The study first used a police database to analyze all homicides that occurred in Los Angeles between January 1, 1986, and August 31, 1988. The analysis examined the association between gang activity and narcotic use and trafficking. The researchers then used detailed data from police files to explore the same associations for a subset of homicides in south central Los Angeles. This was followed by an investigation of the association between gang homicide victimization and victim cocaine use for all 1987 Los Angeles homicides. Finally, the researchers compared narcotics arrest histories for gang homicide victims with histories for other homicide victims. The study found that gang-motivated homicides were less likely than other homicides to involve narcotics, and narcotics-motivated homicides were less likely to involve a gang member. Victims of gang-motivated homicides in 1987 were less likely than other homicide victims to have detectable levels of cocaine in the blood. Young victims of gang-related homicide were no more likely to have a history of narcotics arrests than other victims. The investigation does not support the theory that most homicides are attributable to gang involvement in narcotics trafficking. 4 tables and 10 references