AZ-VDRS Intro Letter

City of El Mirage — Regular Meeting (2020-04-07)

View PDF Item 5 Meeting page

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Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety  ǀ  College of Public Service and Community Solutions 
Mailing address: PO Box 87310, Tempe, AZ 85287-3120 
Physical Address 411 N. Central Ave., Suite 680, Phoenix, AZ 85004 
cvpcs.asu.edu 
 
 
SUBJECT: AZ-VDRS Participation  
 
Hello Chief,   
 
You may be aware that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently awarded the 
Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety (CVPCS) at Arizona State University (ASU) a grant 
to coordinate and conduct all data collection, analyses and dissemination of findings of the Arizona 
Violent Death Reporting System (AZ-VDRS). The AZ-VDRS aims to provide Arizona and its communities 
with a better understanding of violent deaths and with this information and guide local decisions on the 
issue. Nearly three dozen law enforcement agencies, including Phoenix, Glendale, Tucson, Flagstaff, 
Kingman and Mesa Police Departments, and including Coconino, Maricopa, Navajo and Pima Sheriffs’ 
Offices are already working with us in this important program.  
 
We would like the opportunity to inform you about the program and invite you to be a participating 
agency. I have included several informational documents and a draft MOU for your review. I would like 
the opportunity to discuss AZ-VDRS with you directly, either by phone or in person. I would like to 
review the purpose and structure of the program and discuss the type of data collected and how your 
agency’s participation can benefit the efforts to address homicides and suicides in Arizona and in our 
local communities.  
 
We invite you to visit our website to learn more about CVPCS and the AZ-VDRS program by visiting 
https://cvpcs.asu.edu/projects/arizona-violent-death-reporting-system.  
 
Should you have any questions about the project please feel free to contact any of the AZ-VDRS team 
members.  
▪ 
Principal Investigator: Charles Katz, Ph.D. at ckatz@asu.edu 
▪ 
Project Manager: Taylor Cox, Ph.D. at tcox2@asu.edu  
 
Thank you, 
 
 
Charles M. Katz, Ph.D. 
Professor and Watts Family Director 
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice 
Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety 
Arizona State University