Why Is This Important?

Violence is a major public health problem in the United States. Homicide is the second leading cause of death among persons aged 20-29 years in New Jersey and third in the U.S.

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)

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.

Data Sources

• Death Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health
  (https://www.nj.gov/health/vital/)
• Population Estimates, State Data Center, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
  (https://www.nj.gov/labor/labormarketinformation/demographics/population-household-estimates/)
• Underlying Cause of Death, CDC WONDER On-line Database, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  (https://wonder.cdc.gov/Deaths-by-Underlying-Cause.html)

How the Measure is Calculated

How Are We Doing?

Homicides had declined in recent years such that there were fewer than 300 homicides of NJ residents in 2019, however the number and rate rose significantly in both NJ and the US in 2020. 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. It rose back up to 4.4 in 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 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 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 National Violent Death Reporting System.

The New Jersey Child Fatality and Near-Fatality Review Board and the New Jersey 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, Office of Victim Services: 1-800-996-2029 or 609-292-4036 x5299

New Jersey Department of Children and Families, 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

More Resources

New Jersey Violent Death Reporting System: http://www.state.nj.us/health/chs/njvdrs/

NJ Governor's Study Commission on Violence Report: http://nj.gov/oag/newsreleases15/pr20151013a.html

CDC Violence Prevention Info: https://www.cdc.gov/violence-prevention/

National Domestic Violence Hotline: http://www.thehotline.org/

Health Program Information

The Center for Health Statistics is a central source for injury statistics. Available data include emergency department data, inpatient hospitalization data, and mortality data.