THE DATASET
Photo of the Los Angeles skyline with the Santa Monica Mountain range behind. Image taken from Californiathroughmylense.com.
This project uses the Crime Data from 2020 to Present dataset provided by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) through the Los Angeles Open Data Portal. The dataset contains reported crime incidents across the City of Los Angeles, with each row representing a single crime report. The data includes information on when and where crimes occurred, the type of crime committed, the victim’s characteristics, and contextual details such as the location type and weapon used.
The dataset currently contains over one million crime records and 28 variables, covering incidents reported between 2020 and 2025. Geographic information is provided as latitude and longitude coordinates, enabling spatial analysis and mapping of crime patterns across Los Angeles.
Because the data is transcribed from original police reports, some fields may contain missing values or small inaccuracies. To protect privacy, addresses are rounded to the nearest hundred block rather than exact locations.
In March 2024, the LAPD transitioned to a new National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) compliant records system. As a result, this dataset will remain available for historical analysis but will not receive additional updates moving forward.
| Variable | API Name | Description | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR_NO | dr_no | Division of Records number (year + area ID + unique digits) | Text |
| Date Reported | date_rptd | Date the crime was reported | Timestamp |
| Date Occurred | date_occ | Date the crime occurred | Timestamp |
| Time Occurred | time_occ | Time crime occurred (24-hour format) | Text |
| Area | area | LAPD geographic area number (1–21) | Text |
| Area Name | area_name | Name of the LAPD patrol division | Text |
| Reporting District | rpt_dist_no | Sub-area within a geographic division used for statistical comparisons | Text |
| Crime Category | part_1_2 | Indicates whether crime is Part 1 or Part 2 | Number |
| Crime Code | crm_cd | Code identifying the crime committed | Text |
| Crime Description | crm_cd_desc | Description of the crime code | Text |
| MO Codes | mocodes | Modus operandi codes describing suspect actions | Text |
| Victim Age | vict_age | Age of victim | Text |
| Victim Sex | vict_sex | Sex of victim (F, M, X) | Text |
| Victim Descent | vict_descent | Victim ethnicity/descent code | Text |
| Premise Code | premis_cd | Type of location where crime occurred | Number |
| Premise Description | premis_desc | Description of the premise code | Text |
| Weapon Code | weapon_used_cd | Code for weapon used | Text |
| Weapon Description | weapon_desc | Description of weapon used | Text |
| Case Status | status | Current status of the case | Text |
| Status Description | status_desc | Description of case status | Text |
| Primary Crime Code | crm_cd_1 | Most serious offense in incident | Text |
| Secondary Crime Code | crm_cd_2 | Additional offense (less serious) | Text |
| Third Crime Code | crm_cd_3 | Additional offense (less serious) | Text |
| Fourth Crime Code | crm_cd_4 | Additional offense (less serious) | Text |
| Location | location | Rounded street address (100 block) | Text |
| Cross Street | cross_street | Cross street of incident | Text |
| Latitude | lat | Latitude coordinate of crime | Number |
| Longitude | lon | Longitude coordinate of crime | Number |