Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Crime-ridden Jesmond ?

like many other people Ive had a look at the local crime statistics for Jesmond. heres a screenshot of the relevant area.

But of course there are lies,damn lies and statistics (much older quote than I thought it was). A couple of things occured to me
  • this is reported crime. A lot of the aggravating low-level stuff that goes on isn't reported , because the general public see no point in doing so. 
  • other  seems to be such a ragbag of things. What about white-collar crime ?
Simon Jenkins in the Indy had a bit to say about it ( and even agrees with my concerns!). Incidents that are reported for a particular street are indicated in the middle of the street. So for Acorn Road, it appears that the shoe repair shop on te corner is the problem!

Similarly for Osborne Road, its the middle of the street where the problems lie. So that means the Cricket Club should be closed down to make everyones life better. Or does it reflect problems associated with people walking along  Osborne Road

 

Some will read all sorts of things into the figures - so there will be  some rubbish produced about them.

But overall its a good thing : 
  • It will encourage people to report crime, so with time the figures will become more accurate and relevant.
  • It makes the police a bit more accountable 
  • What is needed next is a list of  crimes and  a recorde of the number solved