Washington, D.C. (March 4, 2008) – The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) was the focus of a briefing today on Capitol Hill. Currently operating in 17 states, NVDRS is a comprehensive, linked reporting system funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that collects and centralizes information on violent death, including homicides and suicides, from many sources, such as medical examiners, coroners, law enforcement, public health officials and crime labs.
With data provided by NVDRS, public health officials are better able to understand the details and circumstances surrounding violent deaths so they can design and implement targeted prevention programs. For example, NVDRS data has provided crucial information on veteran suicides by showing that veterans make up about 20 percent of deaths by suicide in NVDRS states.
Speakers at the briefing, “NVDRS: Key to Violence Prevention in Your State,” featured Dr. Ileana Arias, Director, CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Katherine Hempstead, Ph.D., New Jersey Violent Death Reporting System, and Kathleen Monahan, MPH, Illinois Violent Death Reporting System, and Children’s Memorial Hospital.
The briefing focused on how NVDRS science can be used to provide insight into
the circumstances of violent deaths in the United States. Findings that are
needed to prevent the more than 50,000 violent deaths that occur in this country
each year. Speakers provided an overview of how NVDRS data is informing the
development, implementation, and evaluation of programs to reduce and prevent
violent deaths and injuries.
Katherine Hempstead provided information about NVDRS and how it is being used to measure gang-related homicide and aid prevention efforts in New Jersey. "Measuring gang-related homicide is difficult using conventional sources,” Hempstead said. “The detailed circumstance information in the NVDRS allow us to create definitions based on homicide characteristics of concern to law enforcement. This aids prevention and enforcement activities and the monitoring of progress.”
Currently, 17 states collect data as a part of NVDRS. The first six states to join NVDRS have submitted data on violent death for 2003, and 13 states have done so for 2004. As NVDRS matures, this critical public health tool will continue to provide new insight into circumstances surrounding child abuse, intimate partner violence, suicide and homicide – equipping doctors, police, policymakers, families, and others with the information they need to act to reduce violence.
As NVDRS matures, this critical public health tool will continue to provide new insight into circumstances surrounding child abuse, intimate partner violence, suicide and homicide – equipping doctors, police, policymakers, families, and others with the information they need to act to reduce violence.
The National Violence Prevention Network (www.preventviolence.net) is working to fully implement NVDRS in the US to enable every state to establish effective violent death prevention programs. While state-specific information provides enormous value to local public health and law enforcement officials, national data from all 50 states, the US territories and District of Columbia must be obtained to complete the picture and establish effective national homicide and suicide prevention policies and programs.
The National Violence Prevention Network is a broad-based coalition of national organizations dedicated to violent death prevention by advocating for the full implementation of NVDRS in the United States. For more information, go to www.preventviolence.net.
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