by Nitya Marimuthu
As I continue to work alongside the rest of the Cold Case team to fill out census data, I began noticing an odd pattern when it came to large cities. Although many of the cities were majority white or had a slim black majority, most of the victims were non-white, (largely black or hispanic/latinx). Out of the 3,683 victims in Chicago whose race was known, only 116 of them were white despite the population makeup of Cook County ranging from 54% to 77% white in the close to fifty year period of the data. Similarly, in Pittsburgh, out of the 335 cases with the victim’s race known, 18 were white despite the 84% white population in Allegheny County over the around twenty years of the cases. This disproportionate pattern held true in Detroit, Nashville, and San Francisco, along with many more.
Although the exact cause for this discrepancy cannot be determined without further analysis and regulation of potential confounding factors (like homicide rate based on race in the cities mentioned), the pattern still gives way to important questions. Is there a difference in resources allocated to investigating homicide cases on the basis of the race of the victim? Has there been any other salient findings about race affecting the discovery process in cases?
Upon doing a search, I found coverage by NPR on the racial differences in justice for murder victims in New York City. The comparison of murder cases in the city showed that in 2013, 86% of homicides with a white victim were solved, 45 %of homicides with a black victim were soled, and 56 % of homicides with a Hispanic victim were solved. This date points to a potential gap between different races when it comes to the number of cold cases that could be looked into further.
Other discrepancies also came up while researching these questions. Research on Chicago has shown less news coverage of killings in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods compared to white ones. Their analysis determined that there was a greater number of news articles written about white homicide victims as compared to black and Hispanic homicide victims. The surrounding area of the homicide victims also affected news articles – those written about victims in a majority-white neighborhood were longer and more likely to portray the victim as a “complex person.” Although this research extends beyond the focus of the project, it provides interesting insight into what racial factors could be taken into account as we continue to analyze census data for patterns.
“Does Justice for Murder Victims Depend on Race, Geography?” NPR, NPR, 13 Jan. 2014,
https://www.npr.org/2014/01/13/262082861/does-justice-for-murder-victims-depend-on-race-geography.
University, Stanford. “Homicide Victims from Black and Hispanic Neighborhoods Devalued.” Stanford
News, 5 Feb. 2021, https://news.stanford.edu/2020/09/21/homicide-victims-black-hispanic-neighborhoods-devalued/.