Collaboration between agencies is fundamental to ensure that there is comprehensive data collection and analysis. Each agency has access to a particular set of information that - when joined - helps to paint a fuller picture of the problem.
The research highlights challenges related to the use of multiple sources, for example the risk of double-counting specific incidents, or the danger of over-reporting a specific type of armed violence due to the mandate of the agencies providing the information. The morgue will have details about the deaths and the police might have information about the perpetrators. Hospitals will have information on the injuries, whilst a local civil society organisation might have records of violence in the area where the killing occurred through its engagement with local communities. Similarly, different ministries or international agencies will have different information on a specific theme, depending on their area of expertise. Even in cases where validation mechanisms are in place, different databases are often not uniform in the presentation of the data, which makes corroboration very challenging. Sometimes multiple source systems might also exaggerate the impact of a certain type of violence, or the number of incidents in a specific geographical region.
COUNTING THE COST: CASUALTY RECORDING PRACTICES AND REALITIES, p. 15
