Kitcatt Nohr Digitas

When people ask me where I live, my reply ‘Acton’ tends to draw the conversation to a premature close. Most people’s relationship with Acton is transitory. They pass by it to leave London along the A40. They completely miss the bewildering parade of kebab shops, Polish butchers, and wholesale paint stores. The only people to deliberately venture there are Australians and Kiwis who gather at the infamous Redback Tavern, where, I’m told, it’s acceptable to relieve yourself against the bar whilst ordering drinks.

As I’m always looking to extend my party chat on Acton I was pleased to gather some juicy statistics from the brand new Police crime maps website.

Police.uk is home to all the information you would ever need on crime in your local area. I tapped in my post code and marveled at the colour coded blasts of criminal activity that sprang up around my home. The area around The Redback Tavern radiated an impressive 143 incidents and although my immediate neighborhood displayed a low level of crime (11 incidents), my street accounted for 6 of them- 3 burglaries and 3 ‘other crimes’ which is the catch all for minor offenses like criminal damage and drug taking. 

The site fell over yesterday from the weight of fellow rubberneckers and there have been some entertaining challenges to the validity of the data. An MP in Gloucester has demanded an explanation from the Home Secretary as to why a Gloucester Street, Fairford Way, is displaying 75 reports of anti social behaviour. Residents of Bolnore road in Haywards Heath are heading for their bunkers with a 148 incidents reported. Apparently prank calls are responsible.

There’s much more to police.uk than scaring the living daylights out of you. You can view your neighborhood policing team and find out when and where community briefings are being held. For budding crime busters there’s an arresting stream of unsolved CCTV incidents fed from you tube, and handy information on crime prevention and reporting.

Police.uk is all about police transparency and accountability but by bringing you closer to community matters and inviting involvement it makes you feel more accountable too. Above all,  the crime maps make your neighbourhood seem a little more exciting. With the tap of a postcode Acton looks like Mogadishu, the bulging crime pins like invading armies on a Risk board.

If you're on your way to Heathrow stop by, grab a kebab and watch the carnage unfold for real.

What's going down in your hood?