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Health Indicator Report of Homicide

Violence is a major public health problem in the United States and is the third leading cause of death among persons aged 15-34 years in the U.S. and second in New Jersey.

Notes

The homicides that occurred as a result of the events of September 11, 2001, have been excluded. Also, homicides due to legal intervention, which is the death of a person by a police officer in the line of duty, have been excluded.   This is Healthy New Jersey 2020 (HNJ2020) Objective IVP-1c. Data for White and Black do not include Hispanics. Hispanic ethnicity includes persons of any race.

Data Sources

  • Death Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health
  • Population Estimates, [https://www.nj.gov/labor/lpa/dmograph/est/est_index.html State Data Center], New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Definition

Deaths where homicide is indicated as the underlying cause of death. Homicide is defined as death resulting from the intentional use of force or power, threatened or actual, against another person, group, or community. ICD-10 Codes: X85-Y09, Y87.1 (homicide)

Numerator

Number of resident deaths due to homicide

Denominator

Total number of persons in the population

Healthy People Objective: Reduce homicides

U.S. Target: 5.5 homicides per 100,000 population (age-adjusted)
State Target: 4.3 homicides per 100,000 population (age-adjusted)

Other Objectives

'''Revised Healthy New Jersey 2020 Objective IVP-1a''': Reduce the age-adjusted mortality rate due to homicide per 100,000 standard population to 4.3 for the total population, 0.9 among Whites, 18.6 among Blacks, and 3.1 among Hispanics. '''Revised Healthy New Jersey 2020 Objective IVP-1b''': Reduce the mortality rate due to homicide among 15 to 19 year old males per 100,000 population to 9.2 among all racial/ethnic groups, 50.6 among Blacks, and 10.4 among Hispanics. '''Revised Healthy New Jersey 2020 Objective IVP-1c''': Reduce the mortality rate due to homicide among 20 to 34 year olds per 100,000 population to 10.1 among all those aged 20-34, 1.1 among Whites, 51.5 among Blacks, and 6.8 among Hispanics. '''Original Healthy New Jersey 2020 Objective IVP-1a''': Reduce the age-adjusted mortality rate due to homicide per 100,000 standard population to 4.3 for the total population, 1.1 among Whites, 18.6 among Blacks, and 4.6 among Hispanics. '''Original Healthy New Jersey 2020 Objective IVP-1b''': Reduce the mortality rate due to homicide among 15 to 19 year old males per 100,000 population to 14.6 among all racial/ethnic groups, 70.6 among Blacks, and 13.9 among Hispanics. '''Original Healthy New Jersey 2020 Objective IVP-1c''': Reduce the mortality rate due to homicide among 20 to 34 year olds per 100,000 population to 12.1 among all those aged 20-34, 2.3 among Whites, 57.0 among Blacks, and 8.6 among Hispanics. Targets were not set for race/ethnicity, sex, and/or age groups with numbers of homicides too small to calculate reliable rates.

How Are We Doing?

Homicides had declined in recent years such that there were fewer than 300 homicides of NJ residents in 2019. The age-adjusted homicide rate in New Jersey had remained between 4 and 5 per 100,000 population from 2007 through 2017 before decreasing to 3.7 in 2018 and 3.4 in 2019. However, a nationwide increase in homicides[https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/podcasts/2021/20211008/20211008.htm ^1^] resulted in 365 homicides of NJ residents in 2020 and an age-adjusted death rate of 4.4, bringing it back above the Healthy New Jersey 2020 target, which had been met prior to 2020. Homicide victims are predominantly male, accounting for over 80% of homicides in New Jersey. Firearms are used in two-thirds of homicides.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

New Jersey's homicide rate is consistently lower than the national rate.

What Is Being Done?

The [https://www.nj.gov/oag/library/SCV-Final-Report--10-13-15.pdf Governor's Study Commission on Violence] released a report of recommendations to the Governor on ways to combat all types of violence from a public health perspective in October, 2015. The New Jersey Department of Health maintains the [http://www.state.nj.us/health/chs/njvdrs/ New Jersey Violent Death Reporting System] (NJVDRS), a CDC-funded surveillance system that tracks suicides, homicides, unintentional firearm deaths, injury deaths of undetermined intent, and deaths by legal intervention and is used to educate public health and public safety professionals in the state and inform their interventions and decision-making, with the ultimate goal of reducing the incidence of violent deaths. NJVDRS is part of the [https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/datasources/nvdrs/index.html National Violent Death Reporting System]. The New Jersey [http://www.nj.gov/dcf/providers/boards/fatality/ Child Fatality and Near-Fatality Review Board] and the New Jersey [http://www.nj.gov/dcf/providers/boards/dvfnfrb/ Domestic Violence Fatality and Near-Fatality Review Board] meet regularly to discuss possible systemic issues relating to incidents involving children and certain legally defined domestic relationships.

Available Services

New Jersey Department of Corrections, [https://www.nj.gov/corrections/pages/victimServices.html Office of Victim Services]: 1-800-996-2029 or 609-292-4036 x5299 New Jersey Department of Children and Families, [https://www.nj.gov/dcf/women/ Division on Women]: *New Jersey Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-572-SAFE (7233) *New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA) Hotline: 1-800-601-7200 *Women's Referral Central Hotline: 1-800-322-8092

Health Program Information

The [http://www.state.nj.us/health/chs/ Center for Health Statistics] is a central source for injury statistics. Available data include emergency department data, inpatient hospitalization data, and mortality data.
Page Content Updated On 10/03/2022, Published on 10/03/2022
The information provided above is from the Department of Health's NJSHAD web site (https://nj.gov/health/shad). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Thu, 28 March 2024 18:58:11 from Department of Health, New Jersey State Health Assessment Data Web site: https://nj.gov/health/shad ".

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