Why a Robbery Homicide Division?

[The Searcher]

LAPD has a Robbery Homicide Division and I believe that other cities do as well. I've wondered why a single division would be setup to investigate both Robberies and Homicides. I can understand a small town where there is not enough "business" but a big city like LA?

To my "not LEO" way of thinking these are very different crimes. Murder is committed by all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons, while robbery is almost always committed by young male career thugs. Granted anyone can be targeted for robbery but it seems that certain businesses and areas get the vast majority of the robbery attention.

Wouldn't investigating these two crimes require two different specializations and methods and even ideally require different personalities?

I can understand having robbery detectives handle a murder case where someone was killed in the course of a robbery but I don't think this is what they are referring to.

[Roundeyesamurai]

I think you've been watching too much TV, Searcher. :p

Actually, robbery and homicide are usually very similar offenses. Most occurrences of either are usually pretty mundane- i.e. most of the time it's not too difficult to figure out whodunit, and why they dunit.

Likewise, almost all police investigations are conducted in precisely the same manner, regardless of the offense. The so-called "checklist" of investigation.

The "interesting" homicides are, statistically speaking, pretty rare, which is why most agencies aren't equipped or experienced enough to handle them.

However, the connection between robbery and homicide is an outgrowth of the 1920's and 1930's, when most homicides (other than personal-cause homicides) occurred during the commission of a robbery. So, instead of calling robbery dicks and homicide dicks to investigate robberies where a homicide occurred, they were simply made one and the same unit.

Incidentally, "Robbery/Homicide" is actually a separation in and of itself- many large agencies incorporate ALL violent crimes as "Crimes Against Persons (Unit/Division/etc.)", or "Violent Crimes Unit", or a similar moniker.

[Gunslinger808]

Likewise, almost all police investigations are conducted in precisely the same manner, regardless of the offense. The so-called "checklist" of investigation.

Yup, for the most part, the forensics involved at the crime scene are the same.
Collection of evidence, prints, witness statements, etc...

[Guantes]

Searcher,
It is dependent on the department idiosyncracies. LAPD has combined robbery and homicide into Robery/Homicide whereas LASD has always kept Robbery and Homicide as separate units.

One thing to note is that both robbery and homicide units while always notified may have little involvement in small non-serial robberies or local gang homicides which are often solved by local station detectives, rather than "downtown" units.

[The Searcher]

Thanks for the replies. That had been bugging me for some time. Truly it had. Now I need some new obscure item to distract me from real life.:p :D

I take it "personal cause" homicides are domestic homicides?

[Roundeyesamurai]

Thanks for the replies. That had been bugging me for some time. Truly it had. Now I need some new obscure item to distract me from real life.:p :D

I take it "personal cause" homicides are domestic homicides?

Domestic partners, business partners, neighbors, etc, etc.