Shootings, stabbings and other attacks cost Merseyside’s healthcare system £25m a year according to a new study.
Thousands of victims attend A&E each year after being subjected to serious assaults.
The cost of their treatment - and rehabilitation - forms part of an estimated £185m annual violent crime bill for the region.
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The figures have been revealed in a new attempt to understand the financial impact of violence on Merseyside.
They are based on crime statistics from the 2019/20 financial year - during which almost 48,000 incidents involving violence were reported to Merseyside Police leading to around 4,500 trips to A&E departments in the region.
The report, compiled by the Public Health Institute at Liverpool John Moores University and released by the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) calculated that, during those 12 months:
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The health service spent £25.3m tending injuries and on rehabilitation
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Serious violence cost businesses almost £30m in lost productivity
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Court costs to hear serious violence cases came in at £54m
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Putting serious cases through the criminal justice system topped £80m
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Attacks led to around 81,000 hours of counselling for those affected
The report, released today, found: “Violence in Merseyside is characterised by knife attacks, robberies, firearms and drug disputes and data shows that, across Merseyside, there is a direct correlation between deprivation and serious violence.
“Over 48,000 incidents of violence against the person were recorded by Merseyside Police in 2019/20 with almost 15,000 incidents recorded as violence with injury.
“However, not all incidents of violence are known to or reported to the police, so these figures are likely to be an underestimate of the true impacts of violence.
“Violence places a heavy burden on health and social prospects across the life course and affects families, communities and wider society.
“Public services, including healthcare, the criminal justice system, social services and other sectors bear the burden of much of this impact.
“Violence also has an economic impact more directly on the victims of violence, through its emotional and physical impacts and the costs associated with lost time at work.
“Fear of violence may also affect an individual’s quality of life and may impact on the economic and social choices that they make.
“There is a clear public health argument for investing in violence prevention and a strong economic case can also be made.”
The findings highlight the extent of the “hidden cost” of violent crime and the benefits that could be achieved through using public health services to reduce trouble according to Detective Superintendent Siobhan Gainer, the head of the VRP.
Det Supt Gainer said: “This high price is worth bearing in mind when we make decisions about services, particularly those which prevent serious violence occurring in the first place.
“Each crime we stop from happening is saving money and, more importantly, reducing the pain victims, their families and our communities experience.”
Set up in 2019, the VRP has looked at initiatives to make vulnerable households and communities more resilient.
Det Supt Gainer explained: “Our partnership has offered young people from the bump to adulthood, education on the impact of violence plus positive alternatives away from the toxic environments of gangs and drugs.
“Investing in such programmes is a small price to pay compared to the bill for putting back together the lives of those who have been affected by knife attacks, gun crime and assaults.
“I do believe that in Merseyside we have taken a lead with a public health approach and that this is building a platform for stronger communities free from the scourge of serious violence.”
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