Reflecting on 25 Years of Homicide Studies

• Published date: 01 February 2022
• Author: M. Dwayne Smith
• Date: 01 February 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/10887679211048760
• Subject Matter: Special Issue Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/10887679211048760

Homicide Studies

2022, Vol. 26(1) 3 –10

© 2021 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/10887679211048760

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Special Issue Article

Reflecting on 25 Years of

Homicide Studies

M. Dwayne Smith1

Keywords

Homicide Studies, journal, reflections, 25 years, special issue

Twenty-five years. Resorting to an old adage, I have to say “my how time flies.” And

fly by it has. In discussing this special issue commemorating the 25 years that Homicide

Studies has been in existence, a frequent question posed in wonderment was “has it

really been 25 years?” Well, indeed it has, and it is my privilege as the founding editor

to offer here some brief reflections on the origins, current profile, and future directions

for the journal.

The Beginnings

As told in the first article of the inaugural issue (Smith & Corzine, 1997), a group

affiliated with the Homicide Research Working Group (HRWG), an organization

developed and nurtured by Richard and Rebecca (Becky) Block, was gathered for din-

ner at the 1994 American Society of Criminology meetings in Miami. Much of the

discussion involved homicide trends in the nation and in a handful of cities whose

rates served as driving forces in those trends. The conclusion at the end of the evening

was that homicide was a complex and diverse phenomenon that lacked an academic

journal devoted to its study. At the HRWG meeting the next day that was held in con-

junction with the American Society of Criminology convention, a decision was made

to pursue the idea, and an ad hoc committee was formed. Subsequently, a representa-

tive from Sage Publications, Terry Hendrix, was identified as someone to discuss the

matter with, and an approach was made. Terry was, almost to our surprise, intrigued

by the idea, but needed more detail. Fast forwarding, this led to the development of a

formal proposal several months later that a new publication, Homicide Studies: An

Interdisciplinary & International Journal, would be formed and sponsored by the

1University of South Florida, Tampa, USA

Corresponding Author:

M. Dwayne Smith, Office of the Provost, University of South Florida CGS 401, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue,

Tampa, FL 33620, USA.

Email: mdsmith8@usf.edu.

1048760HSXXXX10.1177/10887679211048760Homicide StudiesSmith

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