The Center for Homicide Research is developing the foundation of knowledge that will be necessary to solve and prevent all kinds of homicide, including gay homicide. Ultimately this will lead to greater stability of all our communities and ideally achieve more willingness of community members to speak out on issues of communal importance including those regarding core cultural values of inter-group cooperation and peace-building.

The data being developed in this project will be made available in the broadest sense possible. Completed datasets will be placed at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where researchers will be able to access and use the data. Researchers can query the data using their own questions and verify the work of the Center and others. This will ensure that future researchers will have data available for their own investigative work.

The Centers researchers are active in changing the systems which concern homicide research. This is especially true with regard to homicides involving members of emergent communities or subcultures which may be difficult to detect, let alone report. Discussions have been initiated with state and federal information managers to determine when and how to change national data gathering patterns. This involves the Uniform Crime Reports and National Incident-Based Reporting System operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It also includes state-level reporting systems which can produce more rapid changes in the interim. The Center’s research will enable existing agencies to implement changes to their data management policies more effectively, and to see the immediate benefit and uses for the expanded information.