993, hosted by the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The theme for the meeting was “Public Safety — Linking Data, Coordinating Resources, and Learning from Different Approaches.” Fifty-one HRWG members from a variety of disciplines — public health, criminology, geography, nursing, pediatrics, public policy, sociology, criminal justice and others — debated and brainstormed questions such as the life chances of homicide, how to reconcile public health and criminal justice approaches to violence, and the definition and measurement of victim precipitation; they discussed methods of spatial analysis, managing large databases, and data linking; they shared the latest information about homicide databases and intervention programs; and they rolled up their sleeves at tutorials on serial murder investigation, forensics, and firearms.
1992 Annual Meeting – Ann Arbor, MI
The first three-day Annual Meeting was held from June 14 to June 16, 1992 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The meeting was sponsored by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Attended by 29 homicide researchers and policy experts, the meeing included tutorials on national homicide datasets, reviews of local homicide research projects, a hands-on session on measuring drug-related crime, a roundtable discussion on three homicide intervention projects, an introduction to and tour of the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, and a “town meeting” discussion of issues of lethal and non-lethal violence.
1991 Charter Meeting
The November 1991 charter meeting, held as a session at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC), brought together over 70 people who were struggling with the problems associated with collecting, maintaining, defining and analyzing homicide data. The ASC Workshop session identified homicide research currently being conducted, distributed sets of “homicide data questionnaires” that participants had completed about 18 projects, and outlined some of the primary issues facing homicide research. Since then, the HRWG has held sessions at subsequent ASC and Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) annual meetings..