ISTV – Researchers and Analysts

How to use ISTV data

Emergency Department (ED) data, together with London Ambulance and Metropolitan Police data should form the basis of any investigation into patterns and trends regarding interpersonal violence within a designated area. Analysis of ED data allows researchers and analysts to capture the so called “dark figure”: violent crimes that are not reported to the police and that, according to international studies, make up another 70% of crimes than are known to the police. In a comparison of violence affecting adults in eight Western Countries in 1999, reporting rates to the police varied from 24% in the Netherlands to 52% in the US and recorded rates varied from 20% in Switzerland to 82% in the US (Farrington D, Langan PA, Tonry M. Cross-national studies in crime and justice. US Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004).

The picture that arises from analysing ED data alongside police data allows the identification of areas that do not necessarily appear as problematic when police data is looked at in isolation. Health data can form the baseline for more in-depth, localised investigation into potential generators of crime and/or facilitators whose impact can be mitigated through targeted interventions.

This multi-agency data analysis approach focuses on data sharing for the purposes of early intervention and prevention of interpersonal violence through targeting the root causes and drivers, following the principles of a public health approach to violence prevention.

Temporal information 

Weekly/hourly patterns to inform interventions to tackle violence linked to the night time economy, Newham

Analysis conducted on temporal information regarding violent assaults that was provided by the local ED highlighted the fact that 53% of assault victims attended Newham A&E department between Friday and Sunday. There was a clear picture of assaults occurring over the weekend. The data demonstrates that, when looking to implement initiatives or deploying resources, there should be a focus on looking at the period Friday to Sunday.

Temporal analysis was carried out to identify whether particular times of day were correlated with ED attendance. The data indicated that the hours from midnight to 11am accounted for 34% of attendances at the ED while the hours between noon and 11pm made up 66% of admissions (in the period August 2017 to July 2018). Peaks can be seen from midnight and 8am with an 8pm to 10-11pm evening peak.

Method of Injury

“Hidden” knife crime hotspots, Croydon

Police crime data is used primarily to identify hotspots of interpersonal violence. However, the use of other data (specifically LAS, ED and weapon sweep data) can reveal other hotspots not initially identified by police data alone.

According to Metropolitan Police data, the primary hotspot for serious youth violence in Croydon is the town centre, with almost a fifth (18.7%) of all mapped knife crime offences being committed in this area. Secondary hotspots are predominantly areas where there is high footfall including London Road, in and around Thornton Heath High Street, and Green Lane and South Norwood High Street.

By mapping ED data regarding penetrative injuries by LSOA, other areas of concern were identified outside of the Metropolitan Police identified hotspots. These included parts of West Thornton, Shirley South, Selsdon and Addington Village (represented by one incident involving several victims) and New Addington North wards.

Acid related assaults, Hackney

ED data was one of the first datasets that allowed the identification of a sharp increase in the number of assaults where corrosive substances were used as a weapon. Whilst an increase had also been registered and was apparent in police data, the increase was much more pronounced in the ED dataset.

Some of the spatial locations highlighted by the ED dataset are not visible when the Metropolitan Police is mapped. Consequently, the inference can be drawn that ED data can show information about the number and location of victims of violent crime who would otherwise never be known to the police.

Not only was the increase in the use of corrosive substances more apparent in ED data but it also provided additional intelligence on the temporal and spatial patterns of the distribution of crimes: for instance ED data indicated that acid attacks were more likely to be committed on Thursdays (as opposed to weekends as indicated through the analysis of Metropolitan Police data alone).

Location:

Health data location based analysis identifying violence disproportionately affecting females

ED data showed a hotspot for serious assaults in the area surrounding St George’s Major Trauma Centre which was not present in Metropolitan Police data (that instead indicated a hotspot near Tooting Broadway station where licensed premises and shops are clustered).

It was not possible to determine whether the incidents occurred inside or outside nearby NHS premises but 80% of ED records had “work” as the type of location. This suggests that the violence may have been occurring within NHS buildings (considering that the area is not a cluster for many public place or private businesses).

The area did not appear to be a hotspot for London Ambulance Service calls for assaults/violent patients. A hotspot was visible if female victims only were selected in the dataset. The hotspot was generated by incidents occurring in the area surrounding the hospital, but was less concentrated than ED data, probably because people in the proximity of the hospital walk there instead of calling an ambulance.

Considering the higher proportion of female than male workers within the NHS it is highly likely that the violence against NHS staff in the area was affecting women more than men.

How to access ISTV data

ISTV data from all EDs in London are stored in SafeStats, a unique and secure data platform which hosts a variety of crime and community safety datasets from key organisations in one place. SafeStats has been built up since 2001 when it was part of the Government Office for London, and has been managed and hosted by the GLA Intelligence Unit since 2006.

The web-based portal provides instant access to the rawest forms of these data which, together, provide the most rounded possible picture of crime hotspots in London, as well as providing a variety of tools to use for different strategic and operational analysis.

The secure website can be accessed at safestats.london.gov.uk

For more information on how to gain access, please contact Safestats at safestats@london.gov.uk