JIM CHRISTIANA FOR SENATE issued the following announcement on August 4.
The dashboard examines gun violence data by cause, location, gender, race and age to better inform local policymakers.
A new state database sheds light on the more than 1,600 Pennsylvanians who died by firearm in 2018 to help local policymakers reduce gun violence.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health on Monday launched a violence data dashboard to collect information on populations affected by gun violence following Gov. Tom Wolf’s executive order last year.
The portal examines the number of gun violence victims by both homicide and suicide, rates at which violence occurs in locations, frequency and factors such as gender, race and age. Officials will collect information from the Department of Human Services, Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and other entities to update the platform.
Data includes cause of death and hospital discharge summary statistics from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. The interactive tools display statistics for hospital discharge reasons and causes of deaths in Pennsylvania.
“Violence is a significant public health issue that affects many people each and every year,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine. “This dashboard will assist in providing information on the scope of violence in Pennsylvania, and the populations affected by it. Working alongside a number of state agencies, we are committed to taking steps to reduce the impact violence has on an individual’s health and way of life.”
The system reports 581 firearm homicides and 1,025 firearm suicides statewide in 2018. That’s 4.8 deaths per 100,000 people and 7.3 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively.
More than half of the state’s recorded suicides were by firearm, and 74 percent of homicides were committed with guns. Nearly 90 percent of firearm homicide victims were male, and 77 percent were Black.
Additionally, nearly 1,000 other Pennsylvanians were hospitalized following firearm-related incidents.
Pennsylvania’s age-adjusted firearm suicide rate, at 7.3, is higher than the national average, but numbers vary. Wayne County, located on the state’s northeast edge, had the highest rate at 14.6 deaths per 100,000 people.
Of the 24 recorded Beaver County residents who died by suicide in 2018, 17 died by firearm — or 8.7 deaths per 100,000 people. The county’s overall suicide rate was 13.6 deaths per 100,000 people, which is lower than neighboring counties and the state’s rate of 14.9.
The database launches just a year after Wolf called on legislators to pass stricter gun laws, signing an executive action creating a special council on gun violence amid a string of mass shootings nationwide.
In addition to the dashboard, his administration established the Office of Gun Violence Prevention to collaborate with state and local law enforcement in eradicating firearm-related violence.
“I encourage every Pennsylvanian to view the dashboard for information that can inform policies and initiatives in their own communities,” Wolf said.
Original source here.
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