Crimebotch: Two police call centres branded crime hotspots on new Home Office website (which crashed as soon as it went live)
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:54 PM on 1st February 2011
- Worst UK street for all crime had 152 offences in 31 days
- Site crashes after four million people attempt to log on
- Glitch shows Sussex Police Headquarters as crime hotspot
Two police call centres and a 300ft-long street have emerged as unlikely contenders for crime hot spots in the new government website detailing violence and anti-social behaviour in England and Wales.
The Home Office website, www.police.uk, allows residents to type in their postcode to see the full extent of crime on their street.
The first glitches in the system emerged shortly after it was rolled out today and soon afterwards it was buckling under the pressure as 75,000 people a minute tried to log on. Eventually it ground to a halt at 10am, infuriating the millions desperate to find out how their area rated.
The crash was blamed on the sheer volume of users, with the web provider promising to rectify the problem.
Adding to their woes was the revelation that Sussex Police's main call handling centres ranked highly on the crime map.
A man looks ready to fight on Newgate Street, Newcastle, which came out top as the street with the most 'anti-social behaviour'. The crime map (right) shows the worst affected areas in Britain
In Portsmouth there was anger and ridicule when Surrey Street (pictured) - which is less than 300ft long with a pub and block of flats - was shown to be one of the most crime-ridden in the country. The website showed it having, in December alone, 136 crimes, including burglary, violence and anti-social behaviour
Enlarge
Numbers game: How the crime map shows the offences in Newcastle
GLITCH SHOWS SUSSEX POLICE CALL CENTRES AS CRIME HOT SPOT
The first glitch in the new system surfaced after it emerged that the two streets where Sussex Police's main call handling centres are based rank highly on the crime map.
Bolnore Road in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, and Church Lane in Lewes, East Sussex - where the force HQ is also based - show abnormally high levels of anti-social behaviour.
A police spokesman said: 'Sussex Police has been thorough in its recording and these high figures relate to hoax calls, mainly received by mobile phone, which have been recorded at those sites because there was no alternative geographical location.
'They do not relate to disproportionate levels of crime or anti-social behaviour in those local areas.
'The force is awaiting advice from the NPIA as to how they wish us to record these types of incidents in the future to avoid any confusion and so that they can be readily compared to other areas.'
One in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, and the other in Lewes, East Sussex - where the force HQ is also based - show abnormally high levels of anti-social behaviour.
A police spokesman said: 'Sussex Police has been thorough in its recording and these high figures relate to hoax calls, mainly received by mobile phone, which have been recorded at those sites because there was no alternative geographical location.
'They do not relate to disproportionate levels of crime or anti-social behaviour in those local areas.'
In Portsmouth there was anger and ridicule when Surrey Street - which is less than 300ft long with a pub and block of flats - was shown to be one of the most crime-ridden in the country. The website showed it having, in December alone, 136 crimes, including burglary, violence and anti-social behaviour.
Scott Mussen, 28, is chef at The Surrey Arms, in Surrey Street. He said: 'These maps are an utter joke. This is a quiet road tucked away and anyone can tell it's hardly Beirut.
'If there were 136 crimes here in December that would be more than four a day, which is bonkers.
'The road is only 100 metres long so if these statistics were right you'd be murdered as soon as you set foot out your door.
'I think Portsmouth has a bad reputation and the Home Office is tarring us all with the same brush, perhaps they should go back to using an A to Z instead of Google Maps.'
Councillor Eleanor Scott, who is responsible for community safety at Portsmouth City Council, said the figures were a blight on the street and its pub.
She said that while the website was showing 'too many' crimes for Surrey Street, it failed to record the burglary of her own home elsewhere in Portsmouth.
'If Portsmouth is anything to go by, this website is a complete farce, it's identifying wrong crime epicentres and missing out crimes in other areas so you can't rely on it,' she said, adding she would be writing to the Home Secretary about her concerns.
Chief Superintendent Nigel Hindle, commander of Portsmouth police, said the postcode of Surrey Street was used to record incidents of retail crime such as shoplifting from the adjacent commercial centre and violent crime from the bars and clubs of nearby Guildhall Walk.
He said: 'Surrey Street is a non-residential street, and this post code draws in crime data from Guildhall Walk, Commercial Road and Cascades shopping centres, Portsmouth University and halls of residence - a hugely thriving commercial sector and busy night-time economy area.'
By mid morning an estimated four million people had attempted to access the Home Office site. Many users were left frustrated after being asked to enter their postcodes and then being directed to a blank white screen.
Home Office officials warned of delays and said: 'Keep trying.'
The figures show a total of 201,520 anti-social incidents were reported to the police in December last year – or more than 6,500 every day. In London alone there were 35,000 incidents reported to the police.
They include yobbish behaviour, street drinking and vandalism.
Frustrated, readers aired their anger at being unable to access the website at MailOnline. One posted 'It doesn't work and won't load; and don't tell me the server is overloaded. Things either work or they don't.'
A short while earlier one wrote 'Someone has nicked the server' while another posted 'Doesn't even load! Stupid website.'
A spokesman for Rock Kitchen Harris in Leicester, which developed the site, said: 'The site is down at the moment but it is being resolved. It has had a lot of interest, more than we expected due to the high media coverage.'
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Dangerous street: Guildhall Walk in Portsmouth topped the list for violent crimes
Until now the only published crime data showed levels across entire council wards – hiding the exact location of individual crime hotspots.
The new site shows total crime and a breakdown of violent attacks, burglary, robbery, car crime and anti-social behaviour ‘on or near’ individual streets.
Mark Burns Williamson, deputy chairman of the Association of Police Authorities (APA), said: 'Crime mapping brings accountability to the armchair for everyone who wants to monitor crime on their street.
'It's worked brilliantly in trials where concerned local residents work with their local police authority member, who oversees crime concerns in a local borough or district, and can take into account the 'bigger picture' of crime committed not just on the street, but behind closed doors.
'The popularity of crime mapping shows people identify with, and want to influence, their neighbourhood and their district, and that accountability must be accessible.'
But he added: 'Despite the marvels of mapping, scrapping the local link in policing oversight to impose solo Crime Commissioners could leave the public short-changed with more information but less influence.'
The website reveals a total of 476,056 crimes and incidents of anti-social behaviour were reported to the police last month. That includes 37,825 burglaries and 57,207 violent attacks.
All other crimes are grouped into a single category to hide the details of sex attacks. Victims’ privacy is also protected by the site not including any roads with fewer than 12 homes.
Policing and Crime Minister Nick Herbert denied the site, which cost £300,000, would increase fear of crime. And he rejected claims by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that it could have an impact on house prices if figures were taken out of context.
Mr Herbert told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'This is a very important step forward in accountability and transparency. This will enable people to know exactly what's happening in their street. It enables them to hold the police to account.
He added: 'These maps will be helpful to the police as well as the public because they will help achieve that connection with the public. We need to build this bridge and get communities and the police working together.'
He said publishing the information would help the public hold officers to account. Glover’s Court in Preston was revealed as the worst crime area, with 152 crimes over just 31 days. There were 73 incidents of anti-social behaviour, 44 violent crimes, one robbery, one burglary and 33 other crimes.
A 31-year-old woman resident said: ‘The police are always here at 2am and 3am at weekends. I would not go out late at night. I have that fear.’
Worst for burglary was Fairfield Drive, a quiet street in Bury, Greater Manchester, whose residents were burgled ten times in a month.
One victim, Valma Duffin, 61, said: ‘They took everything, the telly and electrical stuff but even the iron. The police were friendly and helpful but we never heard anything else after that from them. They didn’t catch anyone.’
On Guildhall Walk, Portsmouth, there were 38 violent attacks in December. The 300-yard stretch contains more than a dozen bars, pubs and strip clubs. Meanwhile, Newgate Street in Newcastle saw a total of 79 incidents of anti-social behaviour.
A good night? Revellers in Newcastle Celebrate the New Year, with the night of heavy drinking ending in misery for some
Last year Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Denis O’Connor, said police had staged a 30-year retreat from the streets, allowing the ‘disease’ of anti-social behaviour to thrive.
He said millions of acts of loutishness were going unreported. Home Secretary Theresa May is to launch plans to crack down on yobs.
The Asbo is set to be scrapped because it is seen as too bureaucratic. Instead police will be given more discretion to deal with thugs on the spot, by making them clear up their graffiti or make good damage they have done.
A criminal behaviour order will see drunks banned from town centres for up to two years.
New powers came into force last night to tackle gangs, allowing courts to ban members from wearing gang colours, entering rivals’ territory, or owning ‘gang dogs’.
Explore more:
- People:
- Nick Herbert
- Places:
- Newcastle,
- London
- Organisations:
- Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Add your commentsComments (305)
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Managed to log-on last night but unsuccessful today. Postcode was recognised at first but now gives error message. Very pleasantly surprised to find hardly any crime at all in my postcode. Also several areas of Liverpool did quite well, contrary to the constant misinformation put out up here by the Manchester based media. - Graham, Wirral Merseyside, 1/2/2011 18:17 ...................................................................... Well I know why Liverpool did well. fact is the police were not able to investigate most crimes because their wheels had been nicked!
- John, UK, 01/2/2011 17:28
Dan, Manchester. Have a look at the police website. Chorlton is registered as a huge crime blackspot!
- Susan , Manchester, 01/2/2011 17:27
Would you trust a site developer with the name Rock Kitchen Harris?????
- RobD, Grays, Essex, 01/2/2011 17:27
Managed to log-on last night but unsuccessful today. Postcode was recognised at first but now gives error message. Very pleasantly surprised to find hardly any crime at all in my postcode. Also several areas of Liverpool did quite well, contrary to the constant misinformation put out up here by the Manchester based media.
- Graham, Wirral Merseyside, 01/2/2011 17:17
Dreamed up to kid us all that the Police are on the ball and are' being seen to do something' about crime. The information will be so inaccurate and so untrue and yet could put people off buying property in your area when in fact it's pretty crime free!! Chuck it in the bin!! Sylvia Anderson
- sylvia anderson, France, 01/2/2011 17:15
Bury features highly in the "crime spots". Not surprising as there are so many bail hostels, halfway-houses, etc. which the council quietly put anywhere without telling the poor residents in that street. Of course there is more crime in Bury, when so many criminals and offenders are shipped in from Manchester and surrounding areas.
- Nancy, Manchester, 01/2/2011 17:04
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Tuesday 1 February 2011
Police crime map Home Office website crashed: 2 call centres hotspots | Mail Online
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