You can look up the same numbers Silent Witness uses, for your own state and year, with the free online tool from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is called WISQARS. No account is needed.
Step by step
- Go to CDC WISQARS, National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). You can also start at wisqars.cdc.gov and choose National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS).
- Click Change Filters. If a data-use notice appears, read it and click I Agree.
- Set the filters. The picture and list below show how we set them.
- Run the report. A table appears with the number of deaths, the population and the rate.
- To see men, change Sex to Males and run it again. To see another year, change Data Year.
How we set it
This is how the filters were set for our reporting. You can change them to fit what you want to know.
- Data Year: one year at a time (we used 2023, the newest)
- Geography: your state (choose All Funded Areas for the whole country)
- Intent or Manner: Homicide
- Cause or Mechanism: All Injury
- Age: Custom Age Range, 18 to 85+
- Sex: Females (run again with Males)
- Relationship of Victim to Suspect: Spouse or other intimate partner (current or ex)
- Race, Ethnicity, Place of Injury, Pregnancy, Homeless and Military Status: All
- Group Results by: Intent or Manner, then State or Jurisdiction
Reading the results
- — means fewer than 10 deaths. CDC hides these small numbers to protect privacy. It does not mean zero.
- ** means the rate is unstable because it is based on 20 or fewer deaths. Use it with care.
- The rate is the number of deaths for every 100,000 people.
- Not every state reports every year, and California, Florida and Texas reported only some of their counties. Check the notes under the table.
- These numbers are homicide rulings, not findings of guilt.
What you can do with your number
Use your state’s number in your exhibit program, press release or opening remarks. Then tell us about your exhibit. To learn how our own tables were made, see Where the Numbers Come From.