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Hospitals see 40% drop in stab victims in six months
Anna Davis13.03.09
The number of stabbing victims being admitted to London hospitals has dropped by 40 per cent in six months.
New figures show that in May last year 115 knife victims were taken to A&E departments.
But by November — the latest date statistics are available for — the number fell to 68. The drop followed the launch, in May, of Operation Blunt 2, the Metropolitan police initiative to tackle youth violence.
The operation saw airport-style metal-detecting arches deployed in public places, and an increase of police stop-and-searches.
The provisional figures are from the NHS Information Centre. Despite the drop in admissions for stabbings, they show London hospitals still treat the highest number of knife-crime victims in the country. In May last year, victims in the capital made up a quarter of the total in England.
Apple was today accused of glamorising gun crime with “Bang Bang” software for a game that turns iPhone screens into a replica pump action shotgun. When it is pointed at a person and shaken, the iPhone emits a sample of a real shotgun. Apple refused to comment on the application.
Reader views (3)
should I understand it is a good new for me who can safely walk again in London streets without my swiss army knife in my pocket?
- Anne-Laure, geneva switzerland
Hmmmm - ever heard of store's jacking up the prices, then offering discounts like they're giving you something. Much the same as creating a society that encourages gangs of kids without hope or morals who think nothing of knife crime, then taking credit for allowing, at last, the police to actually do something about it.
Doesn't sound quite so good when put like that, does it?
- Rogan, Irving
Well done Gordon Brown for overseeing this amazing decline in knife crime. Added to the new feeling in Ulster, this is great news for a safer Britain in the 21st century
- Keith Price, Luton, England
