Firearm Injury Center

Violent Injury Reporting System

Located within the Firearm Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Violent Injury Reporting System of Wisconsin (VIRS) is a model violent fatality surveillance system.  For the past decade, the VIRS has collected and connected information for informing prevention and intervention efforts, underscoring the value of linked data in understanding violent injury patterns.  As one of the oldest and most comprehensive data systems in the country, the VIRS helped lay the groundwork for a national system currently under development at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Goal:  To collect and connect comprehensive, objective information to characterize and understand the scope and nature of violence-related morbidity and mortality.

Objectives:

• Provide linked information on violent injuries and fatalities useful for monitoring and comparing the trends and characteristics of violent death.
• Provide data for the development and evaluation of programs and policies intended to reduce violent injury.
• Provide data to those who need to be informed:  health and mental health professionals, policy makers, educators, community-based organizations, media representatives and the public.

Public Health Approach to Violent Injury Reduction:

The VIRS employs the public health approach guide data collection efforts.  This approach has been used successfully to reduce the incidence of public health problems such as infectious disease or crash injuries. 

The public health approach begins by exploring and understanding three key aspects of a health problem-- the characteristics of the victim, the environment, and the method of injury.  The approach proceeds from the identification and analysis of risk factors to the development of strategic policies for intervention.  Upon implementation of programs and strategies to address the problem, a rigorous evaluation is conducted.

The VIRS data are collected from a variety of sources, covering each of the three components of the public health model:

Sources of data

Victim (host): Data are primarily from 72 Wisconsin county coroners and medical examiners (C/ME) and the State Vital Records Office. C/MEs provide demographic information on the victim, including toxicological and anatomic findings, and information about the circumstances of the event. Vital Records provides access to information reported on Wisconsin death certificates.

Environment: Nearly 200 local law enforcement agencies, the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance's Uniform Crime Reporting program (UCR), the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Criminal Information Bureau (CIB), and the Consolidated Court Automation Program (CCAP) all provide access to data. Law enforcement reports contain information that more fully characterize each fatal event in the context of social and physical circumstances. Demographic data on suspects, as well as weapon information and standard UCR data are collected on cleared cases. The CIB and CCAP provide additional data on victim and suspect arrests and convictions.

Weapon (agent/vehicle): Information on weapon type (e.g., knife, poison, personal instrument such as fists) is collected for all cases of violent death. Additional information is gathered to characterize the firearms associated with fatal outcomes. Coroners, medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies contribute information on all cases of violent deaths. With the assistance of the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) provides information on a gun's first retail sale, including first purchaser, and time and point of first purchase. These data expand the reporting system's capabilities by delineating firearm ownership, and the amount of time between gun purchase and the fatal event. In addition, the two Wisconsin Crime Laboratories (located in Madison and Milwaukee) are consulted on all firearm homicide cases for more specific information on manufacturer, model, caliber, barrel length, magazine capacity, importer, and safety features. Information is also obtained on casings and bullets submitted to the crime lab in connection with each firearm fatality.

Data collection forms available here.

The Future of the VIRS

In 2003, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) Injury Prevention Program received funding from the CDC to coordinate the collection of violent injury data in Wisconsin. DHFS is working with the VIRS in this effort and has created the Wisconsin Violent Death Reporting System (WVDRS). The VIRS is specifically working to provide DHFS with comprehensive, timely data from local law enforcement, coroner's and medical examiners, Uniform Crime Reports, and crime labs for all violent deaths occurring in 2004 and beyond.

In addition to the collaboration with the DHFS, the VIRS continues to provide academic leadership in the development of comprehensive, objective, accurate information and analysis of violent injury deaths. The VIRS benefits from additional data linkages to criminal history and firearm trace data sources, further establishing a leadership role in linked data.

For additional information about the Violent Injury Reporting System, contact the Firearm Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin: 414.456.7676, or Email: fic@mcw.edu.