Trailblazers

Greater transparency is at the heart of the government’s commitment to open up and allow the public to hold it, and local services, to account.

The national crime mapping website, Police.uk, is key to achieving this by providing street-level crime and anti-social behaviour data.  

Building on the success of Police.uk, trailblazer areas are exploring how to take transparency across crime, policing and justice even further and faster. These projects encompass a wide range of exciting and innovative work that is helping to change the way in which the public engage with the police and access crime information and data. This work is being taken forward with the full support of the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA).  

Below is a brief summary of the work the trailblazers are doing and how you can find further information:

Avon and Somerset

Avon and Somerset’s TrackMyCrime case tracking system allows victims of crime to follow the progress of the investigation into their crime as well as contact the investigating officer. 

TrackMyCrime will not replace speaking to a police officer in person, rather it gives victims more choice about how and when they receive information from their local police. The system provides a faster and more efficient service sending the victim automatic alerts via text or email whenever the police computer system is updated. A number of police forces have already signed-up to using the system.

Visit: TrackMyCrime for more information.
Lead contact: email Scott Fulton

Hampshire

Community Safety Partnerships in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have launched a Crime reports website. It provides automated daily crime and incident data from the police and fire service that is current, relevant and accurate, to allow residents to take timely and appropriate action to prevent themselves from being a victim of crime. 

Working with the Information Commissioners Office the project is assessing the provision of crime/incident location accurate pins on a map to provide accurate information balanced against the privacy of individuals regarding crime in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. 

Visit: Crime reports for more information.
Lead contact: email Alistair Sackley
See the crime reports leaflet

Surrey

The Surrey Police Beat mobile phone application, available to download from Police.uk, enables the public to see what their local neighbourhood police teams are working on, to vote on local priorities, and allows officers to tweet on the beat. 

Visit the police apps page on Police.uk to download surrey police beat.
Lead contact: email Chief Superintendent Gavin Stephens

Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire

Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire have used their expertise to inform and support the delivery of a Prime Ministerial commitment on publishing police actions and justice outcomes on Police.uk.

In addition, West Yorkshire has developed an In The Dock section on the West Yorkshire website which allows the police to show local communities details of custodial sentences where appropriate. We are exploring how we can make a link between in the dock and the Police.uk website. 

Lead contacts: email Glenn Brown (Leicestershire), Julie Hogan (Lincolnshire) and Jayne Sykes (West Yorkshire).

Dyfed-Powys and South Wales

Dyfed-Powys and South Wales are piloting a newsletter template that allows neighbourhood policing teams to update and engage their local community. 

Lead contact: email Rhian Davies-Moore

Going forward

We are keen to build on the excellent work of the trailblazers and we are currently in the process of asking areas to apply to join the next phase of trailblazers.  We will be offering a small amount of seed-funding to support areas as they look to drive this exciting work forward.