Gov’t Crime Mapping Website Down After Launch

The government’s crime mapping website has crashed within hours after its first launch today, due to a higher-than-expected response from the public, the Home Office has revealed.

The site provides residents in England and Wales with detailed interactive maps, allowing them to find out what crimes have taken place near their home in the past month by typing in their postcode.

Criminal offences are divided into six categories, including burglary, robbery, vehicle crime, violence, other crime and anti-social behaviour.

This morning, however, the site became inaccessible and displayed an error message.

“The site is experiencing extremely high demand today – around four to five million per hour. We are delighted with the response which shows how popular this new information is with the public,” a Home Office spokesperson told eWEEK Europe, adding that the disruption is temporary and that the Home Office is working hard to bring the site back up shortly.

Reconnecting police and communities

The street-by-street guides can be accessed on both computers and mobile devices. It is a by-product of the coalition government’s commitment to publish local crime data statistics every month, starting from January 2011.

The street-by-street guide is just the government’s first step to make crime, justice and policing more transparent, according to the Home Office.

“We want people to be able to see what crime is happening on their street and to be able to tell their local police if they have concerns, and challenge them about how issues are being dealt with,” said Home Secretary Theresa May, calling the move a major achievement in reconnecting the police and communities through the power of information.

England and Wales are the first two countries in the world to have a crime mapping site, with downloadable details of policing teams in their neighbourhood and crime prevention advice. It might also feature the outcomes of court cases in the future.