Assault-related injuries reported to police and treated by healthcare providers in the United States

Abstract

Research suggests that assault-related injuries known by the police significantly differ from those known by healthcare providers, but the magnitude and nature of these differences are poorly understood. To address this gap, our study examined the empirical differences between assault-related injuries reported to police and treated by healthcare providers. In June of 2021, we analyzed the National Crime Victimization Survey (1993–2019) to estimate the prevalence of police reporting and healthcare use among 5093 nonfatal victimizations that caused injury and were either reported to the police or treated by healthcare in the United States. Quasi-Poisson models identified the factors associated with whether people who sustained the injuries used healthcare (v. only reported to police) and reported to police (v. only used healthcare). Among victimizations that caused only minor injuries, 43% involved only a police report, 11% involved only healthcare, and 46% involved both services. Among victimizations that caused serious injuries, 14% involved only a police report, 13% involved only healthcare, and 73% involved both services. Whether people with violent injuries used healthcare (v. only reported to police) and reported to police (v. only used healthcare) was significantly associated with 13 different person- and incident-level factors. The number and nature of assault-related injuries reported to law enforcement significantly differ from those treated by healthcare providers. Therefore, public health efforts to link police and healthcare data are warranted and recommended.