The new information gives the public the power to look back and see the crimes and incidents of anti-social behaviour that have happened on or near their streets during December and January.
It also lets members of the public know how and who to contact in their local police force to demand action is taken if they are concerned about issues in their local community.
Nick Herbert – the minister for policing and criminal justice – said: “The sheer scale of public demand for street level crime and policing information since the site’s launch last month has been incredible. The website has received over 382 million hits to date and generated over two thousand pieces of individual feedback from the public, the majority of which have been really positive.”
The minister added: “By enabling members of the public to compare how many crimes have occurred in your area from one month to the next, we are giving them even more power to hold their local force to account on how they are dealing with the issues that matter.”
Privacy of individuals and victims a priority
Herbert reiterated that the privacy of individuals and victims continues to be a priority for the coalition Government, which is why some crimes need to be mapped to anonymous points on – or near – the point on the street where they occurred.
“We have been working with police forces to ensure this latest set of data is as accurately mapped as possible, particularly where crimes have happened in public spaces such as shopping centres or airports,” asserted Herbert.
“We are also working with six trailblazer areas to see how we can open up crime and justice even more.”
Over 2000 comments about the website and results from an online survey have shown that approximately 84% of users find the site easy to use, 63% feel better informed about crime and anti-social behavior and 52% believe they’re better informed when it comes to policing matters.
A Facebook game with more than 3,000 members has also been established, and people are using the data to discuss community safety issues in their area.
To access the crime mapping website click the dedicated web link on the right hand panel of this page
