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      Homicides by Police: Comparing Counts From the National Violent Death Reporting System, Vital Statistics, and Supplementary Homicide Reports

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          Abstract

          Objective. To evaluate the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) as a surveillance system for homicides by law enforcement officers.

          Methods. We assessed sensitivity and positive predictive value of the NVDRS “type of death” variable against our study count of homicides by police, which we derived from NVDRS coded and narrative data for states participating in NVDRS 2005 to 2012. We compared state counts of police homicides from NVDRS, Vital Statistics, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Supplementary Homicide Reports.

          Results. We identified 1552 police homicides in the 16 states. Positive predictive value and sensitivity of the NVDRS “type of death” variable for police homicides were high (98% and 90%, respectively). Counts from Vital Statistics and Supplementary Homicide Reports were 58% and 48%, respectively, of our study total; gaps varied widely by state. The annual rate of police homicide (0.24/100 000) varied 5-fold by state and 8-fold by race/ethnicity.

          Conclusions. NVDRS provides more complete data on police homicides than do existing systems.

          Policy Implications. Expanding NVDRS to all 50 states and making 2 improvements we identify will be an efficient way to provide the nation with more accurate, detailed data on homicides by law enforcement.

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          Most cited references4

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          CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System: background and methodology.

          This paper describes a new surveillance system called the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), initiated by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NVDRS's mission is the collection of detailed, timely information on all violent deaths. NVDRS is a population based, active surveillance system designed to obtain a complete census of all resident and occurrent violent deaths. Each state collects information on its own deaths from death certificates, medical examiner/coroner files, law enforcement records, and crime laboratories. Deaths occurring in the same incident are linked. Over 270 data elements can be collected on each incident. The 13 state health departments of Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Cases consist of violent deaths from suicide, homicide, undetermined intent, legal intervention, and unintentional firearm injury. Information is collected on suspects as well as victims. None. The quality of surveillance will be measured in terms of its acceptability, accuracy, sensitivity, timeliness, utility, and cost. The system has just been started. There are no results as yet. NVDRS has achieved enough support to begin data collection efforts in selected states. This system will need to overcome the significant barriers to such a large data collection effort. Its success depends on the use of its data to inform and assess violence prevention efforts. If successful, it will open a new chapter in the use of empirical information to guide public policy around violence in the United States.
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            Underreporting of justifiable homicides committed by police officers in the United States, 1976-1998.

            This study assessed the consistency of estimates of the number of justifiable homicides committed by US police officers and identified sources of underreporting.
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              • Record: found
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              • Article: not found

              A truly national National Violent Death Reporting System.

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Am J Public Health
                Am J Public Health
                ajph
                American Journal of Public Health
                American Public Health Association
                0090-0036
                1541-0048
                May 2016
                May 2016
                : 106
                : 5
                : 922-927
                Affiliations
                Catherine Barber, Deborah Azrael, Amy Cohen, and David Hemenway are with the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA. Matthew Miller is with the Department of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA. At the time of the study, Deonza Thymes was a master’s of public health student at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. David Enze Wang is a student at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
                Author notes
                Correspondence should be sent to Catherine Barber, HSPH, 677 Huntington Avenue, 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02115 (e-mail: cbarber@ 123456hsph.harvard.edu ). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the “Reprints” link.

                CONTRIBUTORS

                C. Barber conceptualized the study, led the writing, and conducted most of the analyses. C. Barber, D. Azrael, D. Thymes, and D. E. Wang reviewed cases. A. Cohen managed and analyzed the data. D. E. Wang obtained and analyzed the Supplementary Homicide Reports data. All authors developed the case definition, adjudicated cases on which reviewers disagreed, contributed to writing, and reviewed final drafts.

                Peer Reviewed

                Article
                PMC4985110 PMC4985110 4985110 201514331
                10.2105/AJPH.2016.303074
                4985110
                26985611
                b041f1a1-d874-40c9-b6eb-d12d76996dcc
                © American Public Health Association 2016
                History
                : 06 January 2016
                Page count
                Pages: 6
                Categories
                Injury/Emergency Care/Violence
                Mortality
                Other Statistics/Evaluation/Research
                AJPH Research
                Police Homicides

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