National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention .
Los Angeles Homicides, 1830-2003 (ICPSR 3680)
Principal Investigator(s): Monkkonen, Eric H., University of California-Los Angeles. Departments of History and Policy Studies
Summary: There has been little research on United States homicide rates from a long-term perspective, primarily because there has been no consistent data series on a particular place preceding the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), which began its first full year in 1931. To fill this research gap, this project created a data series that spans two centuries on homicides per capita for the city of Los Angeles. The goal was to create a site-specific, individual-based data series that could be used to exam... (more info)
Access Notes
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One or more files in this study are not available for download due to special restrictions; consult the restrictions note to learn more. Additional information can also be found in the Use Agreement.
The data are restricted from general dissemination. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement form and specify the reasons for the request. A copy of the Restricted Data Use Agreement form can be requested by calling 800-999-0960. Researchers can also download this form as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file from the download page associated with this dataset. Completed forms should be returned to: Director, National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, Institute for Social Research, P.O. Box 1248, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, or by fax: 734-647-8200.
Dataset(s)
Study Description
Citation
Monkkonen, Eric H. Los Angeles Homicides, 1830-2003. ICPSR03680-v2. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2005-08-04. doi:10.3886/ICPSR03680.v2
Persistent URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03680.v2
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Funding
This survey was funded by:
- National Science Foundation (SES0111725)
- National Consortium on Violence Research
- University of California-Los Angeles. Academic Senate
Scope of Study
Summary: There has been little research on United States homicide rates from a long-term perspective, primarily because there has been no consistent data series on a particular place preceding the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), which began its first full year in 1931. To fill this research gap, this project created a data series that spans two centuries on homicides per capita for the city of Los Angeles. The goal was to create a site-specific, individual-based data series that could be used to examine major social shifts related to homicide, such as mass immigration, urban growth, war, demographic changes, and changes in laws. The basic approach to the data collection was to obtain the best possible estimate of annual counts and the most complete information on individual homicides. Data were derived from multiple sources, including Los Angeles court records, as well as annual reports of the coroner and daily newspapers. Part 1 (Annual Homicides and Related Data) variables include Los Angeles County annual counts of homicides, counts of female victims, method of killing such as drowning, suffocating, or strangling, and the homicide rate. Part 2 (Individual Homicide Data) variables include the date and place of the murder, the age, sex, race, and place of birth of the offender and victim, type of weapon used, and source of data.
Subject Terms: crime rates, crime statistics, historical data, homicide, murder, offenders, victims, weapons
Geographic Coverage: California, Los Angeles, United States
Time Period:
- 1830--2003
Date of Collection:
- 1995--2003
Universe: All homicides in Los Angeles between 1830 and 2003.
Data Types: administrative records data
Data Collection Notes:
(1) A detailed list of the sources used to create the data files can be found in the appendix to the codebook. (2) Data were collected from a number of archival sources including, but not limited to, the sources listed.
Methodology
Data Source:
Los Angeles County court records
annual coroners' reports
daily newspapers
Version(s)
Original ICPSR Release: 2003-04-11
Version History:
- 2012-08-22 A Restricted Data Use Agreement form was added to the documentation files that can be downloaded from the study home page.
- 2005-08-04 ICPSR created new data files, setup files, and codebook because the principal investigator added more data to the collection.
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