National Violent Death Reporting System

An argument. The loss of a job. Alcohol and drug abuse. For thousands of Americans each year, personal crises, relationship problems, or emotional distress can contribute to homicide and suicide. Violence takes its toll on individuals, families, and communities throughout the United States. No one is immune to violence. It affects people across the lifespan—from infants to the elderly.

Tragically, more than 38,000 people died by suicide in the United States in 2010.¹ Homicide claimed another 16,000 people. We know these numbers can be lowered. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is committed to preventing violent deaths in the U.S.

Understanding Violent Deaths

The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) can help provide communities with a clearer understanding of violent deaths so we can prevent them.

In 2002, CDC received funding to create NVDRS, a state-based surveillance system that collects facts from different sources about the same incident. The information—from death certificates, police reports, and coroner or medical examiner reports—is pooled into a usable, anonymous database. As NVDRS data become available, state and local violence prevention practitioners use it to guide their prevention programs, policies, and practices.

Frontline investigators, including homicide detectives, coroners, crime lab investigators and medical examiners, collect valuable information about violent deaths. But these data are often not combined to provide a complete picture. With NVDRS, the CDC combines information from four major sources:

• Death certificates;
• Coroner/medical examiner reports;
• Police reports; and
• Crime laboratories.

Linking Data to Save Lives

To stop violent deaths, we must first understand all the facts. Linking information about the “who, when, where and how” from data on violent deaths will provide insights about “why” they occurred. To answer the questions surrounding violent deaths, NVDRS:

• Links records to describe in detail the circumstances that may contribute to a violent death;
• Identifies violent deaths occurring in the same incident to help describe the circumstances of multiple homicides or homicide–suicides;
• Provides timely preliminary information on violent deaths; and
• Better characterizes the relationship of the victim to the suspect.

Today, NVDRS operates in 18 states, pulling together data on violent deaths (including child maltreatment fatalities, intimate partner homicides, other homicides, suicides, and deaths where individuals are killed by law enforcement in the line of duty), unintentional firearm injury deaths, and deaths of undetermined intent. NVDRS data help to:

• Inform decision makers and program planners about the magnitude, trends, and characteristics of violent deaths so that appropriate prevention efforts can be identified and put into place;
• Facilitate the evaluation of state-based prevention programs and strategies.

Moving toward a national system will allow us to provide information on a state-by-state basis to inform states’ prevention efforts. It will also ensure we have better information on the national scope of the problem of violent deaths to monitor and track trends for the nation and to inform national efforts.

References

• http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal_injury_reports.html
  

NVDRS References

• Overview: Linking Data to Save Lives [PDF 661KB]
• Publications

NVDRS Resources

• Frequently Asked Questions
• State Profiles
• Data Collection and Access
• Training and Technical Assistance
• Restricted Access Database
• Partners

NVDRS Success Stories

• NVDRS Data Supports Suicide Prevention in Older Adults [PDF 188KB]
• Data Guides Suicide Prevention Efforts [PDF 184KB]
• Data Help Describe Suicide Problem in Utah [PDF 176KB]