A 5-Year Retrospective Analysis of Legal Intervention Injuries and Mortality in Illinois.

A 5-Year Retrospective Analysis of Legal Intervention Injuries and Mortality in Illinois. Int J Health Serv. 2019 Mar 21;:20731419836080 Authors: Holloway-Beth A, Rubin R, Joshi K, Murray LR, Friedman L Abstract There has been a public outcry for the accountability of law enforcement agents who kill and injure citizens. Epidemiological surveillance can underscore the magnitude of morbidity and mortality of citizens at the hands of law enforcement. We used hospital outpatient and inpatient databases to conduct a retrospective analysis of legal interventions in Illinois between 2010 and 2015. We calculated injury and mortality rates based on demographics, spatial distribution, and cause of injury. During the study period, 8,384 patients were treated for injuries caused during contact with law enforcement personnel. Most were male, the mean age was 32.7, and those injured were disproportionately black. Nearly all patients were treated as outpatients, and those who were admitted to the hospital had a mean of length of stay of 6 days. Most patients were discharged home or to an acute or long-term care facility (83.7%). It is unclear if those discharged home or to a different medical facility were arrested, accidentally injured, injured when no crime was committed, or injured when a crime was committed. Surveillance of law enforcement-related injuries and deaths should be implemented, and injuries caused during legal interventions should b...
Source: International Journal of Health Services - Category: Health Management Tags: Int J Health Serv Source Type: research