CARDBOARD cut-outs of police officers have been placed around Hull Royal Infirmary to crack down on crime.
Ten cardboard cops are now in place at hotspots for crime and disorder at the Anlaby Road hospital.
They have been placed in accident and emergency, the main reception, the acute assessment unit and the women and children's hospital.
Police officers are also routinely patrolling the hospital as part of the latest crackdown on trouble, a joint initiative between Humberside Police and the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust.
Sergeant Mick McLaughlin, of the Riverside neighbourhood policing team, said: "People who are waiting to be treated or who are being treated in hospital are already in distress and the last thing they need is to have people around them causing trouble.
"The cut-outs have been shown to act as a deterrent and will hopefully promote confidence in staff and patients that we are working to stop any problems. There will also be officers routinely patrolling at the hospital to increase our presence on the site."
About 400 people pass through the accident and emergency department every day.
Hospital bosses and police began working together last year to reduce problems at the hospital.
Security staff from the hospital are now in daily contact with police, informing them of every disturbance at the site.
Police are then seeking antisocial behaviour orders for repeat troublemakers, which ban them from every hospital in the Humberside force area, except in emergencies.
The cut-outs will also display messages including warnings to potential troublemakers, details of antisocial behaviour orders, or information about crime prevention events.
Banners are also being displayed in the hospital and police have applied for planning permission to project crime prevention messages on the side of the hospital tower block.
Jill Venables, head of facilities at the hospital, said: "We have placed the cardboard cut-outs in potential hotspots for violence and aggression.
"As well as being used as a deterrent or a calming influence for patients and visitors, the cut-outs also display A4 posters, which feature information supporting local crime reduction campaigns or antisocial behaviour orders.
"The safety and security of our patients, staff and visitors is a top priority for us, so we've been happy to introduce these as a way of demonstrating this commitment and showing how we're working as part of the wider community to tackle crime and disorder."
The hospital has also joined the Neighbourhood Network group, allowing crime prevention messages to be passed on to its 8,500 staff.
