Date: May 31, 2024

To amend paragraph (l) of Article 2.04 of Law 20-2017, as amended, known as the “Puerto Rico Department of Public Security Act”, for the purpose of requiring that the Commissioner of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau shall report daily to municipalities the statistics of reported crimes detailed according to their nature, that occur within their territorial limits; and for other related purposes.

San Juan, Puerto Rico- May 27, 2024. Data from the Institute of Statistics indicate that, so far this year, 23 murders of women have occurred in Puerto Rico, 10 of which were femicides and, of these 10, eight were committed by their partners. These were some of the data presented during the Second Symposium on Statistics on Gender-based Violence in Puerto Rico from the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics. During the day, the importance of addressing all manifestations of violence, including economic and emotional violence, as well as child abuse, which is often used as a form of pressure on victims, was also highlighted. In addition, the importance of statistical data in the formulation of public policies was highlighted and reflections were presented on the impact of violence on educational processes.

The Second Symposium on Statistics on Gender Violence brought together more than a hundred representatives from public and private sectors and non-profit organizations, who had the opportunity to deepen the analysis of statistics and different situations related to gender-based violence. The event brought together 14 experts in different areas related to gender-based violence, who shared statistical data and offered fundamental perspectives to understand the complexity of this phenomenon. Among the issues addressed are the design of public policies to eradicate gender-based violence, the social impact of violence, and the health approach to combat it.

“This Second Symposium on Statistics on Gender Violence has become a fundamental space for the exchange of knowledge and the promotion of concrete actions to address this serious problem affecting our society. The commitment of different sectors is essential to achieve significant progress in the eradication of gender-based violence in Puerto Rico. On behalf of the Institute, we will continue to work on the generation and collection of data that aid in knowledge, but particularly in the prevention of gender-based violence,” said Dr. Orville M. Disdier, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access.

To access the presentations and incidents of the Second Symposium on Statistics on Gender Violence in Puerto Rico, visit the following link: https://estadisticas.pr/en/segundo-simposio-estadisticas-violencia-de-genero.

For more information you can write to preguntas@estadisticas.pr. They can also follow social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), X (@EstadisticasPR), LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) and Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) accounts.

Authorized by the Office of the Electoral Controller OCE-SA-2024-08568

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The Second Symposium on Gender-based Violence Statistics in Puerto Rico:

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute organized the Second Symposium on Gender Violence Statistics, which took place on May 10, 2024. During the Symposium, a space was created to guide citizens on the availability of statistical data on gender-based violence generated by government agencies. These data are crucial to contribute to the analysis, prevention and eradication of gender-based violence in Puerto Rico.

The Initiative:

This event emerged as an essential continuation of providing relevant statistical information on gender-based violence in Puerto Rico. At this event, professionals from multiple disciplines present information aimed at the different manifestations of gender-based violence. This was done with the purpose of continuing efforts to create orientation spaces to accurately measure the problem of gender-based violence in Puerto Rico and its different manifestations from a health perspective. Information exchanges at events like this are of paramount importance as they promote understanding of this topic and the need for coordinated, multisectoral efforts to address this problem.

Presentations:

• Dr. Orville M. Disdier, Effects of violence on the teaching-learning process
• Lcd. Ileana V. Espada Martinez, Public Policies against Gender-based Violence
• Dr. Diego Zavala, Intimate partner violence and the health approach
• Dr. Rebeca Ward and Brenda Guzman, Data, primary prevention tools and action plans
• Captain Aymée Alvarado Cardona and Myribel Santiago Torres, Domestic Violence Among the Police Negotiate
• Mariluz Bezares Salinas, Towards an Accurate Measurement of Femicide in Puerto Rico
• Manuel Mangual, Information updates about PARE
• Lcd. Madeline Bermudez, Gender Violence from the OPM Perspective and Identifying the needs of working women in Puerto Rico.
• Prosecutor Laura Hernández, The Strategic Role of Statistical Data in Combating Domestic Violence
• Dr. Francisco Pesante Gonzalez, Profile of Child Abuse in Puerto Rico
• Dr. Ronald Hernandez and Leyda I. Soto López, Employment and Gender; An Overview of Puerto Rico

Materials:

Prog

Video Summary

Press Release

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Date: May 3, 2024

To order the Commission for the Development and Oversight of Public Funds of the Western Region of the Puerto Rico Chamber to conduct an exhaustive investigation into the population decline in the municipalities of Aguadilla and Moca; its effects on the accessibility of services; as well as, to identify the causes of the reduction and possible mitigation measures; and for other related purposes.

Data presented from the Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico

639 homicides and 215 suicides were reported in Puerto Rico in 2021

The Puerto Rico Violent Death Notification System (PRVDRS) of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute), presented data from the Puerto Rico Violent Deaths Report for 2021. The report reports that in 2021, 816 incidents of violent deaths occurred, with a total of 880 fatalities. Of the total number of violent deaths, 97% were distributed as 639 by homicides and 215 by suicides, with the remaining 26 violent deaths (3%) due to other causes.

In 2021, 72.6% of victims of violent deaths were incidents of single or multiple homicides and 24.4% were incidents of suicide. Two homicide-suicide incidents were reported, resulting in 4 fatalities. In addition, during this period, 2 violent deaths attributed to legal intervention (0.2%), three violent deaths from unintentional self-inflicted firearms (0.3%) and 21 violent deaths with undetermined intent (2.4%) were documented. In 2021, approximately 9 out of 10 victims of violent deaths (92.0%) were men. The crude rate of violent deaths for Puerto Rico in 2021 was 27.0 per 100,000 inhabitants, 52.5 in men and 4.0 in women.

Of the 880 violent deaths recorded in 2021, 639 were homicides (72.6%). The majority of homicides occurred between the ages of 15 and 39. In these age groups, 73.1% of all homicides occur among men and 59.5% among women. The primary mechanism of the homicides was firearms. In Puerto Rico, according to the report, 91.5% of homicides were committed with firearms, more than double the global average of 47.0%.

In 2021, the majority of homicides occurred in an environment of collective violence. In 358 of the 639 homicides (56.0%) recorded in 2021, they occurred in a context related to criminal groups, involved in the trafficking of illegal drugs.

In 2021, 31 fatal victims of family violence were reported. Family violence (violence between family members) includes child or adult abuse and violence against an intimate partner. The majority of these cases were related to violence in an intimate or former partner environment (20 cases, 64.5%). There were 11 fatal incidents among family members (35.5%). The majority of victims of intimate partner violence were women (18 cases, 90.0%). More than half of these women were victims of their current spouse or partner (61.1%), while 38.9% were victims of their ex-spouse or ex-partner. In addition, a firearm was used in 11 of the 18 femicides/femicides (61.1%).

As for suicides in Puerto Rico, the report highlights that the frequency is lower than that of homicides. However, as in homicides, suicides are more frequent in men (86.5%). In 2021, the crude suicide rate was 6.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, 12.0 in men (1 of 124 men) and 1.7 in women (1 of 774 women). The main mechanism was asphyxiation (64.5% in men and 55.2% in women).

Mariluz Bezares Salinas, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute and co-principal investigator of the Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico, explained that the collection of this type of data could involve fieldwork that takes more than two years, from the moment the incident occurs until the collection and review of the data is completed.

“This system for reporting violent deaths is a reliable, complete and unique reference source that helps describe the context of violent deaths in the victim-aggressor relationship and the magnitude, trend and characteristics of violent deaths in Puerto Rico,” said Dr. Diego Zavala, epidemiologist and co-principal investigator of the PRVDRS.

For the Executive Director of the Institute, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, these statistics are one of the main tools to combat the phenomenon of violence in Puerto Rico. “These data, among others, serve as the basis for establishing effective measures for the prevention of violence in Puerto Rico, from multiple social, health and economic approaches. Our commitment at the Institute is to continue strengthening this statistical and epidemiological system, to continue improving the quality of this type of data,” argued Dr. Disdier.

The PRVDRS is an epidemiological surveillance system affiliated with the Institute of Statistics and designed to obtain a complete and standardized census of violent deaths in Puerto Rico. The PRVDRS began its participation in the National Violent Death Notification System (National Violent Death Reporting System, NVDRS) in September 2016, through a collaborative agreement granted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access.

For more information you can visit the website: https://estadisticas.pr/en/prvdrs or write to preguntas@estadisticas.pr. They can also follow social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), X (@EstadisticasPR), LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) and Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) accounts.

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96% of municipalities in Puerto Rico have a population decrease

This is indicated by the estimates for the year 2023 of U.S. Census Bureau

(Approved by the Office of the Electoral Commissioner: OCE-SA-2024-05533)

San Juan, PR, March 18, 2024 — The U.S. Census Bureau released the most recent Annual Population Estimates data for municipalities in Puerto Rico, as well as for counties in the United States. These statistics refer to July 1, 2023 and include estimates of the total population for each municipality and the population change in the current decade. On behalf of the U.S. Census Bureau's Network of Data and Census Information Centers (SDC-PR) in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) reported several findings from the new publication of population estimates for 2023:

1. Compared to the 2020 Decennial Census with a reference date of April 1, 2020, compared to the most recent year available, July 1, 2023, estimates indicate that:
   • Changes in the population of residents in municipalities ranged from 1.6% to -10.0%.
   • In 96% of the municipalities, a population decrease was estimated. Meanwhile, in the municipalities of Rincón, Naranjito and Barranquitas, a slight increase (0.1% - 1.6%) was estimated.
   • Some seven municipalities reflected an estimated reduction equal to or greater than five percent (5%) within the comparative period.
   • The total population of all of Puerto Rico is estimated to have fallen by 2.4 percent, translating to nearly 80,000 fewer residents than in April 2020.

2. With regard to the geographical dimension between municipalities, on the estimated change in the total population up to the year 2023, The interactive map provides the geographical distribution.

In this map it can be identified that:

• • The seven municipalities with the highest percentage of population decline were Guánica (-10.0%), Loíza (-5.9%), Guayanilla (-5.5%), Ponce (-5.3%), Yauco (-5.2%), Guayama (-5.0%) and Yabucoa (-5.0%).
    • Five of the seven municipalities are located in southern Puerto Rico, Loíza and Yabucoa in the Northeast and Eastern regions respectively.
  • The seven municipalities with the lowest percentage of population decline were Aibonito (-0.1%), Isabela (-0.3%), Moca (-0.4%, Dorado (-0.5%), Corozal (-0.6%), Camuy (-0.6%) and Adjuntas (-0.7%).

“The general trend of population decline continues in municipalities, an aspect that began in the jurisdiction for nearly two decades (2005). The phenomenon of reduction is more cautious in several municipalities where the rate is indicated to be five percent or more in just three years of this decade, according to new estimates,” said Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, Senior Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute.

As an interactive summary, the Institute published a visualization that allows us to see the new series of estimates at the municipal level, facilitating geographical comparison within Puerto Rico. This visualization can be accessed at: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/node/517.

The tables with the annual population estimates for Puerto Rico and its municipalities can be accessed at: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/EstimadosPoblacionales, as well as in the data dissemination tool of the U.S. Census Bureau: data.census.gov.

As the leading entity of the State Data Center of Puerto Rico, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau about Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand, such as annual population estimates; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's decennial population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: censo.estadisticas.pr.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access.

For more information you can visit the website: www.estadisticas.pr Or write to preguntas@estadisticas.pr. They can also follow social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), X (@EstadisticasPR), LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) and Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) accounts.

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