Fall in number of stabbings treated at trauma centre
Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden has welcomed news of a sustained fall in the number of stabbings being treated by surgeons in Nottingham.
Health teams at the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre, based at the Queen’s Medical Centre, have seen a reduction in stabbings of more than a quarter during the past three years.
In 2022, 202 people were treated for stab wounds at the centre, but this fell to 182 in 2023, 166 in 2024 and 141 last year.
As a percentage of all trauma calls, stabbings have reduced from 11 per cent in 2022, to 9.7 per cent in 2023, 8.9 per cent in 2024 and seven per cent in 2025.
Nottinghamshire Police is continuing to work alongside the centre’s team of surgeons on measures to tackle knife crime and ensure these figures continue to fall.
The latest figures for Nottinghamshire from the Office for National Statistics also show a reduction in knife crime of five percent between October 2024 and September 2025, when compared to the previous year.
Commissioner Godden who is also Chair of the Violence Reduction Partnership, said: “Every knife crime incident is one too many, however the reduction in people being treated for knife injuries in hospital shows that the long-term partnership approach to tackling serious violence is having an impact.
“This includes the OPCC and VRP funded organisations providing key support and delivering sports diversion projects, counselling, mentoring, detached youth outreach and other interventions that focus on tackling the root causes of serious violence.
“We must also recognise that no agency can do this on their own. It needs everybody including all of our communities to play a part, as we are stronger together.
“There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child and that is certainly true when it comes to tackling serious violence.
"Everyone who comes into contact with young people including parents and families, teachers, doctors and many other agencies must be alive to the risks, spot the signs and take every opportunity to make a difference in young people’s lives – as we don’t want anyone to go through the heartache of losing a loved one.”
In addition, the force’s knife crime team had a record-breaking year in 2025, seizing a total of 224 weapons and making 150 arrests.
Chief Inspector Kylie Davies, the force’s knife crime lead, said:
“While we are never in any way complacent around knife crime, these figures from a diverse range of sources are positive and to be welcomed.
“They reflect the force’s ongoing and targeted efforts to keep people safe through education around knife crime and taking weapons off the street.
“Knife crime officers and a number of other teams continue to work tirelessly to seize knives and arrest those who carry them.
“The figures from the trauma centre also positively reflect our approach to tackle knife crime through partnership work which addresses its underlying causes.
“Surgeons and other health professionals are in a unique position to speak about the devastating and lasting impact knife crime can have on communities.
“We are liaising with these partners to share knowledge with the ultimate aim being to reduce violence and deter people from carrying weapons in the first place.”
JJ Reilly, one of the surgeons in the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre, said:
“While we continue to face the devastating consequences of knife crime far too often, it is pleasing to see these figures going in the right direction.
“As a group we feel if we don’t try to do something to prevent these injuries happening in the first place we will have failed, and that is why we are working with Nottinghamshire Police and the Nottinghamshire Violence Reduction Partnership.”