By Tim Ferguson, 29 July 2008 16:26
NEWS
People will soon be able to see how well their local police forces are tackling crime with the help of online crime maps.
The plan to roll out publicly accessible interactive maps on all police force websites by the end of the year was announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.
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Information on the maps will include where and when crimes happened (sometimes down to street level) as well as comparisons with other regions.
There will also be details about what's being done by local policing teams to tackle crime.
The initiative is part of a Policing Green Paper requiring every police force in the country to deliver monthly online crime information and has been trialled in the West Midlands and West Yorkshire.
Smith said the public are the "best weapon for fighting crime" and helping them be more informed will increase public confidence and make communities safer.
She added that although crime is falling on a national level, it's important for people to understand what challenges remain in order to have a say about what police forces focus on.
Sir Norman Bettison, policing futures lead for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said the organisation supports the national roll out of the tech as it fulfils "the key responsibility to give information to communities in order that they can see the real level of crime and help the police to address it".
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