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INJURY AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION (IVP) BRANCH

 California Violent Death Reporting System (CalVDRS)

People reviewing a Dashboardā€‹

ā€‹CalVDRS Data Dashboardā€‹ available now

A more comprehensive view of violent deaths is now possible in California

Having accurate and detailed information about violent deaths is the first step to prevention. Public health departments, law enforcement, coroners and medical examiners all collect valuable information about violent deaths, but frequently these data remain in separate systems.

The California Department of Public Health was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to participate in the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) to compile information on violent deaths beginning with 2017 deaths.

  • Medical Monitoring
    CalVDRS combines data on violent deaths from various data providers (i.e., vital records, law enforcement and coroners/medical examiners) in one secure and confidential database.
  • Justice
    Violent deaths include suicides, homicides and deaths by legal intervention. CalVDRS also includes deaths of undetermined intent and unintentional firearm deaths.
  • Data Chart
    CalVDRS enables us to integrate data reports to piece together a more complete picture of the circumstances and underlying causes of violent deaths, to track trends in communities across California and to translate these findings into actionable information for local and state action.
  • Link
    Related deaths can be linked (e.g., incidents with multiple homicides or homicides followed by suicide).
Flowchart showing what type of data informs CalVDRS Data. The first box of the flowchart is titled Law Enforcement which includes the following bulleted list brief: narrative of circumstances, details on weapon, suspect data and relationship to victim, critical stressors in victimā€™s life, risk factors, previous criminal history, and presence of suicide note. The next box in the flowchart is titled Medical Examiner/Coroner which includes the following bulleted list: brief narrative of incident, circumstances of injury, toxicology reports, weapon information, wound location, and medical history. The third and final box of the flowchart is titled Death Certificate which includes the following bulleted list: victim demographic data, cause/manner of death, work-related status, pregnancy status, and veteran status.

Law
Enforcement

  • Brief narrative of circumstances
  • Details on weapon
  • Suspect data and relationship to victim
  • Critical stressors in victimā€™s life
  • Risk factors
  • Previous criminal history
  • Presence of suicide note

Medical Examiner
/Coroner

  • Brief narrative of incident
  • Circumstances of injury
  • Toxicology reports
  • Weapon information
  • Wound location
  • Medical history

Death
Certificate

  • Victim demographic data
  • Cause/manner of death
  • Work-related status
  • Pregnancy status
  • Veteran status
CalVDRS Data Quick Links
CalVDRS White Paper
Data Informs the Prevention of Violent DeathCalVDRS Deaths
Data Informs the Prevention of Violent Death (PDF, 0.245MB)
2023CalVDRS Deathsā€‹ā€‹


CalVDRS Profiles
CalVDRS Deaths CalVDRS Deaths
Suicide
Suicide in California (PDF) Suicide in California (PDF)
Infographic: Suicide in California (PDF) Infographic: Suicide in California (PDF)
Homicide
Homicide in California (PDF) Homicide in California (PDF)
Firearm-Related Deaths
Monitoring Firearm-Related Deaths (PDF) Monitoring Firearm-Related Deaths (PDF)
Multi-Victim Incidents
Violent Deaths Involving Multiple Victims in California (PDF) Violent Deaths Involving Multiple Victims in California (PDF)
Preliminary Violent Deaths
Preliminary Monthly Statewide Violence-Related Death Counts (PDF) Preliminary Monthly Statewide Violence-Related Death Counts (PDF)
Preliminary Monthly Statewide Violence-Related Death Counts (PDF, 0.24MB)
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