Data presented from the Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico

631 homicides and 229 suicides were reported in Puerto Rico in 2019

The Puerto Rico Violent Death Notification System (PRVDRS) established at the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, presented data from the 2019 Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico. The report reports that in 2019 there were 828 incidents of violent deaths, with a total of 894 fatalities. Of the total number of violent deaths, 631 were homicides and 229 were suicides. According to the PRVDRS, violent deaths occur primarily by suicide or homicide.

In 2019, 70.6% of victims of violent deaths were reported in single or multiple homicide incidents and 25.6% were suicide incidents. Five homicide-suicide incidents were reported, resulting in 10 fatalities. In addition, during this period, 10 (1.1%) violent deaths attributed to legal intervention (death in which a person is killed or killed by a law enforcement officer acting in the line of duty) and 20 violent deaths with undetermined intent (2.2%) were documented. Deaths with undetermined intent are those that result from the use of force or power, against oneself or another person, in which evidence indicates that one way of death is no more convincing than another form of death, according to the judgment of medico-legal researchers.

In 2019, approximately 9 out of 10 victims of violent deaths (89.7%) were men. The crude homicide rate was 19.8 per 100,000 inhabitants, 38.9 in men and 2.4 in women. The primary mechanism of the homicides was firearms. 91.7% of the 631 homicides are documented as related to the context of community violence. The victims of these incidents are mainly men (n=558, 96.4%), between 15 and 49 years of age (n=497, 89.1%). The most common criminal circumstances of homicides in Puerto Rico are related to illegal drug trafficking and organized crime (53.5%). In Puerto Rico, according to the report, 91.0% of homicides are committed with firearms, more than double the global average of 42.7%.

In 2019, 29 fatal victims of family violence were reported. Most of these cases were related to violence in an intimate or former partner environment (17 cases, 58.6%). While violence between family members (12 cases, 41.4%), occurred mainly during an argument (63.6%). The vast majority of victims of intimate partner violence were women (n= 15, 88.2%). The two main mechanisms of all homicides of intimate partners were firearms (41.2%) and a sharp instrument (35.3%). More than half of these women were victims of their current spouse or partner (53.3%), while 46.7% were victims of their former spouse or former partner. In addition, 5 of the 17 fatal cases of intimate partner violence were homicide-suicide incidents (29.4%).

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 (80.8%). In 2019, the crude suicide rate was 7.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, 12.2 in men (1 of 112 men) and 2.6 in women (1 of 494 women). The main mechanism was asphyxiation.

Mariluz Bezares Salinas, manager of statistical projects at the Institute of Statistics 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 time the incident occurs until the collection and review of the data is completed. For his part, Dr. Diego Zavala, epidemiologist and co-principal investigator of the PRVDRS, said that “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.”

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 2019 Report on Violent Deaths in Puerto Rico is available through the following link: Puerto Rico Violent Death Notification System.

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.

For technical questions about this report, you can send an email to: preguntas@estadisticas.pr.

To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook accounts (@statistics.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR), Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) and LinkedIn (Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics).

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Demographic Registry complies with the order of publishing mortality data

The action paves the way for greater transparency than

It saves lives after future hurricanes in Puerto Rico

San Juan, PR, August 30, 2018 — The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) announced today that the Demographic Registry has begun to comply with the Resolution No. 2018-03 of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the purpose of disseminating a set of data (Dataset) which contains preliminary information on deaths, which will be updated weekly on the open data platform managed by the Institute.

The Institute's Board of Directors had ordered this disclosure as a “measure of transparency” in the face of concerns raised last year regarding deaths that occurred after the passage of hurricanes Irma and María.

The released dataset contains information for each recorded death, which occurred from January 1, 2017 to the most recent week. It includes information on causes of death, month of death, place of residence, place of birth, type of death, sex, marital status, age, education level, occupation, industry, veteran status, and more.

This can be downloaded from the Institute's new open data platform, available here: https://datos.estadisticas.pr/dataset/defunciones-registradas-hasta-la-semana-pasada. The platform also allows you to preview the data and also allows you to develop applications that connect to the data set automatically through the use of Application Programming Interface (API).

Although the Resolution of the Board of Directors mandates that this data set be updated daily, the Department of Health and the Institute of Statistics agreed to update it weekly, as long as there is no emergency declaration. If an emergency is declared in the future, the Demographic Registry will be updating the data daily, to facilitate the analysis of these data that can save lives. In fact, this protocol should be included in the Department of Health's next Emergency Plan.

“Right now, more than ever, it has become evident the importance of the accessibility of statistical data to determine trends during specific times or phenomena, resulting in more assertive responses to an emergency. The certainty and transparency of this type of information could make the difference between life and death. Both the Department of Health and Governor Ricardo Rosselló's administration have always promoted free access to information, especially at a time when we seek to perfect every aspect of our contingency plans for times of emergency. This initiative, which unites the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics and the Demographic Registry, points in that direction. We are pleased that it is materializing and that steps are being taken in the data collection process, for the benefit of Puerto Rican citizens,” said the Secretary of Health, Dr. Rafael Rodríguez Mercado.

For his part, the Executive Director of the Institute, Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, stressed: “The Department of Health's mortality statistics take a long time to prepare and publish. The newly published data help to perceive mortality in the short term, without the extensive purification protocol required by official statistics. In this way, we demonstrate our Government's commitment to transparency, and we are also preparing to respond more quickly to the mortality that may occur after the next hurricane. The data will be available even if there is no regular electric power service in Puerto Rico. This disclosure literally saves lives. It's the least we can do to recognize and honor the memory of the thousands of people who died as a result of Hurricane Maria.”

The announcement opens the way for the filing of a lawsuit that the Institute had filed in May of this year to force the Department of Health to provide this data on a recurring basis in order to comply with Resolution No. 2018-03 of the Institute's Board of Directors. In accordance with its Organic Law, the Institute has the power to demand or require from any governmental body the information or data it deems necessary for statistical purposes.

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, about 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.

In addition, as the leading entity of the SDC in Puerto Rico, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains 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/.

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

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

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PRESS RELEASE

RED STATE DATA CENTER OF PUERTO RICO (SDC‐PR)

Population under 18 has fallen by 36% over the decade

According to new estimates of the population by age and sex 2010-2019

San Juan, PR, June 25, 2020 — The U.S. Census Bureau today released the most recent Annual Population Estimates by age and sex characteristics for municipalities, Puerto Rico and counties in the United States. These statistics refer to July 1, 2019 and include population estimates by age group for each municipality.

On behalf of the State Data Center Network of the U.S. Census Bureau in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) reported several findings from the new publication of population estimates for 2019 compared to those of July 1, 2010:

1. From 2010 to 2019, the population under 18 years of age in Puerto Rico reflected a reduction of 324,293 residents, representing a percentage change of ‐ 36%. As of July 1, 2010, this population was 897,024, nine years later in 2019 it is estimated at 572,731.
2. In terms of the proportion of large age groups in the population, those under 18 used to represent 24% (2010) in Puerto Rico, now they comprise 18% (2019).
3. The population structure by age and sex (pyramid) of 2010 compared to that of 2019 shows how the composition has changed rapidly in Puerto Rico. Its base is much narrower, indicating a decline in infants, children and adolescents.
4. On the other hand, the top of the pyramid reflects a significant increase in age groups aged 65 and over, which translates into an older population.
5. Puerto Rico's median age is estimated to have increased about six years over the decade, from 37.0 years in 2010 to 43.2 years in 2019.

“The estimates by demographic characteristics of age and sex allow us to detail the population trend in Puerto Rico. For example, the drastic decline in births has a direct influence and is reflected at the base of the population pyramid. As of 2010, the population in age groups between 0-4 and 5-9 years comprised about 3% of women and men, respectively. In 2019, the base shrank with percentages close to or below 2%,” said Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Institute.

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The 2019 annual population estimates for Puerto Rico and its municipalities can be accessed on the census data and information page on Puerto Rico of the SDC‐PR network at: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/EstimadosPoblacionales, and more details on the annual estimates at: census.gov/programs‐surveys/popest.html.

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The Institute is an autonomous governmental entity tasked with coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the systems for collecting data and statistics, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable and accessible quickly and universally. In addition, as the leading entity of the SDC in Puerto Rico, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains 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 at: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/.

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

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Press Contact:

Idia Martínez

787‐603‐3200

imartinez@upfrontpr.net

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