Keep Your Eye On Crime In Bucks

IT PROVIDES the most detailed break-down of crime figures currently available to the residents of Buckinghamshire and now www.ionbucks.info will be providing residents and visitors with even more.

Updated monthly, the statistics show the total number of a group of crimes which can then be broken down into street crime, domestic burglary, vehicle crime and less serious assaults. Visitors can compare figures against the same period the previous year to see the changes in the crime trends.

The Community Safety Partnerships across Buckinghamshire have used national and expert research in order to deliver a website that will be useful to our residents. They have benefitted from the involvement of Spencer Chino, Director of GIS at the University College London Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science.

Spencer Chainey said ‘What the public want to know is what is happening on their street and their surrounding areas – do I live in a high crime area? The I:on Bucks website answers this, and in most cases is reassuring by showing people that the levels of crime in their area are remarkably low, and I expect, lower than they may perceive them to be. Buckinghamshire Community Safety Partnership must be congratulated for having the courage to break new ground by using techniques that ensure personal information is protected, but that the information is geographically detailed, making it more relevant and of interest.”

The following statements have been made so far about the use of the website:

Dave from Buckingham said ‘I am moving down towards Amersham…the website helped confirm that my new house is also in a low crime area’. Nick from High Wycombe also added ‘Many people in my neighbourhood worry that crime is happening all around. So we looked up our neighbourhood on I:on Bucks and could see the numbers were lower than we originally thought’.

I:on Bucks was launched in June 2009, and following user feedback, improvements are made and will continue to be made. Users are now able to download documents relating to how the Buckinghamshire Community Safety Partnership is dealing with local crime and disorder priorities. I:on Bucks also offers links to other useful and relevant web pages ranging from crime reduction advice to how to report anti social behaviour. There is also the opportunity to read available news articles relating to crime and community safety.

Holly Farrow, Project Manager of I:on Bucks stated ‘By rolling out up-to-date, interactive crime maps, we can better inform people about crime problems in their area and enable them to have much more of a say in what crime prevention takes place in their neighbourhood. I:on Bucks gives people the opportunity to discover the facts about crime in their local area. By displaying information both in charts and tables; and on a map, the information is easy to access and understand.’ The I:on Bucks team are based at Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters in Aylesbury.

Chief Supt Paul Emmings, Buckinghamshire’s police commander, said: “I’m very pleased that together with our community safety partners we are able to give residents detailed information about crime in their area. I hope this will help close the gap between people’s perception of crime and the reality of a very low crime rate in Bucks.
“Everyone can help keep crime down and by looking up which crimes occur in their neighbourhood, people can take appropriate action, like improving their home or vehicle security. This will help reduce crime even further.
“If people know a crime has occurred in their area, they are more likely to come forward with information about suspicious activity. Anyone who thinks they can help a police investigation can contact Thames Valley Police on 0845 8 505505 or, if they have information but don’t want to speak to police or give their name, can contact the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.
Come and visit the website at www.ionbucks.info . Last month, 4,475 pages were viewed on I:on Bucks.

Every library in Buckinghamshire provides easy computer and internet access and leaflets will be available with details of the website.