U.S. Murder Rate Appears Headed for a Record Year : Crime: This year 23,700 will die if present trends continue. A Senate committee blames drugs, guns and teen-age gangs.

The United States will set a record for murders this year if present trends continue, with an estimated 23,700 losing their lives to violence, a Senate committee predicted Sunday.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), whose Judiciary Committee majority staff compiled the report, blamed the “record carnage” on what he called the “three Ds.”

They are “drugs, and the mayhem caused by hard-core drug addicts and dealers; deadly weapons, particularly the easily available military-style assault weapons, and demographics, fueling a growth in violent teen-aged gangs,” Biden said.

The 23,700 predicted homicides would be 260 more than last year’s record of 23,440.

And the study estimates that Texas alone will suffer an even greater hike--about 300 more murders--reflecting that the homicidal trend is not hitting everywhere equally.

While 21 states are enduring increases in homicides, 18 are showing declines and 11 states, including California, are staying virtually the same, changing by 1% or less.

The staff, basing its predictions on the homicides during the first six months of the year and adjustments for seasonal changes, found that the risk of being murdered in America has doubled over the past 30 years.

However, the murder rate, meaning the number of people slain per 100,000 population, still would remain below that of 1980 which holds the record, with 10.2 killings for every 100,000 people.

The rate for 1991, assuming the judiciary panel staff’s projection is correct, would be 9.5 per 100,000. To match the 1980 record rate, there would have to be more than 25,400 slayings this year.

The years 1962 and 1963 registered the lowest rates in the past three decades: 4.6 slayings for every 100,000 people.

To counteract the increase in homicides, Biden urged passage of the Brady Bill gun control measure to prevent convicted criminals from buying guns.

Biden also said drug addicts “must be forced off the street and into jails, prisons and drug treatment centers,” as they fuel the dangerous cocaine market.

Richard R. Bennett, professor of justice at American University, agreed that crack cocaine’s arrival several years ago spurred a dramatic increase in homicides in larger cities, but he said drug tests on arrestees, among other things, indicate the problem is subsiding.