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

closing (? and opening) Supermarkets

I've had a conversation with someone from John Lewis about the dearth of stores in the NorthEast. The first was Durham, but they closed it after a couple of years. Apparently its the only store they have opened and then had to close.  The Northern Echo report on the closure is still available as is a blog report  from a trade journal. An unusual failure in a usually successful store .  These reports blame the location - had they been elsewhere in the City Centre they would have been OK 
They managed to sell baked beans , and not much else. Apparently that's all that students buy from an upmarket supermarket.

Its relevant because of the  site that was Osborne Garage.
This is what we have at the moment (a screenshot of the Google Streetview because it will change)

And there is an approved Planning Application to convert it into a store. When it was applied for (Apr-Aug 2009) the rumour has been either a Waitrose or a Sainsbury.

Some competition for Tescos down the road.