Judges at Risk: A Review of Homicides of U.S. Judges.
We identified 54homicides of U.S. judges since the 1800s through news accounts, databases, and the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). Most (92.6%) decedents were men. More than half of the homicides had a connection to work. Firearms were the most common attack method. Although violence is relatively common in U.S. courts, homicides of judges are rare. Homicide nevertheless is an occupational hazard and potential threat for judges necessitating effective security measures to safeguard judges in and outside of courts. We advocate for the development of a comprehensive national database for refining risk management strategies throughout the judicial system. The psychological impact of violence, and how the judicial system responds to threats of judicial homicide, are public policy issues warranting additional study and resources.
7
- 10.1177/000271620157600107
- Jul 1, 2001
- The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
66
- 10.1016/j.ipm.2005.03.008
- Apr 20, 2005
- Information Processing & Management
4
- 10.1177/000271620157600102
- Jul 1, 2001
- The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
11
- 10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111472
- Sep 20, 2022
- Forensic Science International
9
- 10.1177/000271620157600105
- Jul 1, 2001
- The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
- 10.2139/ssrn.2530214
- Dec 3, 2014
- SSRN Electronic Journal
1
- 10.1002/jclp.23589
- Aug 28, 2023
- Journal of Clinical Psychology
2
- 10.1177/1088767909353017
- Nov 25, 2009
- Homicide Studies
1456
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0138237
- Sep 17, 2015
- PLOS ONE
1
- 10.1016/j.comppsych.2024.152503
- May 20, 2024
- Comprehensive Psychiatry
- Research Article
15
- 10.2105/ajph.2011.300572
- Mar 1, 2012
- American Journal of Public Health
A Call to Link Data to Answer Pressing Questions About Suicide Risk Among Veterans
- Dataset
96
- 10.1037/e587232010-001
- Jan 1, 2010
An estimated 50,000 persons die annually in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries. This report summarizes data from CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) regarding violent deaths from 16 U.S. states for 2005. Results are reported by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, marital status, location of injury, method of injury, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics.2005.NVDRS collects data regarding violent deaths obtained from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, and law enforcement reports. NVDRS began operation in 2003 with seven states (Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia) participating; six states (Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin) joined in 2004 and four (California, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Utah) in 2005, for a total of 17 states. This report includes data from 16 states; data from California are not included in this report because NVDRS has been implemented only in a limited number of California cities and counties rather than statewide as in other states.For 2005, a total of 15,495 fatal incidents involving 15,962 violent deaths occurred in the 16 NVDRS states included in this report. The majority (56.1%) of deaths were suicides, followed by homicides and deaths involving legal interventions (29.6%), violent deaths of undetermined intent (13.3%), and unintentional firearm deaths (0.7%). Fatal injury rates varied by sex, race/ethnicity, age group, and method of injury. Rates were substantially higher for males than for females and for American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) and blacks than for whites and Hispanics. Rates were highest for persons aged 20-24 years. For method of injury, the three highest rates were reported for firearms, poisonings, and hanging/strangulation/suffocation. Suicides occurred at higher rates among males, AI/ANs, whites, and older persons and most often involved the use of firearms in the home. Suicides were precipitated primarily by mental illness, intimate partner or physical health problems, or a crisis during the previous 2 weeks. Homicides occurred at higher rates among males and young adult blacks and most often involved the use of firearms in the home or on a street/highway. Homicides were precipitated primarily by an argument over something other than money or property or in conjunction with another crime. Similar variation was reported among the other manners of death and special situations or populations highlighted in this report.This report provides the first detailed summary of data concerning violent deaths collected by NVDRS. The results indicate that deaths resulting from self-inflicted or interpersonal violence occur to a varying extent among males and females of every age group and racial/ethnic population. Key factors affecting rates of violent fatal injuries include sex, age group, method of injury, location of injury, and precipitating circumstances (e.g., mental health and substance abuse). Because additional information might be reported subsequently as participating states update their findings, the data provided in this report are preliminary.Accurate, timely, and comprehensive surveillance data are necessary for the occurrence of violent deaths in the United States to be understood better and ultimately prevented. NVDRS data can be used to track the occurrence of violence-related fatal injuries and assist public health authorities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies to reduce and prevent violent deaths and injuries at the national, state, and local levels. The continued development and expansion of NVDRS is essential to CDC's efforts to reduce the personal, familial, and societal costs of violence. Further efforts are needed to increase the number of states using NVDRS, with an ultimate goal of full national representation.
- Research Article
- 10.1097/cin.0000000000001124
- May 1, 2024
- Computers, informatics, nursing : CIN
As the awareness on violent deaths from guns, drugs, and suicides emerges as a public health crisis in the United States, attempts to prevent injury and mortality through nursing research are critical. The National Violent Death Reporting System provides public health surveillance of US violent deaths; however, understanding the National Violent Death Reporting System's research utility is limited. The purpose of our rapid review of the 2019-2023 literature was to understand to what extent artificial intelligence methods are being used with the National Violent Death Reporting System. We identified 16 National Violent Death Reporting System artificial intelligence studies, with more than half published after 2020. The text-rich content of National Violent Death Reporting System enabled researchers to center their artificial intelligence approaches mostly on natural language processing (50%) or natural language processing and machine learning (37%). Significant heterogeneity in approaches, techniques, and processes was noted across the studies, with critical methods information often lacking. The aims and focus of National Violent Death Reporting System studies were homogeneous and mostly examined suicide among nurses and older adults. Our findings suggested that artificial intelligence is a promising approach to the National Violent Death Reporting System data with significant untapped potential in its use. Artificial intelligence may prove to be a powerful tool enabling nursing scholars and practitioners to reduce the number of preventable, violent deaths.
- Conference Article
- 10.1136/injuryprev-2015-041602.3
- Apr 1, 2015
- Injury Prevention
Statement of purpose In 2014, the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) was expanded from 18 to 32 states. This system now covers 50% of all violent deaths that occur in the US. NVDRS facilitates the pursuit of new state-level violence prevention partnerships while providing a wealth of data elements that could be used to better understand the complex nature of violent deaths. This panel session will detail next steps around expanding and discuss collaboration and partnerships that make programs successful. Methods/Approach A panel member from the CDC NVDRS program will provide an overview of current system and share future directions. Panel members from state NVDRS programs will provide presentations on state partnerships and innovative data uses or linkage projects that demonstrate utility of data. Partner organisations may also present their work. Results By the end of this session, participants will: 1) be aware of CDC NVDRS program, 2) understand future directions, 3) learn how state programs utilise data to better inform prevention programs, 4) exchange ideas around potential partnerships and collaboration, 5) learn about data methods that have been developed by programs to demonstrate program capabilities, and 6) learn about the Safe States Alliance NVDRS Special Interest Group (SIG). Conclusions Over 50,000 violent deaths occur in the US every year. NVDRS provides substantial information about these deaths for the 32 participating states. Injury programs need to take full advantage of the data to maximise prevention potential. Significance and contribution to the field Injury programs need to utilise data on violent deaths to better inform and direct prevention efforts. As more and more states collect data, injury programs need to develop strategies to incorporate violent death data into strategic partnerships.
- Supplementary Content
67
- 10.1136/ip.2006.012518
- Dec 1, 2006
- Injury Prevention
The US does not have a unified system for surveillance of violent deaths. This report describes the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), a system for collecting data on all...
- Supplementary Content
10
- 10.1136/ip.2006.013284
- Dec 1, 2006
- Injury Prevention
“Police agencies throughout the country are realizing the potential of comprehensive, integrated databases for crime fighting and crime prevention. Using data more effectively allows police to do their job better...
- Research Article
61
- 10.1016/j.aap.2010.10.018
- Dec 3, 2010
- Accident Analysis & Prevention
Too many or too few unintentional firearm deaths in official U.S. mortality data?
- Research Article
50
- 10.2105/ajph.2018.304904
- Feb 21, 2019
- American Journal of Public Health
To evaluate the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) as a surveillance system for fatal shootings of civilians by law enforcement in the United States. We cross-linked individual-level mortality data from the 2015 NVDRS and 5 open-source data sets ( FatalEncounters.org , Mapping Police Violence, the Guardian's "The Counted," Gun Violence Archive, and The Washington Post's "Fatal Force Database"). Using the comprehensive cross-linked data set, we assessed the proportion of study-identified fatal police shootings that were captured by NVDRS, overall and by state, and by each open-source data set. There were 404 unique study-identified fatal shootings by law enforcement in the 27 states for which data were available from NVDRS, 393 (97%) of which were captured in NVDRS. The proportion of shootings captured by NVDRS varied only slightly by state. The NVDRS provides a comprehensive count of fatal police shootings. Public Health Implications. Expanding NVDRS to all 50 states would provide comprehensive counts of fatal police shootings and detailed circumstantial information about these deaths at the national level. Open-source data can continue to provide real-time data collection as well as more complete information about nonfirearm officer-involved deaths.
- Research Article
30
- 10.15585/mmwr.ss6510a1
- Aug 19, 2016
- Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Surveillance summaries (Washington, D.C. : 2002)
In 2013, more than 57,000 persons died in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries. This report summarizes data from CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) regarding violent deaths from 17 U.S. states for 2013. Results are reported by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, marital status, location of injury, method of injury, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics. 2013. NVDRS collects data from participating states regarding violent deaths obtained from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, law enforcement reports, and secondary sources (e.g., child fatality review team data, supplemental homicide reports, hospital data, and crime laboratory data). This report includes data from 17 states that collected statewide data for 2013 (Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin). NVDRS collates documents for each death and links deaths that are related (e.g., multiple homicides, a homicide followed by a suicide, or multiple suicides) from a single incident. For 2013, a total of 18,765 fatal incidents involving 19,251 deaths were captured by NVDRS in the 17 states included in this report. The majority (66.2%) of deaths were suicides, followed by homicides (23.2%), deaths of undetermined intent (8.8%), deaths involving legal intervention (1.2%) (i.e., deaths caused by law enforcement and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions), and unintentional firearm deaths (<1%). (The term legal intervention is a classification incorporated into the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision [ICD-10] and does not denote the lawfulness or legality of the circumstances surrounding a death caused by law enforcement.) Suicides occurred at higher rates among males, non-Hispanic whites, American Indian/Alaska Natives, persons aged 45-64 years, and males aged ≥75 years. Suicides were preceded primarily by a mental health, intimate partner, or physical health problem or a crisis during the previous or upcoming 2 weeks. Homicide rates were higher among males and persons aged 15-44 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males. Homicides primarily were precipitated by arguments and interpersonal conflicts, occurrence in conjunction with another crime, or were related to intimate partner violence (particularly for females). A known relationship between a homicide victim and a suspected perpetrator was most likely either that of an acquaintance or friend or an intimate partner. Legal intervention death rates were highest among males and persons aged 20-24 years and 30-34 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males. Precipitating factors for the majority of legal intervention deaths were another crime, a mental health problem, or a recent crisis. Deaths of undetermined intent occurred at the highest rates among males and persons aged <1 year and 45-54 years. Substance abuse and mental or physical health problems were the most common circumstances preceding deaths of undetermined intent. Unintentional firearm death rates were higher among males, non-Hispanic whites, and persons aged persons aged 15-19 and 55-64 years; these deaths were most often precipitated by a person unintentionally pulling the trigger while playing with a firearm or while hunting. This report provides a detailed summary of data from NVDRS for 2013. The results indicate that violent deaths resulting from self-inflicted or interpersonal violence disproportionately affected persons aged <65 years, males, and certain minority populations. For homicides and suicides, intimate partner problems, interpersonal conflicts, mental health problems, and recent crises were primary precipitating factors. NVDRS data are used to monitor the occurrence of violence-related fatal injuries and assist public health authorities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies to reduce and prevent violent deaths. For example, Utah Violent Death Reporting System (VDRS) data were used to develop policies that support children of intimate partner homicide victims, Colorado VDRS data to develop a web-based suicide prevention program targeting middle-aged men, and Rhode Island VDRS data to help guide suicide prevention efforts at workplaces. The continued development and expansion of NVDRS to include all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia are essential to public health efforts to reduce the impact of violence.
- Research Article
104
- 10.2105/ajph.2016.303074
- Mar 17, 2016
- American Journal of Public Health
To evaluate the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) as a surveillance system for homicides by law enforcement officers. 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. 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. NVDRS provides more complete data on police homicides than do existing systems. 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.
- Supplementary Content
10
- 10.1136/ip.2006.012542
- Dec 1, 2006
- Injury Prevention
How the NVDRS provides a foundation for successful violence prevention In public health, as in the rest of our lives, the value and importance of the things we do are...
- Abstract
- 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2011.06.092
- Sep 28, 2011
- Annals of Emergency Medicine
66 Latino and African American Adolescent and Young Adult Homicide Mortality Peak: Data From the National Violent Death Reporting System 2005-2008
- Front Matter
20
- 10.1136/injuryprev-2013-040817
- May 25, 2013
- Injury Prevention
In the wake of the December shooting deaths of 28 people in Newtown, Connecticut, the White House on 16 January of this year released the administration's plan to reduce gun...
- Research Article
55
- 10.1016/j.amepre.2018.08.028
- Nov 8, 2018
- American Journal of Preventive Medicine
The Role of Intimate Partner Violence in Homicides of Children Aged 2–14 Years
- Research Article
52
- 10.15585/mmwr.ss6702a1
- Feb 2, 2018
- MMWR. Surveillance Summaries
Problem/ConditionIn 2014, approximately 59,000 persons died in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries. This report summarizes data from CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) regarding violent deaths from 18 U.S. states for 2014. Results are reported by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, marital status, location of injury, method of injury, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics.Reporting Period Covered2014.Description of SystemNVDRS collects data from participating states regarding violent deaths. Data are obtained from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, law enforcement reports, and secondary sources (e.g., child fatality review team data, supplemental homicide reports, hospital data, and crime laboratory data). This report includes data from 18 states that collected statewide data for 2014 (Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin). NVDRS collates documents for each death and links deaths that are related (e.g., multiple homicides, a homicide followed by a suicide, or multiple suicides) into a single incident.ResultsFor 2014, a total of 22,098 fatal incidents involving 22,618 deaths were captured by NVDRS in the 18 states included in this report. The majority of deaths were suicides (65.6%), followed by homicides (22.5%), deaths of undetermined intent (10.0%), deaths involving legal intervention (1.3%) (i.e., deaths caused by law enforcement and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions), and unintentional firearm deaths (<1%). The term “legal intervention” is a classification incorporated into the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) and does not denote the lawfulness or legality of the circumstances surrounding a death caused by law enforcement. Suicides occurred at higher rates among males, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN), non-Hispanic whites, persons aged 45–54 years, and males aged ≥75 years. Suicides were preceded primarily by a mental health, intimate partner, substance abuse, or physical health problem or a crisis during the previous or upcoming 2 weeks. Homicide rates were higher among males and persons aged <1 year and 15–44 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black and AI/AN males. Homicides primarily were precipitated by arguments and interpersonal conflicts, occurrence in conjunction with another crime, or related to intimate partner violence (particularly for females). When the relationship between a homicide victim and a suspected perpetrator was known, it was most often either an acquaintance/friend or an intimate partner. Legal intervention death rates were highest among males and persons aged 20–44 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males and Hispanic males. Precipitating factors for the majority of legal intervention deaths were alleged criminal activity in progress, the victim reportedly using a weapon in the incident, a mental health or substance abuse problem, an argument or conflict, or a recent crisis. Deaths of undetermined intent occurred more frequently among males, particularly non-Hispanic black and AI/AN males, and persons aged 30–54 years. Substance abuse, mental health problems, physical health problems, and a recent crisis were the most common circumstances preceding deaths of undetermined intent. Unintentional firearm deaths were more frequent among males, non-Hispanic whites, and persons aged 10–24 years; these deaths most often occurred while the shooter was playing with a firearm and were most often precipitated by a person unintentionally pulling the trigger or mistakenly thinking the firearm was unloaded.InterpretationThis report provides a detailed summary of data from NVDRS for 2014. The results indicate that violent deaths resulting from self-inflicted or interpersonal violence disproportionately affected persons aged <65 years, males, and certain minority populations. The primary precipitating factors for homicides and suicides were intimate partner problems, interpersonal conflicts, mental health and substance abuse problems, and recent crises.Public Health ActionNVDRS data are used to monitor the occurrence of violence-related fatal injuries and assist public health authorities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies to reduce and prevent violent deaths. For example, North Carolina VDRS data were used to improve case ascertainment of pregnancy-associated suicides, Wisconsin VDRS data were used to develop the statewide suicide prevention strategy, and Colorado VDRS data were used to develop programs and prevention strategies for suicide among veterans. The continued development and expansion of NVDRS to include all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia are essential to public health efforts to reduce the impact of violence.
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