Citation

Shepherd JP, Sivarajasingam V. Inj. Prev. 2005; 11(6): 324-325.

Affiliation

Violence Research Group, Department of Oral Surgery, Medicine and Pathology, Cardiff University, Hearth Park, Cardiff CF14 4XY, UK; shepherdjp@cardiff.ac.uk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/ip.2005.009761

PMID

16326761

PMCID

PMC1730297

Abstract

This commentary explains conflicting trends in violence over the past decade as derived from the two official sources of information: household crime surveys designed to identify citizensâ?? experience of crime and police data. Police records, rather than representing a reliable measure of trends in violence, are a product of police activityâ??increasingly prompted by better surveillance and targeting, increased numbers of police, and changes in recording practices. Injury data from emergency departments are an objective measure of harm and should be used to target local violence prevention resources.