EFFECT OF STRATHCLYDE POLICE INITIATIVE OPERATION BLADE ON ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY ATTENDANCES DUE TO ASSAULT

Objective-To review assault victim attendance at the accident and emer gency department of Glasgow Royal Infirmary before and after a police initiative to curb knife carrying and tackle violent assaults (''Opera tion Blade''). Methods--Assault victim attendance was reviewed for the month before the implementation of Operation Blade and for one month a year later. The number of victims requiring treatment in the resusci tation room for stab wounds before, during, and after Operation Blade was also reviewed as a crude indicator of the frequency of serious ass aults in the city. Results--There were no significant differences in t he nature or number of assault victims attending this hospital one yea r after Operation Blade compared with the month before its implementat ion. Operation Blade reduced the number of serious stabbings for a per iod of 10 months, but subsequently numbers surpassed those prevailing before its implementation. Conclusions--Any attempt to combat this com plex and multifactorial problem must be addressed through a combined p ublic health and education initiative in conjunction with regular pres s and police campaigns to achieve a sustained effect.