Independent inquiry gives detailed recommendations

EDITOR—In these days when we are overwhelmed with paper it can be tempting to skip to the summary, conclusions, or recommendations. But if this is what George Davey Smith et al have done in their editorial on the Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health1 they risk doing Sir Donald Acheson and his colleagues an injustice and, in doing so, understating the value and practical nature of the report.

Whereas recommendation 13is indeed to develop “policies to reduce the fear of crime and violence and to create a safe environment for people to live in,” it is preceded on pages 54and 55by details of highly specific measures to achieve this. Similarly, whereas recommendation 24is …