Examination of Homicides in Houston, Texas, 1985-1994 (ICPSR 3399)

Version Date: Nov 4, 2005

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Principal Investigator(s):
Victoria Titterington, Sam Houston State University; Kelly R. Damphousse, University of Oklahoma

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03399.v1

Version V1

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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.

Citation

Titterington, Victoria, and Damphousse, Kelly R. Examination of Homicides in Houston, Texas, 1985-1994  . Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2005-11-04. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03399.v1

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Funding

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice (97-IJ-CX-0014)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

1985 -- 1994

Date of Collection

1997

Data Collection Notes

  1. The user guide and codebook are provided by ICPSR as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.

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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

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

Not applicable.

Universe

Homicide incidents from 1985 to 1994 in Houston, Texas

Unit(s) of Observation

Homicide cases.

Data Source

the Houston Police Department and the Houston Chronicle

Data Type(s)

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

Not applicable.

Presence of Common Scales

None.

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Original Release Date

2002-07-11

Version History

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:
  • 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.
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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.