The DeKalb County (Ga.) Police Department and Atlanta-based Grady Memorial Hospital started the United States Injury Prevention Partnership, which piloted the Cardiff Model for violence prediction and prevention in the Atlanta metropolitan area, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The Cardiff Model was first coined by Jonathan Shepherd, PhD, a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Cardiff University in Wales. In his work as a surgeon, Dr. Shepherd found only 23 percent of assaults treated in hospitals were reported to the authorities.
In response, the Cardiff Model was developed by hospitals gathering basic anonymized information every time a victim of assault was admitted to the hospital. This information included the location of the assault, the time of day and the weapon involved — but not the patient's identity. Law enforcement took this information and mapped out the data, projecting possible areas of violence to be patrolled further.
Since the deployment of the Cardiff Model, the number of patients admitted to hospitals in Cardiff due to assault was halved between 2002 and 2013.
Applying the Cardiff Model in the U.S. could prove to be beneficial. More than half of violent crimes in the U.S. go unreported, according to the Department of Justice.
Emergency department nurses at Grady Memorial Hospital routinely collect anonymous data from admitted ED and trauma patients who have encountered violence in a public place. The Cardiff Model screening takes roughly 20 seconds. The results are then mapped to generate prevention strategies.
The DeKalb County Police Department utilizes the data from the pilot run to deploy personnel to areas that are hotspots of activity.
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