engleski

FIRST FINDINGS FROM THE BALKAN HOMICIDE STUDY: INTRODUCING A GENUINE VIOLENCE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

The aim of the paper is to introduce a genuine violence classification system. The system has been created using an innovative empirical rather than a mainstream normative approach. It aims to investigate the possibilities and benefits of conceptualising and understanding violence regardless of its normative constructs which have been created on the basis of legal, abstract and non-empirical concepts. With a specific focus on physical violence, the here proposed classification system has been created by using original empirical data from case file analysis, obtained through the Balkan Homicide Study (BHS). Using a qualitative method, 2073 finally adjudicated attempted and completed homicide cases were analysed. As a result, the genuine violence classification system includes 20 types of violence primarily determined by contextual background of the offence and its main trigger, occasionally also taking into account the location of the offence, offender motive and victim- offender relationship. The ultimate purpose of the introduced genuine violence classification system is to provide a new and innovative approach to violence research, that might prove a useful tool to fully minimise differences between legal frameworks through time (e.g., reforms) and amongst different countries. In this sense, it should facilitate and upgrade future (comparative) criminological research. The basic terms and types of violence are defined primarily for the purpose of the Balkan Homicide Study (BHS) and should not be understood as axioms generally applicable outside the framework of the study, at least not without further testing and adjustment of the classification system.

violence classification, typology of violence, violence phenomenology, Balkan Homicide Study

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