Just before I go - crime maps

Couldn’t leave you without some holiday reading, so thought you might like the opportunity to dig deeper into crime statistics and the imminent arrival of crime maps.

There’s a discussion to be had about crime maps, how they might affect house prices and induce heightened sensitivity to the fear of crime. Myself, I’m on the side of providing crime maps for every part of the country, seeing it as an inevitable part of the information society.

ITPro report the Home Office saying the maps will let anyone with Internet access see when and where crimes take place – street by street, for some offences. The maps will be updated with monthly crime data, so residents and police can track trends. West Midlands police demonstrated the technology to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith yesterday, and will be one of the first forces to roll out the crime mapping website when their version goes live in September.

Here are some links, for holiday reading, firstly on currently available mapping and crime statistics, then examples of street level crime mapping:

• The BBC website provides basic data on crime statistics by Borough
• The Metropolitan Police also provide Borough and Ward statistics
• The Home Office also provide statistics by Borough

When I’ve got time, I might compare the sources, just to check on conformity and accuracy. But then again, I might not.

• What the new crime map system, called My Neighourhood, looks like
• What a San Francisco crime map system looks like, also US Crime Reports

I admit to being fascinated by maps, and have in the past pointed you to maps on tracing your family name, HERE. The same people who provided this technology now provide London Profiler. Click on crime to see.

The latest online mapping technologies are just as fascinating as printed maps. Check out these two good sources on the topic:

• Google Maps Mania, a UK blog on all things online mapwise. Thoroughly diverting.
• All Points Blog, a US-based blog on the topic

So, there you have it. Your online holiday reading.

Now, definitely on hols.

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