551 homicides and 210 suicides were reported in Puerto Rico in 2020

551 homicides and 210 suicides were reported in Puerto Rico in 2020

As presented in the most recent Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico Violent Death Notification System (PRVDRS) established at the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, presented data from the Puerto Rico Violent Deaths Report for the year 2020. The report reports that in 2020, there were 729 incidents of violent deaths, with a total of 790 fatalities. Of the total number of violent deaths, 551 were homicides and 210 were suicides. According to the PRVDRS, violent deaths occur primarily through homicide or suicide.

In 2020, 69.8% of victims of violent deaths were reported in single or multiple homicide incidents and 26.6% were suicide incidents. Four homicide-suicide incidents were reported, resulting in eight fatalities. In addition, four violent deaths attributed to legal intervention (0.5%) and 19 violent deaths with undetermined intent (2.4%) were documented during this period.

In 2020, approximately nine out of 10 victims of violent deaths (89.0%) were men. The crude homicide rate was 24.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, 45.2 in men and 4.9 in women. The primary mechanism of the homicides was firearms. Approximately, nine out of 10 homicides (88.9%) involved a firearm. 89.6% of these deaths occurred in men and 83.7% in women. The proportion of homicides of women with firearms in 2020 is the highest since 2000. Homicide rates by sex in age groups between 15 and 39 years reflect that in these age groups, 72.7% of all homicides occur in men and 61.2% in women. The most common criminal circumstances of homicides in Puerto Rico are related to illegal drug trafficking and organized crime.

In 2020, 68 fatal victims of family violence were reported. Most of these cases were related to violence in an intimate partner or former partner environment (17 cases, 25.0%) and 31 additional victims related to intimate partners or third parties involved in an intimate partner conflict (45.6%). In turn, violence between family members (20 cases, 29.4%), occurred mainly during an argument (50.0%). The majority of victims of intimate partner violence were women (76.5%) who were fatally assaulted by their former partner or former male spouse (61.5%) or current partner or spouse (38.5%). In addition, three of the women victims of intimate partner violence were homicide-suicide incidents (23.1%).

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 (84.8%). In 2020, the crude suicide rate was 6.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, 11.4 in men (one of 124 men) and 1.9 in women (one of 765 women). The risk of suicide in men was six times greater than the risk of suicide in women. Most suicides occurred by hanging, strangulation, or suffocation (64.3%), followed by firearms (16.7%).

Mariluz Bezares, manager of statistical projects at the Institute of Statistics and co-principal investigator of the PRVDRS, explained that the collection of this type of data could involve fieldwork that takes more than two years from the time the incident occurs until the collection and review of the data is completed. “This system 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 Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, 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 a basis for establishing effective measures for the prevention of violence in Puerto Rico, from multiple social, demographic and economic approaches. Our commitment at the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is to continue strengthening this statistical and epidemiological system to continue improving the quality of this type of data,” said 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 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity tasked with 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 accessible quickly and universally. The Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico during 2020, like previous reports, is available at: Prvdrs. To learn more about the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, you can access the website at www.estadisticas.pr.gov and on social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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PRESS RELEASE

RED STATE DATA CENTER OF PUERTO RICO

December 6, 2018

THREE MUNICIPALITIES HAVE 70% OR MORE OF THEIR HOMES WITH INTERNET ACCESS

San Juan, PR — El U.S. Census Bureau released today the most recent data from the Puerto Rico Community Survey known as Puerto Rico Community Survey at the municipal level. These statistics refer to information collected from 2013 to 2017, a period of 5 years. The new publication provides data on social, economic and housing characteristics for Puerto Rico and municipalities, as well as for specific geographical levels such as neighborhoods, census tracts and block groups. As the leading entity of the Network State Data Center Of U.S. Census Bureau in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) presents this summary with several interesting results:

1. During the 5-year period (2013-2017), Guaynabo, Carolina and Gurabo were found to have the highest percentage of households (70%-71%), with internet connection, among all municipalities. With 60% to 69% of households with internet access, the municipalities of Juana Diaz and Villalba stand out outside the metropolitan area and east of Puerto Rico. On the other hand, some 38 municipalities had less than 50% of their homes with internet connection, mostly municipalities in the central and southwestern areas. In Puerto Rico, estimates indicate that about 54% of households had internet access.

2. As for households with one or more computer devices (laptop, desktop, tablets), the geographical distribution indicates that the highest percentages (60%-78%) are concentrated in the metropolitan area and coastal municipalities from Dorado, in the northeastern area, and to Humacao in the east. It is worth highlighting several municipalities with the same characteristics such as Aguadilla, Moca, Añasco, Mayagüez and Hormigueros in the west as well as Morovis, Jayuya, Villalba in the center. For Puerto Rico, it is estimated that about 62% of households had a computer device.

3. As for the median family income, comparing the two five-year periods (2008-12 vs. 2013-17), at the level of Puerto Rico it showed a reduction of -2.5% from $24,398 to $23,793.

At the municipal level:

• In 44 municipalities, there was a decrease in the median family income, and in 13 of these municipalities the change was statistically significant, with a confidence level of 90%.
• The 6 municipalities that showed the highest decrease according to the percentage change in family income were: Adjuntas, Guánica, Cidra, Loíza, Guayama and Ceiba.
• On the other hand, the 6 municipalities that showed the highest increase according to the percentage change in family income were: Culebra, Villalba, Morovis, Barceloneta, Vega Baja and Coamo. Of all these, Culebra appears to be the municipality with the greatest change, but its difference is not statistically significant.

As highlighted by Dr. Orville M. Disdier, Acting Executive Director of the Institute, in this new report the U.S. Census Bureau data are integrated on the use of computers and internet in homes in Puerto Rico, by municipality. “This is the first time, since this information began to be collected in the Survey in 2013, that we can know the estimates at a more detailed geographical level, as are all municipalities.”

For his part, Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute, added: “Information related to internet access and computers expands the areas of research and analysis. For example, looking at the geographical pattern of fewer homes with computers and internet access in municipalities in the southwestern area of Puerto Rico, it alerts us to a possible association between the elderly population and computer and internet access. On the other hand, the reduction in family income at the Puerto Rico level translates to about $600 less during the most recent five-year period 2013-2017 compared to the previous 2008-2012. In other words, during the most recent period, there was less money in the family nucleus, complicating the socio-economic scenario faced by most families and their members in Puerto Rico.”

More statistics on the Community Survey estimates can be obtained at: http://factfinder2.census.gov/. If you need assistance using this tool to obtain data, you may find the self-study guide for using this available tool useful: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/fact-finder . Information on the methodology used to produce the estimates can be accessed hither.

In addition, as the leading entity of the Puerto Rico SDC, the IEPR manages the SDC portal, where you can find the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau on 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 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://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. The Institute has in its inventory, accessible through www.estadisticas.pr.gov, over 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through www.data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: www.indicadores.pr.

For more information you can visit our website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook (estadisticas.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Press Contact: Sandra Morales Blanes (787) 688-0401

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Updated data on femicide in Puerto Rico

Fifty-nine femicides were reported in Puerto Rico between 2021 and 2023

November 9, 2023. San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute), updated the data on femicide in Puerto Rico, presented in the section entitled “Femicide Statistics”, through its Platform for Statistics and Indicators on Gender Violence (See: https://estadisticas.pr/en/Comite-Pare). According to Mariluz Bezares, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute and Coordinator of the Puerto Rico Violent Death Notification System (PRVDRS), in 2023, six (6) of every 10 homicides of women were femicides (60%). Other highlights from this update include:

• In 2023, 87% of intimate femicides were with firearms (In 2021, 61% of intimate femicides were with firearms and in 2022, 77% of intimate femicides were with firearms).
• In 2023, 53% of intimate femicides occurred among women aged 25 to 44 (In 2021, 61% of intimate femicides occurred among women aged 25 to 44 and in 2022 54% were among women aged 45 to 64).
• Thirteen (13) is the total number of femicides between 2021 and 2023 where the aggressor committed suicide after killing the victim.
  • Of these, thirteen (13) were in the context of intimate femicide and one (1) was in the context of family femicide. From January to September 2023, five (5) were in the intimate context.
• As of September 2023, a total of nineteen (19) cases of femicide have been registered.
• In 2023, 55 violent deaths of women were recorded (In 2021, 67 violent deaths of women and one (1) death of a trans person were recorded, and in 2022 there were 84 violent deaths of women).
• In 2023, 52% of women's violent deaths were due to homicide, and 42% were due to suicide.
• In 2023, 50% of female homicides occurred among women between 25 and 44 years old.

The data collected and presented by the Institute arise in part as a result of collaboration with various entities, including the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, the Institute of Forensic Sciences and the Demographic Registry of the Department of Health.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is a governmental entity in the executive branch, with fiscal and administrative autonomy, whose main purpose is to ensure that Puerto Rico has complete, reliable statistics with quick and universal access. To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR), Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.