Crime mapping for Finsbury Park - what do you think?

After a wobbly first day online, the new street-by-street crime data mapping system at www.police.uk seems to have settled down. The number of information

requests being made by worried - or curious - UK residents logging in

to find out how many crimes and anti-social activities are taking place

locally brought the site down for much of Tuesday; but the system now seems to be working, and anyone with an online

connection can simply enter a postcode to look up local crime

information.

  

Looking at my immediate neighbourhood this week revealed 1376 crimes and antisocial behaviours recorded within a one-mile radius, with particular hot-spots near the station, off Fonthill Road, and (surprisingly) up in Crouch End. The cast majority of these were ASBs or antisocial behaviour, which includes aggressive and intimidating behaviour, street drinking, fly-tipping, noise pollution and vandalism. 492 ASBs were reported in December around Finsbury Park.

The next most common category is "Other crime", which includes offences such as criminal damage, shoplifting and drug offences. These made up 300 of the reported crimes in December. It's quite comforting, then, that well over half of the reported crimes on the map are relatively minor.

Perhaps more worrying are the 200 violent crimes reported, 13 of which took place at or near the station. These are reported separately from the 60 robberies that took place in the same month, 3 at or near the station and two in Crouch End. Burglary (147) and vehicle crime (130) complete the list. 

Does this kind of ultralocal data provide

useful information on avoiding crimes? The advice from Finsbury Park Safer Neighbourhoods team remains the same: invest in locks for doors and windows to avoid burglary; keep cash and valuables out of sight on the street; park in a well-lit area and use a stoplock; and report any antisocial behaviour on 020 8721 2778. It seems unlikely that the new data will change our behaviour, or the way we feel about the local area, much beyond this.

Let us know if you've logged on the the police website, what you found and how you feel about the new maps below!