Crime in Windsor - Do You Want to Know?

Much has been made today of the new website www.police.uk which allows you to see street by street the crime recorded in your neighbourhood.

Visiting the site and searching for Windsor brings up a map covered in stick pins highlighting the numbers of crime in the town. It's a little off-putting to see there were 286 recorded crimes in December 2010. And perhaps more troubling to see that 48 of those were violent crimes.

But how does this help us? Does knowing these figures in fact make us feel less secure? Will the more vulnerable of us wonder whether to start avoiding certain streets that seem to have a higher rate of crime than others? If your road has a higher number of burglaries will house prices drop? Or, is it good to have this information? Does it tell us where our police should be focussing their attention, and should they be readdressing their priorities?

What do you think? Do you like having this information at your fingertips? Will you be looking up your street? Or would you prefer not to know?

The map only gives us a snapshot of crimes in one month, and offers no comparison to see how this stands on a scale next to other areas. Do you think the information could have a negative effect turning some streets into 'no-go' areas and raising home insurance premiums in other areas? Or do you think it's a storm in a teacup?

Come and tell us what you think.

For your information:

In central Windsor in December 2010 there were 286 recorded crimes.

12 were burglaries

2 were robberies

26 were vehicle crimes

48 were violent crimes including assault, harassment and GBH

81 were anti-social behaviour crimes

117 were listed as 'other crimes' including shoplifting, criminal damage and drug offences.