The Office of Violence Prevention (OVP), a division of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, has released violence profiles for all 100 counties in North Carolina. These profiles are available in English and aim to support a public health approach to violence prevention across the state.
“The first step to preventing violence is understanding it,” stated Siarra Scott, Director of the OVP. “By gathering previously isolated data, these fact sheets now provide local organizations with a more comprehensive view of how violence affects communities from both a public health and criminal justice perspective; they can also assist violence prevention professionals in identifying more effective programs and intentionally allocating resources.”
The profiles compile data from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). This includes:
– Violent crime rates based on data from the National Incident Reporting System (NIBRS), compiled by the State Bureau of Investigation and uploaded via the Internet to the Criminal Justice Data Portal at the Criminal Justice Analysis Center.
– Demographic data on violent deaths and circumstances preceding fatalities, based on information from the Violent Death Reporting System, managed by North Carolina’s Injury and Violence Prevention Section within the state’s Department of Public Health.
– Emergency room visits resulting from firearm-related injuries, according to data collected by NC DETECT (North Carolina Disease Event Tracking and Epidemiologic Collection Tool).
Additional information on violence prevention is available.
About the Office of Violence Prevention
This division within the North Carolina Department of Public Safety supports a public health approach to reducing violence and firearm misuse statewide. In partnership with NCDHHS, it serves as a centralized resource for organizations working to lower violence rates and address its effects on communities throughout North Carolina.
