The purpose of the Illinois Violent Death Reporting System (IVDRS) is to develop a state-wide data respository related to violent deaths. With these data, policy makers and researchers will be able to analyze the causes and correlates of violent deaths in order to develop effective prevention policies and programs for the State of Illinois.
When a violent death occurs, many agencies (for example, police departments, medical examiners, crime labs and health departments) collect data about the death as part of their routine procedures. But these data are not shared among the agencies. The IVDRS brings these routinely collected data together from each agency to draw a complete picture of the circumstances surrounding the death. In doing so, improved programs can be designed to prevent future violent deaths.
The IVDRS will become part of the National Violent Death Reporting System, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, and it includes all deaths that are the result of homicide, suicide, unintentional firearm incidents, terrorism, legal intervention, and other forms of injury where the intention is not known.
In the first phase of implementation, the IVDRS team is working with agencies in three jurisdictions: Cook, Kane and Peoria Counties. All Illinois counties will be included over a five year period.
Funding for IVDRS began in July 2002 with a seed grant from the Children's Memorial Research Center to develop the necessary agency partnerships to launch the data system. In January, 2005, data collection began with funding from The Joyce Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust, and The Illinois Violence Prevention Authority.
