Examination of Homicides in Houston, Texas, 1985-1994 (ICPSR 3399)
Version Date: Nov 4, 2005 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Victoria Titterington, Sam Houston State University;
Kelly R. Damphousse, University of Oklahoma
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03399.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
As a contribution to nationwide efforts to more thoroughly understand urban violence, this study was conducted to assess the impact of cultural dynamics on homicide rates in Houston, Texas, and to profile homicides in the city from 1985 to 1994. This data collection provides the results of quantitative analysis of data collected from all Houston homicide cases recorded in the police murder logs for 1985-1994. Variables describe the homicide circumstances, the victim-offender relationship, the type of weapon used, and any drug- or gang-related activity involved. Other variables include the year and month in which the homicide occurred, whether the homicide occurred on a weekday or over the weekend, the motive of the homicide, whether the homicide was drug-related, whether the case was cleared by police at time of data entry, weapon type and means of killing, the relationship between the victim and the offender, whether a firearm was the homicide method, whether it was a multiple victim incident or multiple offender incident, whether the victim or the offender was younger than age 15, and the inter-racial relationship between the victim and the offender. Demographic variables include age, sex, and race of the victim as well as the offender.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
As a contribution to nationwide efforts to more thoroughly understand urban violence, this study was conducted to assess the impact of cultural dynamics on homicide rates in Houston, Texas, and to profile homicides in the city from 1985 to 1994. The objectives of this research were to: (1) determine changes in the volume and characteristics of homicide in Houston, Texas, (2) compare neighborhood level factors influencing homicide victimization and offending, and (3) document and compare clearance (by arrest) rates as well as final legal disposition of homicide cases over time. The factors considered in conducting the study were Houston's economic downturn in the late 1970s and much of the 1980s, the ethnic mix of the city's population, the diverse demographic makeup of the city's police force, and the use of illegal drugs.
Study Design View help for Study Design
Data were collected from all Houston homicide cases recorded in the police murder logs for 1985-1994. A total of 4,944 homicides were on record for this time period. The project included a quantitative analysis of the age, sex, and race of victims and offenders, as well as a description of the homicide circumstances, the victim-offender relationship, the type of weapon used, and any drug- or gang-related activity involved.
Sample View help for Sample
Not applicable.
Universe View help for Universe
Homicide incidents from 1985 to 1994 in Houston, Texas
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
the Houston Police Department and the Houston Chronicle
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
Variables describe the homicide circumstances, the victim-offender relationship, the type of weapon used, and any drug- or gang-related activity involved. Other variables include the year and month in which the homicide occurred, whether the homicide occurred on a weekday or over the weekend, the motive of the homicide, whether the homicide was drug-related, whether the case was cleared by police at time of data entry, weapon type and means of killing, the relationship between the victim and the offender, whether a firearm was the homicide method, whether it was a multiple victim incident or multiple offender incident, whether the victim or the offender was younger than age 15, and the inter-racial relationship between the victim and the offender. Demographic variables include age, sex, and race of the victim as well as the offender.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Not applicable.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
None.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2002-07-11
Version History View help for Version History
- Titterington, Victoria, and Kelly R. Damphousse. Examination of Homicides in Houston, Texas, 1985-1994 [Computer File]. ICPSR03399-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2005-11-04. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03399.v1
2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable, and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to reflect these additions.
2002-07-11 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Standardized missing values.
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
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.