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NVDRS Special Report: Deaths from Suicide among U.S. Veterans and Armed Forces

New Jersey is one of the states profiled in this latest report released by the Safe States Alliance. Focusing on 2010-2014 data among 16 states participating in the CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), this report provides a comparison of suicide deaths among veterans of all ages and the non-veteran civilian population. Similarities and differences in veteran suicide deaths among the 16 funded states are also discussed. Visit Safe States to view the report and New Jersey’s infographics.

New Jersey Violent Death Reporting System (NJVDRS)

The New Jersey Violent Death Reporting System (NJVDRS) was established and is maintained at the NJDOH Center for Health Statistics and Informatics (CHS) through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This surveillance system links data from multiple sources into a single standardized record of a violent death.

Which deaths are included in the New Jersey Violent Death Reporting System?

A violent death is defined as a death that results from the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or a group or community.  NJVDRS includes:

  • homicides
  • suicides
  • deaths resulting from legal intervention (i.e., when individuals are killed by law enforcement personnel in the line of duty)
  • unintentional firearm injury deaths
  • injury deaths of undetermined intent
What types of data are gathered?

The NJVDRS collects data from a variety of sources, including:

  • death certificates
  • medical examiner reports
  • law enforcement reports
  • toxicology and ballistics reports

All violent deaths occurring in New Jersey are included, as are violent deaths of New Jersey residents that occur out-of-state. The system is incident-based, and related victims and suspects are grouped into one incident. NJVDRS staff abstract and code incidents using CDC standard variable definitions to allow for comparable data analysis across multiple participating states.

Last Reviewed: 9/4/2018