Third Victim of Gun and Knife Crime in London in Two Weeks (Shas Sheehan )

Third Victim of Gun and Knife Crime in London in Two Weeks

November 9, 2010 10:57 AM

St Georges LBC radio last night (8 November) reported yet another incident of gun and knife - this time in Brixton. This follows the fatal shootings of a 16 year old in Plaistow on 23 October and the a 17 year old on an estate in Mill Hill. We must act.

The sad fact is that there is an evidence based methodology that has been pioneered by Cardiff Central Hospital and endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Policy Unit, which has shown how such incidences can be reduced by 40%. Yet this has not been implemented in London hospitals. One can only surmise that the political will is lacking - or distracted.

You can find the full RCN report, "Dealing with knife Injuries: The Nursing Role", at http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/287793/03.09_Dealing_with_Knife_Injuries_v2.pdf .

However, here are a couple of sentences from it:

"Emergency departments are in an excellent position to collect anonymised data to assist police. This type of data has already helped police to identify crime hotspots where reduction efforts can be focused."
"By consulting with law enforcement agencies, hospitals and emergency departments can ensure that an efficient system for collecting and reporting anonymised data about victims of crime can be created and used as a crime fighting tool."

I want to launch a campaign to force the Mayor of London to accept this as an effective means of reducing incidences of gun and knife crime - metal arches have clearly failed.