Grand theft ambulance: Media reports of stolen ambulances in the United States, 1980 to 2020.

Autor: Sullivan RA; Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN, United States of America., Kraus CK; Department of Emergency and Hospital Medicine, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PA, United States of America. Electronic address: chadd.kraus@lvhn.org.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The American journal of emergency medicine [Am J Emerg Med] 2024 Nov; Vol. 85, pp. 214-216. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 12.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajem.2024.09.025
Abstrakt: Background: Ambulance thefts are frequently reported in the media, particularly over the past decade, with increasing numbers of news stories on these events. Despite these media reports, there is a paucity of peer-reviewed literature describing details and themes of these events.
Methods: We performed a structured review of media reports published between 1980 and 2020 using publicly available databases EMS1.com and Newspaper Source Plus, with keywords "stolen" and "ambulance," with filters for date range, "1980 to 2020," and location, "US." The search was limited to English language articles and duplicate reports were excluded.
Results: 263 unique media reports of stolen ambulances were identified (n = 149 from EMS1.com and n = 114 from Newspaper Source Plus (NSP)). Texas (n = 19) and Pennsylvania (n = 15) had the most media-reported cases of stolen ambulances. Montana, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Washington, District of Columbia (DC) had the fewest media-reported stolen ambulances. Most cases occurred at a hospital (n = 141), followed by theft on scene (n = 71). Males accounted for approximately two-thirds of alleged perpetrators (68 %, EMS1.com, 66 %, NSP).
Conclusions: Media reports of ambulance thefts in the US have increased in recent years, highlighting the opportunity for improved education, standard policies and procedures, and increased security countermeasures to prevent the potential injuries and economic losses associated with these events.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest related to the content of this manuscript.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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