Cardiff University
Levels of serious violence in England and Wales fell by almost a third in 2020, reflecting COVID-19 lockdowns and other restrictions.
Analysis by Cardiff University’s Violence Research Group shows 56,653 fewer people were treated in hospital for violence-related injuries in 2020 compared to 2019.
Data gathered from 133 NHS hospital emergency units showed that 119,111 people attended for treatment of violence-related injuries in 2020, down from 175,764 in 2019.
Emergency hospital treatment for violent injury among males and females declined by 33% and 29% respectively in 2020 – the biggest falls since Cardiff University’s first report on violence from this NHS perspective 20 years ago.
Declines were found in all age groups and were greatest (66%) among children aged under 11.
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image captionLockdown saw a fall in admissions for violent injury outside the home in Cardiff, the study found
Emergency teams saw a rapid and sustained fall in violent injuries during the first Covid lockdown, a study by Cardiff University has found.
However, there was no change in domestic violence admissions at Cardiff s emergency department.
The University Hospital of Wales said it saw the average weekly number of violent injury admissions drop from 28.4 pre-lockdown to 16.5.
There was also a 92% reduction in weapon use, according to the study.
Researchers from Cardiff University s Crime and Security Research Institute (CSRI) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied data from Cardiff s only emergency department from March to June 2020 and compared it to weekly data from January 2019 onwards.