About the System
The Colorado Violent Death Reporting System (CoVDRS) collects information on violent deaths that have occurred in Colorado (homicides, suicides, deaths of undetermined intent, and unintentional firearm-related deaths) from a variety of data sources, including death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, and law enforcement investigations. The purpose of the data is to provide a more complete understanding of when, where, and how violent deaths occur.
Violence is a major public health problem in the United States.
- Homicide and suicide account for more than 50,000 deaths each year.
- In 2009, suicide was the second leading cause of death in the U.S. for young adults ages 25 to 34 years and the third leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to 24 years.
- In 2009, homicide was the second leading cause of death for youth ages 15 to 24 years in the U.S. and the fourth leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 14 years.
In Colorado in 2011
- 914 people died by suicide;
- 204 people died of homicide or a legal intervention;
- 9 children ages 4 or younger were victims of homicide;
- 14 people died of unintentional firearm injuries; and
- Suicide was the second leading cause of death and homicide was the third leading cause of death for Coloradans ages 15-34.
From 2004 to 2011, suicide accounted for the greatest number of injury deaths in the state, outnumbering deaths from motor vehicle accident, unintentional poisoning, falls, and homicide. In 2009, Colorado had the 6th highest rate of suicide in the nation.
Data sources such as death certificates do not provide information with the level of detail necessary to accurately assess the factors surrounding violent deaths. For example, death certificates cannot link victim and suspect information and do not contain information about the circumstances of the death. The CoVDRS surveillance system was initiated in Colorado to gather information at this level of detail and to use the data to inform public health prevention and intervention efforts.
National Violent Death Reporting System
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is currently funding 18 states, including Colorado, to collect data for the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). The CDC has considered the possibility of fully implementing a National Violent Death Reporting System in all states to provide accurate information for decision-makers in federal, state and local entities. At the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the Vital Statistics Unit is primarily responsible for this data system for violent deaths occurring within Colorado, and data collection began with cases in January 2004. More information on the NVDRS is available at http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/NVDRS/index.html
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What is the goal of Colorado's Violent Death Reporting System?
- To collect detailed information about violent deaths in Colorado, including when, where, and how they occurred.
- To link data collected by law enforcement, vital statistics, and coroners’ offices into the reporting system.
- To provide information to help law enforcement, public health officials, violence prevention groups, and policy makers better understand the problems and guide local action plans for prevention
- To strengthen a joint public health and criminal justice response to violence.
What are the sources of data?
- Death records from Vital Statistics provide such information as date and cause of death, along with demographic information such as age, race, education level.
- Coroner/medical examiners provide autopsy and toxicology reports, the circumstances of the injury/death, and decedents’ medical history.
- Law enforcement agencies provide information such as perpetrator data, weapon information, death circumstances, and past criminal history for persons involved in a violent death event.
Unique data elements from each of these sources are linked and compiled to create a comprehensive source for statewide violent death data.
What kinds of questions can be answered by this data system?
Local, state or national policy makers and community program developers need better and more detailed information in order to answer fundamental questions about patterns and trends in violence. This detailed information is available through state and local agencies, although the information is generally fragmented and often inaccessible. The creation of a system such as the CoVDRS to consolidate these valuable pieces of information helps to answer such fundamental questions as:
- Where are weapons used in acts of violence most frequently obtained?
- What life crises most commonly precede a suicide?
- What percent of women killed by an intimate partner had previous episodes of intimate partner violence?
- What proportion of suicide victims made previous attempts or disclosed their intent to commit suicide?
- How often do murder-suicides occur?
- What proportion of homicides result from illicit drug deals or other criminal activity?
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This data collection system is made possible through funding provided by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. Cooperative Agreement U17/CE 823101-08
For more information about CoVDRS, contact
health.statistics@state.co.us