Looking for DV Data? Check out the Domestic Violence Dashboard
By: Kelsey Gurganus, director of research and evaluation
Have you ever worked on a project and wished you had a certain piece of data to support your work? A new tool is now available to help people just like you easily access domestic violence data in Marion County using the Domestic Violence Dashboard.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Of the 10,797 domestic violence victims** in the Marion County criminal justice system in 2016:
- 83% were female
- Nearly half (47%) of victims were Black
- Nearly half (47%) of victims were 25-39 years old
- 30 out of every 1,000 Black women were victims of domestic violence compared to 15 White women and 2 Latina women**
- There were 2,706 domestic violence-related calls to 2-1-1 Connect2Help in 2016. The top referral needs for these callers were:
- Housing
- Legal, Consumer and Public Safety Services
- Individual, Family, and Community Support
- Between 2009 and 2016 in Marion County**:
- More than 9,000 people were victims of two or more domestic violence incidents.
- Nearly 1,900 people were victims of five or more domestic violence incidents.
- Of the 37,570 domestic violence cases, only 1 out of 4 cases led to a conviction
**This data is based on estimated counts from the integration of a variety of sources and only includes individuals within the criminal justice system. This does not include incidents that are not reported.
WHERE IS THIS DATA LOCATED?
The data above was pulled from the interactive, online Domestic Violence Dashboard located at http://www.indydvdata.org.
WHY A DASHBOARD FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DATA?
In the past, it has been hard to report basic facts about the scope of domestic violence in Marion County because data is spread across many agencies and parts of the criminal justice system.
HOW WAS THIS DASHBOARD POSSIBLE?
DVN, in partnership with the Polis Center, produced and launched this data integration, assessment, and analysis project to create an interactive, online tool for the public. The tool was developed to update and expand on findings released in a series of reports to gain a better understanding of the state of domestic violence in Marion County.
This dashboard was created through the integration of information from several organizations to obtain an estimate of how many victims and suspects are in the Marion County criminal justice system. This database combines data sources by matching records from domestic violence victims, incidents, and suspects across datasets based on shared characteristics, like name, age, and race. Data sources integrated into the dashboard are from:
- The Julian Center
- Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) incident reports
- IMPD Victim Assistance
- Indiana Supreme Court Protective Orders
- Marion County Prosecutor’s Office
- Baker One Initiative information sheets
- 2-1-1 Connect2Help Resource Database
WHAT INFORMATION CAN YOU FIND?
Data included in the dashboard spans the 8-year time frame of 2009-2016. Subsequent years and more expansive data will be integrated in the future once additional funding is secured. Among the data indicators that can be pulled from the dashboard are:
- Victim demographics
- Perpetrators demographics
- Number of incidents and repeat incidents
- Cases by lethality factors
- Domestic violence calls and referral needs
- Domestic violence convictions
- Victim rates by census tract
Descriptive analyses that can be performed with the dashboard include but are not limited to:
- Counts
- Percentages
- Population rates
- Trend analysis
- Geo-spatial analysis
WHO SHOULD USE THE DASHBOARD?
This dashboard opens an opportunity for the Central Indiana community to stay informed around the state of domestic violence, use data to drive programmatic and strategic directions and decisions, tell the story and impact of our work through measuring these indicators. The dashboard is suitable for:
- Media
- Prevention Educators
- Researchers, Evaluators, and Program Analysts
- Epidemiologists
- Criminal Justice Professionals
- Social Service Professionals
- Higher Education Professionals
- Public Health and Safety Professionals