Will this map be just another waste of money?

[anotheoldgit]

The following are examples of the different reporting styles, of the same news item.

The first two are from the Daily Mail, 15/08/08 & 03/09/08 and the other one from the Guardian 03/09/08.

Which one is the most informitive?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-104516 5/Police-clickable-crime-maps-internet.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-105212 4/Crime-rates-neighbourhood-London-displayed-p olice-website.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/sep/03 /london.justice

The �210,000 project shows robbery, burglary and car-crime statistics for the capital.

These maps may show more serious crime statistics at a future date. By this I persume they mean knife crime, gun crime and rapes etc.

Should these more serious crimes have been included from the beginning? Or is the whole idea just a waste of money?

[BillyBB]

Or see this link
http://burningourmoney.blogspot.com/2008/08/cr ime-in-hood.html
A resident checked and found the crime rate in his area was higher than average in every category. However the maps shows it as a lower than average area.
So how much use it is anyway is debatable.

[Gromit]

I found the reports indistinguishable from each other. If I want to get at the facts without a load load of waffle, the place I first turn to is the Daily Telegraph, a right leaning newspaper that doesn't pander to the bigots like the right leaning tabloids.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2559087 /Online-map-of-every-crime-in-London-unveiled- by-Metropolitan-Police.html

Crime mapping is nothing new. Four police forces already do it. It is only when something happens in London that it gets reported because the majority of newspapers are London based and their reporting is London centric.

I do not really see the point of web based crime mapping. People usually have an idea about their own communities and already know where the crime takes place.

So if my car gets vandalised, I can put my postcode into a website and it will tell me I live in a moderately average crime area. Am I supposed to be reassured? I would most probably think that I would sooner there were policemen on the streets deterring such crimes than number crunching in an office feeding stats into a website.

[youngmafbog]

It is a relativly small amount of money and appaerntly has worked in New York. Give it a go and see if it does work. Perhaps constructive comments to its improvement are requried rather than the usual maoning from the usual suspects.

[Quinlad]

Even if one is more in-depth than the other that doesn't suggest a more informative 'reporting style'.

It merely reflects the different agendas of the newspapers. Surely even you can understand that?

The Express for example reports far more on the royal family than any other newspaper. The Guardian reports far more of poverty than the Mail does. The News of the World provides more in-depth celebrity reporting than the Independent on Sunday.

Different readerships, see?

[anotheoldgit]

No one seemed to touch on the fact, that surely it would have been useful to also include the serious crimes and the areas where they take place. But then perhaps it may upset the communities where these types of crimes are taking place.

You made some good points in your answer Gromit, but then you still had to spoil yourself by your unnecessary use of the following examples taken from your answer:

without a load load of waffle,

doesn't pander to the bigots

They make you sound ' holier than thy ' and so aggressive.

If a person prefers to read certain newspapers, surely it is their prerogative, even though these newspapers are not of your choice.

I also think the map would be useful to tell others apart from just those that reside in these areas, what type of crimes they are, and in which areas they take place.

[Gromit]

Would this site be useful to burglars and the like. They could see which areas had already been heavily burgled, and go elsewhere.

Crime mapping is the new big thing in the States which is why we are copying it. I cannot see how it helps the general public.

I can see the information being useful to the police and crime prevention specialists and even the local council, but what difference does it make to you or I to be able to go on a website and confirm what we already know about where we live?