EVEN AS the police boast that major crimes outside of murder are trending downwards, the number of victims of such crimes turning up at local hospitals remain worrying.
Statistics are never wrong, many people argue, but this seem to depend on who is keeping the records.
The police data is collected by its officers within the field while the hospitals records are based upon those treated at the facilities.
The Sunday Gleaner examined the differing statistics.
In the Ministry of Health's Annual Report - 2002, it was stated that between 2000 and 2002, 3,754 persons were treated in the Accident and Emergency departments (A&E) of public hospitals for gunshot wounds. Statistics from the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) reported 3,465 cases of shooting.
REQUIRED BY LAW
The police report nearly three hundred fewer cases than recorded by the health facilities. Hospitals and private doctors are required by law to report cases of shootings, wounding, stabbings and other serious injuries which are treated there.
Felonious wounding or injuries committed with an intention to kill was not listed by the police as a major crime up to 2002. However, the island's hospitals treated 12,402 such cases between 2000 and 2002.
Stab wounds are prominent among the cases recorded by the hospitals between 2000 and 2002 some 10,389 stab wound cases were treated. These were not recorded among the police major crimes.
Rape cases received a similar review. Between 2000 and 2002, the police reported 3,667 cases of rape and carnal abuse, while the hospitals reported 3,787 cases of sexual assault and rape. The Sunday Gleaner understands that the health facilities, despite evidence that the patient was raped cannot report it to the police unless the patient states this clearly to the doctor or medical personnel that this was what happened.
The Health Ministry also reported injuries received from violent incidents involving blunt instruments such as stones, sticks, feet and fists. Such cases had a high occurrence rate of 38,592 between 2000 and 2002. It is not mandatory to report these incidents, but the severity of the injury may require otherwise.
Inspector Victor Henry, sub-officer in charge of Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) said there is no coordination between the police and hospitals and that the onus is also on medical personnel to make reports. "If there is some breakdown in the reporting we can't have statistical data."
However, Minister of Health, John Junor, while not commenting on the relationship between the police and hospitals said "I believe our figures are reasonably accurate."
