New Crime-Mapping Website Goes Live

Crimemapping technology that is brand new to the UK has gone live, to help neighbourhoods across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight work more closely together.

CrimeReports (www.crimereports.co.uk) is a partnership project between Hampshire Constabulary, Hampshire County Council, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Probation Service and all District and Unitary Councils across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
 
Using information collated from these partner organisations, the website features up-to-date, more frequent and detailed data to the public about crime, incidents and anti-social behaviour, as well as important information about how incidents are being tackled by partners at a local level.
 
CrimeReports also enables the public to engage and work alongside their local police officers, Police Community Support Officers, Accredited Community Safety Officers and fire officers to help make their neighbourhoods safer.
 
Hampshire Constabulary’s Assistant Chief Constable Laura Nicholson said:

“While Hampshire and the Isle of Wight continue to be some of safest places to live in the UK with relatively low levels of crime and disorder, this new website is a great way for residents across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to get the full picture of what is happening in their local area.

"The system also includes what the police and partners are doing to improve safety in the local community.
 
“Members of the public can sign up to CrimeReports and receive crime and incident updates by email daily, weekly or monthly so they can continually be aware of what is happening in around where they live and work.”
 
Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber said:

“Never before has a crime mapping site provided this level of frequently updated detail and context about crimes and incidents in local communities.
 
“By working more closely together with our partners and residents living in local communities, we will be better positioned to target resources even more efficiently and effectively to help keep neighbourhoods safe and secure and help meet future challenges.”
 
Go to www.crimereports.co.uk, enter your postcode and you can:

* See crime/incidents in your area on a map
* If you live in a neighbourhood watch area, request to join online
* Sign up to email updates and crime alerts
* Submit an anonymous tip to Crimestoppers
* See when your next neighbourhood meeting is taking place
* Contact your local police officers or partner agencies 
 

CrimeReports FAQs


1) What is CrimeReports? 

CrimeReports replaces the former CADDIE (Crime and Disorder Data Information Exchange) site in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. CrimeReports will now be used by police, fire, County Council, district and unitary council partners.
 
Working with over 900 agencies across North America, CrimeReports is the largest and most comprehensive online resource for accurate, up-to-date crime mapping information and data, in the world today. CrimeReports offers easy to use data for police forces and partners to understand crime trends and share current data with the public.

Once signed up to CrimeReports the public can join their local neighbourhood and receive email alerts for free which will empower them to make informed decisions to help improve the safety of their area.

2) How does it work?

The main functions of CrimeReports are to:
* Allow residents to see crime/incidents in their area on a map
* Allow residents to join online neighbourhoods e.g. Neighbourhood Watch
* Allow residents to connect with friends and neighbours
* Allow people to sign up to email updates and crime alerts
* Collaborate with partner agencies
* Help build a safer community

3) Who will use CrimeReports?

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are the first in the UK to use CrimeReports.

In addition to use by the public, currently 18 partner organisations will also be using CrimeReports:
Hampshire County Council
Hampshire Constabulary
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service
Hampshire Probation Trust
Southampton City Council
Portsmouth City Council
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
East Hampshire District Council
Eastleigh Borough Council
Fareham Borough Council
Gosport Borough Council
Hart District Council
Havant Borough Council
Isle of Wight Council
New Forest District Council
Rushmoor Borough Council
Winchester City Council
Test Valley Borough Council

4) Why is it different to other crime mapping sites?

The previous CADDIE system was available for the public to view crime figures relating to their local neighbourhood, but CrimeReports will improve the service for residents and give them more accurate crime data for their local neighbourhood.
 
Information will be automatically uploaded to the site daily and with more detail than other sites, including exact locations. This will not only provide a more accurate and up to date picture of crime/incidents for local communities, but linked to this public facing site will be a tool that partners such as the police can use to help shape their work to tackle these crimes.

Residents will also be able to join online neighbourhoods and speak to other residents. Partner organisations will also be able to join these online groups and contribute to discussions.

5) What are the benefits and how can the public get involved?

Members of the public can sign up and receive crime/incident updates by email daily, weekly or monthly. As crime/incident data is published more regularly and with more detail, residents will be able to report any suspicious behaviour that they notice anonymously to Crimestoppers or directly to the relevant agency and take an active part in helping to prevent future incidents by working with neighbours, police and other agencies to help make their neighbourhood safer.

As Neighbourhood Watches and No Cold Calling Zones become registered on the site, people can also apply to become an online member and communicate with other neighbourhoods via the site's messaging communications system.

6) How is information used?

The site shows the main crime type with a more detailed description of that type. For example, violence is broken down in to five sub categories from assault with serious injury, to low level public disorder. In addition a time and date, the officer/person dealing with the incident, reference number and helpful links to preventative advice are also provided.

Police and partners will use the information to help shape their work in tackling crime and antisocial behaviour. Meanwhile, Neighbourhood Watch, residents' associations , local councillors and accountable bodies will also be able to use it to inform, empower and engage their communities. Local businesses and industry meanwhile can apply the information to ensure that they act responsibly; for example where there may be incidents linked to the sale of alcohol from local shops.

7) How will CrimeReports help to reassure people about crime and incidents in their neighbourhoods?

By making information about incidents available in this format and in near real-time, it will allow people to respond immediately if a crime or incident has occurred near them. It may also help to detect a crime if residents can communicate it as soon after the incident has occurred, as it can prompt people to make connections to some recent activity they may have witnessed and report this to the relevant authorities.

By showing exactly when and where incidents have happened, people will be able to interpret the data and judge for themselves the true picture in their communities.  The site will also help to reduce people's fear of crime by breaking down each crime into sub-categories so that they can understand the crime types, including the time of day, and the day of the week. Details of what is being done by the police and partners to tackle these issues will also be published to contribute to reducing people's fear of crime.

8) How accurate is the data in terms of locations and will specific houses be pinpointed?


While the information will be pinpointed, there will be a restriction on the level of zoom to 100m (meaning that the dots on the map will typically cast a shadow over an area of 120/200 households). This is the equivalent to the 12 postal addresses as per the Police.uk methodology. 

9) CrimeReports provides greater detail of crimes and incidents in neighbourhoods, but will it also protect people's privacy?

In developing CrimeReports, close work and agreement over business rules has taken place with the Information Commissioner's Office to ensure that the privacy of individuals will be protected whilst providing accurate data. Similarly, incident-free streets will also appear as such which is not necessarily the case with some other mapping websites where data may be moved, which can be misleading.