Fall in under 25s being admitted to Teesside hospitals with knife-related injuries

A hooded man holding a knife
-Credit: (Image: Katie Collins/PA Wire)


Fewer under 25s are being admitted to Teesside hospitals with knife-related injuries, figures show.

Although only a relative snapshot, between April last year and March this year there were 15 such admissions in the Cleveland area. This represented a 40% drop on the figure of 25 on the same period 12 months earlier.

Hospital admissions in all age categories for knife-related injuries also fell 11.8% from 85 to 75. The figures were contained in an annual report for 2023/24 produced on behalf of the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner. The report cited violence reduction efforts, along with the impact of dedicated police patrols in hotspots for violent crime.

In 2022 former PCC Steve Turner launched a £500,000 anti-violence fund to invest in initiatives designed to address root causes of violent crime. It was backed by hospital consultants at Middlesbrough ’s James Cook University Hospital who revealed their experiences dealing with the aftermath of knife-related incidents.

The same year also the formation of Cleveland’s first violence reduction partnership (CURV) funded with £3.5m from the Home Office, whose aim was to develop solutions to prevent people becoming involved in violent crime and draw up long term, sustainable strategies with community partners.

Speaking at the time Barney Green, a vascular surgeon at the James Cook hospital, said treating knife wounds arising from assaults was a “massive financial burden” as the cost of theatre was expensive, adding: “We shouldn’t have to waste hospital resources, time and emotion on things humans are doing to humans.”

According to the Office for National Statistics, Cleveland had the third highest rate among police forces in England and Wales in 2023/24 for violent crime involving the use of a knife or sharp instrument. Meanwhile, over the previous 12 months it also had the second highest rate in the country for hospital admissions for injuries caused by a knife or sharp instrument.

John Holden MBE, head of CURV, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It is reassuring to see that work CURV’s partners are undertaking is starting to show results. We continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders to divert those young people who are at risk of becoming involved in serious crime and help them to understand the dangers associated with such a risky lifestyle.

“We recognise that young people who are victims of a serious assault are at greater risk of becoming involved in violence in the future. As a result, the recently-launched A&E navigators in the emergency department of James Cook University Hospital build on the existing and successful custody navigators.

“A&E navigators work with victims and their families to provide help, support and advice.”

Speaking earlier this year Cleveland Police Chief Constable Mark Webster said knife crime was “complex” and there was no simple solution to it. He described keeping dangerous items out of the hands of criminals through working with retailers and, while sending individuals to prison in possession of knives was one element, another was educating young people to understand the choices they were making.

Mr Webster said: “If you just run around arresting people you will achieve some of what you want to achieve, but you are not going to solve the problem.”

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