Steve Brine, MP for Winchester and Chandler's Ford, has hit back at claims that www.police.uk could create a climate of fear.
The website has been introduced by the Government as part of their plan to cut crime levels. It allows the user to input a postcode and view the amount of crime that took place in that area in the previous month.
It is reported that Winchester city centre had 251 incidents of crime in December. This figure included 41 violent crimes and 72 occurrences of anti-social behaviour. The city centre was rated as "above average" for crime levels.
Steve Brine MP said: "I am of course concerned that the city centre has higherthan average inciednts of criime, but I know that this website will serve to empower local residents to contact their local police teams and discuss ways of combatting crime as a community.”
However, residents have a different view. Conor Power, a student from the Stanmore area of the city, said: “It's shocking really. I'm always cautious out anyway, but this highlights places that I wouldn't like to go on my own.”
Michael Howell, a pensioner from Abbotts Barton, said: “I think the public should know but now I wouldn't feel at all safe here in the evening or at night, which I find quite awful.”
Despite the concerns Hampshire Police urge the public to continue reporting crime. A spokesman said: “Tackling anti-social behaviour is a priority, and we encourage the public to contact us whenever they see activity of this kind taking place.”
This is not the first time that police.uk has caused controversy. On the website's launch it was beseiged by up to 75,000 hits per minute. This caused servers to crash and many people were unable to view the crime in their area.
http://www.winol.co.uk/
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