The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has unveiled a data dashboard that tracks violent deaths in all 100 counties across the state. The goal is to provide more information and support for ongoing safety and prevention efforts.
The North Carolina Violent Death Reporting System includes anonymized information on homicides, suicides, and deadly firearm accidents. The overall violent death counts page contains an interactive map. Scrolling over each county reveals the number of deaths there. With a click, more details are shown such as 62 homicides and 57 suicides in Guilford County for example in 2019.
Epidemiologist Scott Proescholdbell says users can also filter the findings by age, race, and sex.
"So, I think it just allows a better granularity and hopefully it also allows a little bit more specific response because our state is comprised of lots of different people and so we want to make sure that we can address all of those various populations that might be affected by violent death," says Proescholdbell.
Statewide in 2019, more than 2,000 North Carolinians died from violence. Firearms are the most common method of violent death followed by hanging, strangulation, and suffocation.