Crime Maps Available Monthly Online

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Members of the public can view crime statistics in their area of England and Wales.

From today, UK residents across England and Wales will be able to access police information to view crime trends through 43 of the police constabularies in different regions of the countries.

The government has made police crime data publically available on the internet in order that citizens can see how many crimes are taking place in any given area of their constabulary. The information works just like google maps where a participant can type in their street, town or postcode and locate the crime rate in their particular region.

The maps give details of crimes such as robbery, rape, burglary and car crime, with statistics and trends along with a colour coded rating of how high crime is in each zone. Each map will be updated on a monthly basis.

The government supported the scheme which was launched today; it was first announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith back in August 2008.

Whilst most ministers are pleased with the system and believe it will help to keep the public up to date on police activity, police officers are concerned it may undermine their intelligence reports and help local criminals.

Vernon Coaker, a minister for the Home Office told the BBC: “By empowering people with this information they are able to engage more with their neighbourhood policing teams.”

Mr Coaker was confident that the new crime mapping system would lead to more responsive and effective policing.

However, the Police Federation was unconvinced that making the information freely available to the public was the right way forward.

Simon Reed, the Vice Chairman of the Federation voiced his concern that, “statistics released on a monthly basis may feed local criminal intelligence, leading to crime hotspots”.

Mr Reed warned against exacerbating the fear of crime. The public perception of crime could easily be skewed by misinterpreting the statistics which could lead to schisms between the police and the public.

Mr Reed emphasised the need for caution: “It is essential any information is fully explained to the public in order to avoid the negative impact of the perception of crime in their area.”