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Deaths from Violence : a Look at 17 States : Data from the National Violent Death Reporting System 2004-2005
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December 2008
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[PDF-4.23 MB]
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Description:Each year in the United States, more than 50,000 people die from acts of violence, including more than 32,000 deaths from suicide and 18,000 deaths from homicide. Many of these deaths are preventable. However, to design effective violence prevention strategies, an essential first step is to ensure the availability of complete, accurate and timely information, particularly with regard to the populations at risk and the circumstances and predisposing factors that contribute to deaths from violence.
In 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began implementing the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). The NVDRS is a state-based, epidemiologic reporting system that collects risk factor data on all deaths from violence, specifically homicides, suicides, unintentional deaths due to firearms, deaths due to legal intervention, deaths of undetermined intent and deaths due to acts of terrorism. In contrast to other national surveillance systems that collect data from a single source, NVDRS data are collected from multiple sources including death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, law enforcement investigations, crime labs, and Supplemental Homicide Reports. Analyses of NVDRS data are used to assist in the development, implementation and evaluation of programs and policies designed to reduce and prevent deaths from violence at the local, state and national levels.
Currently, CDC funds 17 states to participate in the NVDRS. These states include Alaska, California (selected sites), Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. Through annual meetings and monthly conference calls, the states share their ideas and findings. Recent discussions have addressed the significant state-level heterogeneity that is often masked when aggregate data are analyzed at the national level. This report, the first product of the State Violent Death Reporting System (VDRS) Workgroup, highlights the state-level similarities and differences in the numbers, characteristics and circumstances of deaths from violence.
Suggested Citation: Sanford C and Hedegaard H (editors). Deaths from Violence: A Look at 17 States -- Data from the National Violent Death Reporting System. December 2008.
This publication was supported by cooperative agreements between individual states and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the contributing authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
NC-VDRS17StateReport.pdf
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