Homicide Investigations in Los Angeles, California: An Analysis of Solved and Unsolved Cases, 1990-2010 (ICPSR 39255)
Version Date: Jan 30, 2025 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Craig D. Uchida, Justice & Security Strategies, Inc.
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39255.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
In 2018 Justice and Security Strategies, Inc. (JSS) recieved funding from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to code and analyze detailed homicide data collected by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The data in this study were compiled from the LAPD's digitized homicide casefiles, or Murder Books, stored at the Homicide Library. These digitized casefiles included relevant information from the chronological log of detective activity, crime scene log, first responder statements and officer reports, incident history from the CAD and 911 tapes, Los Angeles Fire Department medical service report, death/autopsy report, suspect arrest report, evidence reports, follow-up reports, investigator final report, search warrants, crime scene sketches, crime scene notes, scientific evidence analysis, witness statements and notes, suspect interview notes, and case status information. A total of 4,111 Murder Books detailing homicides from four of 21 LAPD area stations in South Los Angeles between 1990 to 2010 were digitally scanned and preserved for posterity. Through a grant from the National Institute of Justice, JSS researchers 'tagged' the data to facilitate sharing these Murder Books among detectives in the South Bureau. These 'tags' also serve to encode features and outcomes from the Murder Book case files.
The data archived from this project consist of the digital database of the tagged Murder Books. There are two files included in this project. The victim file contains information about both the incident (obtainable from unique incident numbers) and information about the victim (victim number associated with each incident). The suspect file contains information about the suspects associated with each incident and can be linked to the original incident through the incident number.
Citation View help for Citation
Export Citation:
Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
4 divisions within LAPD South Bureau
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reason for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The purpose of this study is to assist homicide investigators with solving cases by creating a centralized, digital repository of data from the Los Angeles Police Department's homicide casefiles, or "Murder Books."
Universe View help for Universe
Homicides that occurred in Los Angeles and within the LAPD's South Bureau from 1990-2010.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
The Suspect Data include suspect demographics, the total number of suspects for each incident, each suspect's relationship to the victim(s), and the status of the incident.
The Victim Data include victim demographics and the total number of victims for each incident. These data also contain data describing the circumstances of each incident, the evidence collected by investigators, and the status of each incident. These incident-specific data may be linked to the Suspect Data using linking variable INCIDENT_ID_ICPSR.
HideNotes
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.
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.