Medics Work With Police to Cut Crime

By JUSTIN DAVENPORT; KEN HYDER

DETAILS of stabbing victims treated at a London hospital will be passed to the police in a bid to establish the extent of knife crime in the capital.

Doctors will tell detectives the age of the victim and when and where the attack took place but they will not reveal the identity of the patient.

The pilot scheme at Hackney’s Homerton Hospital will allow police to build up a more accurate picture of where and when incidents are occurring.

Experts believe it could show that knife crime in London is far more common than is thought. Superintendent Chris McDonald, the officer in charge of the Met’s Operation Blunt campaign against knives, said: “Many victims will have reasons why they don’t want to report the crime.

“But we need to get a full picture of what the problem is so that we can be better informed about how to respond to it.

“For instance, there may be a pub or a nightclub where there is a particular problemor there may be an age group which is involved.”

Similar studies in Scotland and Wales have shown that hospital emergency cases involving stabbings and assaults were far higher than the numbers reported to police.

(c) 2007 Evening Standard; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.