Domestic homicides up in New York state

ALBANY, N.Y., Nov. 6 (UPI) -- In New York state, 50 percent of females age 16 and older who were murdered in 2008 were killed by intimate partners, state officials said.

A report, by researchers at the New York state Division of Criminal Justice Services, tracked homicides in which the victim was either an intimate partner or child of the perpetrator, or involved some other type of family relationship.The report said 4 percent of adult male murder victims were killed by an intimate partner.

Domestic homicides in New York state increased 7.3 percent in 2008, while other homicides increased 2.6 percent, the report said.

Child domestic homicides decreased by 31 percent in 2008, primarily because there were fewer infant/newborn homicides reported outside of New York City, the report said.

The report also said intimate partner homicides increased by 25 percent in 2008 as counties outside of New York City reported a 45 percent increase in intimate partner homicides.

"Most domestic violence does not result in homicide, but we see the bigger problem reflected in police responding to almost a half-million domestic calls every year, shelters housing more than 16,000 people annually and emergency hotlines handling another 300,000 calls," Amy Barasch, executive director of the New York state Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, said in a statement.