To promote a public health strategy for lowering gun violence, the Maryland Department of Health’s Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention has published a Firearm Violence Data Dashboard and a Preliminary State Plan. To assist state and local officials in creating focused, data-driven preventive initiatives, the tools offer thorough data and strategic objectives.
According to the press release, the Maryland Department of Health’s Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention (the Center) has made available the Firearm Violence Data Dashboard and the Preliminary State Plan for a Public Health Approach to Reducing Firearm Violence. By combining these resources, the state will be able to take data-driven actions to enhance its efforts to prevent gun violence and lower firearm-related incidents.
“We witness the tragic effects of gun violence on every community in the State of Maryland on a daily basis,” Maryland Health Secretary Dr. Meena Seshamani said. Our public health and preventative efforts to lower firearm violence throughout the state will be informed by the data dashboard and the preliminary state plan, which are vital and much-needed tools.
The first stage in creating a thorough framework to guide the Center’s further work is the preliminary state plan. The plan summarizes gun violence as a public health concern and provides an overview of gunshot death statistics unique to Maryland. A landscape analysis of Maryland’s gun violence prevention policies and programs, improved access and analysis of firearm-related data, improved agency coordination, increased investment in evidence-informed programs, and advancement of prevention education are among the center’s objectives. The plan also highlights the Center’s dedication to involving important partners in its common goal of promoting public health initiatives to lower gun violence.
The most thorough and up-to-date state-level dashboard of its kind is the publicly accessible Firearm Violence Data Dashboard. The dashboard contains demographic statistics regarding those killed or injured by firearms, as well as state and local data. In order to determine priority initiatives, policy changes, and the enforcement of gun laws, the Center will use the data to examine the effects of firearm violence in our state.
To help researchers, community people, and state authorities comprehend the public health impacts of firearm violence, the dashboard provides an easy-to-use display of firearm injury and mortality patterns. It contains preliminary data through April 2025 as well as firearm violence statistics dating back to 2015. The dashboard will be updated once a month by the Department.
Assistant Secretary for Population Health and Strategic Initiatives Dr. Elizabeth Esdall Kromm stated that the dashboard and preliminary plan will enable state and community leaders and organizations to promptly adjust policies in response to shifting patterns of violence. By adding these resources, the Center can assist in giving state leaders the means to take early action, which could help stop firearm violence before it starts.
The following information is available on the Maryland Firearm Violence dashboard:
- Homicide deaths, suicide deaths, and deaths among youth
- Circumstances preceding homicides and suicides
- Nonfatal injuries and emergency department visits
The dashboard provides for the examination of subpopulations by gender, age, race, and ethnicity and shows the most recent data at the jurisdictional level. Additionally, it provides historical data to analyze patterns in the community.
According to Jen Pauliukonis, executive director of the Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention, “We are focused on data-driven public health strategies to prevent gun violence, emphasizing collaboration between state and local government agencies, hospitals, and community-based intervention programs.” Because it enables us to better coordinate and streamline our state’s preventative efforts, this dashboard is crucial to the Center.
The Firearm Violence Data Dashboard reports that 671 firearm-related fatalities occurred in Maryland in 2024. Of these, 44% were suicides and almost 55% were homicides. In addition, 780 ED visits for non-fatal firearm-related injuries occurred throughout that year.
The Moore-Miller Administration’s goal of making Maryland a safer place for everyone includes the Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention. The Center was created under the Maryland Department of Health with the goals of addressing firearm abuse in the state, reducing firearm violence, and minimizing the harm caused by firearm events. The Center works with impacted communities and federal, state, and local authorities to execute a public health strategy to reducing firearm violence in order to accomplish these goals.
Go to health.maryland.gov/firearm-data to learn more about the Maryland Firearm Violence Data Dashboard.
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