1. Maryland Violent Death Reporting System (MVDRS): Using Data to Tell Victims’ Stories Thomas Manion, M.A. Project Coordinator, MVDRS Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

2. A “National” System for Violence Prevention 2002 – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public health approach to violence prevention National system with state-level components Five states funded initially (including Maryland)

3. Currently Funded States

4. Maryland’s System: MVDRS Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene First Data Collection Year: 2003 Data available through 2010

5. MVDRS Mission: 1.Maintain detailed body of information on Maryland violent deaths 2.Promote greater scientific understanding of violence 3.Encourage the development of effective violent death prevention and intervention strategies

6. What constitutes a violent death? “A death resulting from the intentional use of physical force or power* against oneself, another person, or group.” *Includes poisons/drugs

7. Homicide Suicide Death of Undetermined Intent Accidental (ONLY if firearm-related) Manners of Death Evaluated As ruled by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for Maryland

8. Where does our data come from? Medical Examiner Reports (OCME) Police Reports (State and Local Law Enforcement) Death Certificates (MD Vital Statistics) MVDRS

9. Data Collected Victim/Suspect demographics Victim/Suspect relationship (if applicable) Victim’s marital status, education, current occupation Time, date, location of injury Weapon and wound details Toxicology Precipitating Circumstances Narratives MVDRS Database

10. What sets MVDRS data apart? Unprecedented level of detail Precipitating circumstances In-depth narratives

11. Our Philosophy on Violent Death 1.) Every victim has a story 2.) Prevention should be grounded in scientific research

12. Stories Trends Prevention Data

13. Limitations NO data on Maryland residents injured out of state Data Collection Timeline 1-2 year lag between death and inclusion in MVDRS

14. MVDRS Data Highlights * 2010 *All rates are crude rates per 100,000 population

15. 1,427 violent deaths = 24.7 per 100,000 Male rate (39) more than triple the female rate (11.3) Age 25-29 had the highest age-specific rate (44.5) Violent Death Overview

16. Manner of Death

17. 389 deaths = 6.7 per 100,000 Homicide Overview Nearly half of victims were Baltimore residents Nearly 80% of homicide victims were black Most common location of injury was a street/sidewalk/alley (40.6%)

18. Homicide: Residential County

19. Homicide: Cause of Death

20. Most common precipitating circumstances: Argument/Conflict Precipitated by another crime Drug involvement Intimate partner violence Homicide : Circumstantial Data

21. 481 deaths = 8.3 per 100,000 Age groups with the highest rates were 45-54 (13.7), 75-84 (11.2) and 55-64 (11.2) Harford County had the highest suicide rate (11.4) Veterans accounted for nearly 18% of suicides (all males) Suicide Overview

22. Suicide: Injury Location

23. Suicide: Cause of Death

24. Most common precipitating circumstances: Current mental health diagnosis Disclosed intent/suicidal ideations Intimate partner problem Physical health problem Job problem Financial problem Suicide: Circumstantial Data

25. Only 55% of victims with a current mental health diagnosis were currently being treated Female victims were significantly more likely than males to have a history of suicide attempts (37.8% vs 18.6%) 35.7% of victims left a suicide note Suicide: Circumstantial Data

26. Recent Publication Suicidology Online, vol. 3, pp. 131-137 Comparison of Maryland suicide deaths by victim age Cumulative data 2003-2009

27. Recent Publication Four Age Groups: Youth (19 and younger) Young Adult (20-34) Middle Aged (35-64) Elder (65 and older)

28. Conclusions MVDRS as a source of violent death data Circumstances, special populations Focused prevention efforts By Age?

29. Thomas Manion Project Coordinator Maryland Violent Death Reporting System Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Thomas.Manion@maryland.gov 410-767-5744