Metropolitan Police launch pointless Google powered London crime map mashup

Davey Winder
Sunday, 17 August 2008 02:38

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

Ever wondered just how bad crime is in your neighbourhood? Londoners can now find out thanks to an interactive crime map which has just been launched by the Metropolitan Police Authority and the Mayor of London...

"The purpose of this site is to help show where crime is occurring at a local neighbourhood level" say the Metropolitan Police as you enter the new London Crime Map site. Although quite why you might want to know just how many people have been mugged in your street compared to the next is beyond me.

I would much rather the police, and the Mayor of London for that matter, spent their time and money investigating and solving crimes. UK Home Secretary Jacqui Smith insists that the maps, a typical Google Maps mashup, will help the public get involved with fighting crime.

Just how does she come to this conclusion? Apparently interactive crime maps will better inform people about crime in their area, and that means they will have more of a say in what the local police focus upon.

Really? Most people know what crimes are happening in their area because they experience it either personally or through the accounts of their friends and neighbours.

Most people appreciate that they have very little real say in what the local police focus their attentions on. If they had a real say, then knife crime in London would not be going through the roof and burglary would at least get investigated when reported.

You might imagine that most people would feel safer by knowing that money is being spent on more police on the streets and less of them being tied up at their desks doing the paperwork that is increasingly demanded of them by a targets and tables led government policy.

But no, Jacqui Smith insists that the maps will "help increase public confidence in the police and make communities safer."

Just how safe does it make a 76 year old woman feel? I asked my elderly Mum who lives alone in South London. Find out what she said on page 2...

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