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Scotland Yard website puts local crime on the map
Katharine Barney and Justin Davenport03.09.08
A website which shows Londoners crime figures for their neighbourhood was launched today by Boris Johnson and Scotland Yard.
The website provides a set of interactive maps, showing numbers and rates of crime and comparisons with the London average. It allows visitors to report offences and contains links to other sites including Safer Neighbourhoods Team pages.
The crimes recorded involve cars, burglary and robbery but further categories including anti-social behaviour will be added.
The Mayor said: "Crime mapping was one of my major manifesto commitments and an important part of our strategy to tackle the number one issue for Londoners, crime and safety.
"Crime mapping puts information into the hands of every London citizen about the levels of crimes as well as contact details of their local police officers. This is a major step forward in enabling Londoners to really be able to assess the work of their local police in tackling the crimes that affect their neighbourhood."
In his mayoral manifesto Mr Johnson said he wanted to copy the maps used in US cities such as Los Angeles which show crime on individual streets.
In London's version figures are broken down to 4,765 "sub-wards" covering roughly 500 houses and ranging from two streets to 10.
The Met says breaking the figures down further would risk breaching the Data Protection Act by identifying crime victims. Areas fall into one of five classifications: low-crime, below average, average, above average and high.
The £210,000 system does not include the City which has its own police force.
Deputy Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said: "There has been a growing appetite for people to know more about crime in their local areas.
"We have found that in some cases Londoners' perception of crime is higher than the reality and the maps may help to reassure communities."
Dee Doocey, the Lib-Dem policing spokeswoman at the London Assembly, said: "Crime maps are a positive innovation but we must ensure resources aren't diverted away from tackling the problems of crime to serving gimmicks like this. What Londoners really want to see is police on the streets." She also called for the maps to show local detection rates so the public can hold the police to account and added: "If a criminal thinks they'll be caught then they're much more likely to think twice before committing the crime."
Jenny Jones, a Green Party member on the Assembly, said the maps should also include figures for violent crime.
Reader views (2)
How can a little site like that cost £210,000?
Please someone explain. It's less than a weeks work.
- Earl Lewis, Kent
The map does nothing. Try it. Can't get past the swirling wheel telling me to wait until the system has loaded. What is wrong with it?
- Goodbye Blighty, South Kensington
