Information Sharing to Tackle Violence

The Information Sharing to Tackle Violence (ISTV) programme is a partnership approach which aims to reduce violent crime in the capital through the use of an effective and innovative data sharing process between the health sector – specifically A&E departments (often now known as Emergency Departments or EDs) – and statutory agencies dedicated to the prevention of violent crimes.​

Through the collection, analysis and dissemination of anonymised data about victims of violent crime who attend EDs, the programme helps to build a better picture of the level, nature and geographical distribution of serious violence in London, filling in intelligence gap regarding the many incidents of violent crime that are not reported to the police, thereby supporting the Mayor’s priorities around crime, public safety and public health.

Studies matching data from EDs with that collected by the police have shown that only between a quarter and one third of violent incidents that result in treatment in an ED appear in police records.

By enhancing information available from the police with relevant data from EDs in London and by making health professionals responsible for treating the injured as advocates for the prevention of violence, the ISTV programme helps to prevent more violence than can be done through police efforts alone.

The identification of areas that more commonly generate incidents of violent crime, and which are not known to the police and local authorities, allows partner agencies to implement a range of interventions thereby preventing the further escalation of violence and reducing future demand on EDs.