Emergency resolution 23E Nurse or police officer?
Submitted by the RCN Croydon Branch
That this meeting urges RCN Council to examine the ethical, professional and safety issues related to sharing knife crime data with the police and issue a policy position.
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Report of this debate
Mike Hayward, Croydon branch A&E nurse and former policeman asked Congress to vote for the RCN to examine the ethical, professional and safety issues related to sharing knife crime data with the police and issue a policy position on knife crime and best practice guidelines.
"Knife crime is abhorrent, and poses a significant health risk to young men" said Mike. He also spoke about how nurses need guidance on how to deal with confidentiality issues around reporting knife crime data which should be equal to the guidance on gun crime; an equally devastating crime.
Mike called for the RCN and NMC to work on these guidelines for reporting anonymous data from acute care to enable the identification of knife crime 'hot spots'.
Stuart MacKenzie, Glasgow branch, gave statistics for his region which is severely affected by knife crime - 23% of all A&E admissions involve knife crime and only half are reported to police, 95% of convictions are male and many under 21 years of age. He said that nurses were in a truly unique position as they work with both the victims and perpetrators of knife crime and they should lead the way in solving it.
Bernadette Medcalf, made a passionate case in favour of the resolution as she described how her son was the victim of an unprovoked attack. She urged members to support the resolution so police can collect evidence so crimes can be prevented.
Andrea Spyropoulos gave words of caution and wanted reassurance that data collection would only be used if there is evidence that it prevents and solves crime. She called for the police to be involved in the consultation process of any guidance.
Malachy Eljam stated that confidentiality and ethics should not be used as a cloak for hiding crime - and nurses should work with the police to promote public safety.
The resolution was passed with a majority vote of 99.25%.
For 396 99.25%
Against 3 0.75%
Abstain 1
PASSED