New police crime maps out

[boxtops]

I had a look at my area - bit scary although most it was ASBOs - but it says "2 violent crime" in my road. Anyone know how far back the data goes? Someone was murdered over the road, but that must be 10 years ago..... http://www.police.uk/crime/

[andy-hughes]

jno - my property is already as secure as I would wish - so the idea that I know burglars are around does nothing except make me jumpy - or it would if I bothered to research my area, and as you would guess from my post, i will not be doing so.

heaven jhelp anyone who wants to sell a property in a 'crime hot spoit' - as ludwig points out - this will lead to ghettoisation, but not in the Tory Lib-Dem Mp's areas - so that's OK!

[jno]

I don't think the maps are quite that simple, andy - it's not like they divide the country into hot spots and safe houses and that's it. There are infinite gradations - I don't know what are the actual highs and lows are but most places will just fall somewhere on a scale between them, and people can make their own decisions about whether they want to live in any given one, and whether they can afford it.

In other words, the situation as it is now - but with more hard data to go on.

Our MP is a Lib Dem.

[anotheoldgit]

andy-hughes

/// heaven jhelp anyone who wants to sell a property in a 'crime hot spoit' - as ludwig points out - this will lead to ghettoisation, but not in the Tory Lib-Dem Mp's areas - so that's OK! ///

There you go again Andy using your own particular opinions to help to get over another political dig.

I agree with jno over this, one should be able to obtain as much information about one's area as possible.

There are many things one may wish to gain information on, the crime figures of a particular area is just one, maybe the local school's achievement levels, or the accident figures of a particular road etc, etc.

When buying a car don't you wish to know the insurance group? Knowing the crime figures of a particular area could also have an effect on this and your home insurance also.

You yourself may choose not to take the opportunity to avail yourself of the knowledge that is your choice, but that does not mean others may not wish to.

[Bobbisox]

Burglary 5
Anti-social behaviour 13
Robbery 0
Vehicle crime 1
Violent crime 2
Public Disorder and Weapons 0
Shoplifting 0
Criminal damage and Arson 10
Other Theft 3
Drugs 0
Other crime 0

Very interesting Boxy, this is my area

[andy-hughes]

AOG - my point was that this kind of 'information' will not affect the houses in which MP's - by definition - are able to afford. It was not my intention to have a swipe at the Conservatives, or Lib Dems - my point applies equally to any police officer of senior rank - and the boffin who conceived and created the software for this exercise - so my point is not intended to furnish a political point - more a social one.

I don't think your 'insurance' analogy holds water in this instance - that is a formal rating, and not affected by the myriad socio-ecconomic factors that can bias data of the sort being offered here.

I moved from an area specifically because of anti-social behaviour - and had this info been availble, it could have severely hampered the chances of selling our property - even though the ASB was entirely confined to night-time noise in a neighbouring playground. The calls and police patrol visits would have given a seriously distorted vision of the area - yes the yobs were a nuisance, but it wasn't downtown Compton by any means!

Similarly - statistical data about schools does not always accurately reflect the ethos or achievements of any school - and i am very wary of 'too much information' being made available to people withouit the experience and background to interperet it correctly.

[Bobbisox]

Anti-social behaviour 13...(my area)..one pub in my village allows kids in from the local Comp, mind you, it is very difficult to gauge their proper age anyway

[anotheoldgit]

andy-hughes

/// and i am very wary of 'too much information' being made available to people withouit the experience and background to interperet it correctly. ///

I think you are showing a rather pompous attitude by using these rather belittling words.

I am sorry if I seem to be insulting you again, but I could not think of a word that described this recent attitude of yours towards others.

Perhaps you are also in favour of the whole establishment holding out vast amounts of information on the grounds that the masses haven't the experience and background to interperet it correctly.

At least give us mere mortals the privilege of obtaining information, then who knows, perhaps in time we will gain the experience to interpret it correctly?

[andy-hughes]

AOG - if i appear pompous to anyone, please accept my apologies, it is not my intention.

When I referred to schools' data / comparisons, i put myself very firmly in the same group as everyone else who has no direct knowledge of such issues. The present Mrs Hughes however, has a lifetime of education expereince, and currently inspects schools for Ofste and the ISI - so I bow to her opinion on this issue - that most parents choose schools on instinct and feeling, rather than comparing statistical information which produces a very narrow view of the school as an entity.

I am entirely in favour of information being made available - with the proviso that it is relavent and informative and actually means something to the people who receive it.

If I hear that Decon and Cornwall police have a better clear-up rate than Staffordshire police - how is the information supposed to benefit me in any way? Unless i can pursuade Constable Devon to pop up and have a word about my break-in, that information is utterly useless - except for breeding a sense of unhappiness in a woefully undere-resourcec policed service.

So yes, of course 'mere mortals' should have access to appropriate and relavent inforamtion - including me - I am one too, in spite of my perceived impression of being something other!

[ludwig]

There were 30 incidents of anti-social behaviour in my area last month. The good news is I was responsible for most of them, so for me it's still a good area.

[anotheoldgit]

andy-hughes

Very well defended andy, but I must take you up on some points (that wouldn't be me if I didn't).

/// that most parents choose schools on instinct and feeling, rather than comparing statistical information which produces a very narrow view of the school as an entity. ///

I think most parents who wish for their children to gain the best education possibly, do take notice of any information they can which describes a particular schools academic record, whether it is statistical on paper to read, by word of mouth, visually or by any other means available to them, some parents will even move home to enable them to be within the catchment area of a certain school.

/// If I hear that Decon and Cornwall police have a better clear-up rate than Staffordshire police - how is the information supposed to benefit me in any way? ///

Since some of us pay out large amounts of money for our police services, then surely it is beneficial for us to know if or not our particular police service are giving us the best possible value for money?

/// except for breeding a sense of unhappiness in a woefully undere-resourcec policed service. ///

There you go again Andy, with your inappropriate choice of words,
reading that one automatically assumes that once again you have took your chance to have a political dig at the cuts in police numbers.

Could you not have considered that by inspecting your local crime statistics, may also provide you with a sense of happiness at how well your 'slimmed downed' police service have performed?

[firewatch]

god if i had paid much attenion to it we wouldnt have moved here and missed out on alovely house in an ok neighbour hood, biggest prob moved out 2 days ago and we only have a little anti social behaviour, but i think people are happy to know a copper lives on the street despite the fact we had a theft the night we moved in. but that was opportunism theft, and shows as vehicle crime as they left a dent in the car. dont take the info at face value as they say never judge a book by its cover, and never a street by its crimes

[RATTER15]

In my village including the neighbouring village for September, we had

Anti Social Behaviour 10

Violent Crime 1

Criminal Damage and Arson 2

I never knew there was so much going on!!

[andy-hughes]

My point is AOG, that a narrow band of statistical information does not take into account the huge variables involved in terms of locale, population density, and many other factors - involved in either police or education stats.

Yes, we all pay large amounts for our police service, and if (which I doubt) a simple table of statistics gave me an accurate indicator of comparative performances, what exactly am i supposed to do with that information? That is the essence of my point - information is only any use if it informs people accurately, and if they are in a position to assimilate and utilise the information they are given - and i believe none of these are present in the government's apparent willingness to give statistics out like this.

"There you go again Andy, with your inappropriate choice of words,
reading that one automatically assumes that once again you have took your chance to have a political dig at the cuts in police numbers."

I assure you AOG, if i wanted to have a political dig, I would happily do so - but I never do 'inference' - i do statements of opinion and or fact, being careful to indicate which is which - something we have in common.

[murraymints]

Boxy..thanks for that rather lovely map of Scotland..ha ha...perhaps ignorance IS bliss..

[anotheoldgit]

andy-hughes

At least we do have something in common, even if we do both belong to complete opposite ends of the political spectrum.

[andy-hughes]

To use the AB vernacular AOG, that would mean that you are a 'reactionary right-wing bigot' and I am a 'handwringing lefty' - I am sure you would agree that we are both far more complex than that - to the point of agreeing in some specific areas of policy, if not approach.

[anotheoldgit]

/// To use the AB vernacular AOG, ///

It is just as unwise to use that, as it is to use Wikipedia.

[andy-hughes]

A fair point!

[daffy654]

79 total in our large village, only one of those on my street (anti social behaviour).

[daffy654]

^^^ That was for the whole year btw.