Why a little knowledge can be dangerous

Leading Articles Crime maps

HERE IS one law the police may not have expected they would haveto uphold: the law of unintended consequences. Politicians, on theother hand, ought to be better acquainted with the notion, andbetter prepared for it.

What could be objected to about the Coalition Government's schemeto put on the internet a map of every street in England and Wales,along with the statistics on how much anti-social crime, mugging,violence and burglary has taken place in the immediate vicinity?Quite a lot, actually.

The official line from ministers is that it will give "power tothe people". The scheme will be a keystone in the architecture of"Big Society" accountability. The new website will make us feelsafer because - information being power - we will all be able tomonitor local crime trends and do something about it.

But how? The Government says it's "about fighting crimetogether". The intention is not that residents should erectroadblocks at the end of their streets vigilante-style; rather thatwe should all contact our local beat officer or attend a publicmeeting. In this way, we will "drive the priorities" of the electedpolice commissioners who will be the Government's next innovation.

Yet it is hard to see public meetings inspiring fear in thehearts of teenage hoodlums. And the Coalition's plan is likely tocause additional problems. Fear of crime could rise among thevulnerable or elderly; knowing the statistics for crime in theneighbourhood, without a proper understanding of the statisticalcontext, might prove that a little knowledge can be a dangerousthing. It is a potential recipe for impotence and fear.

Areas could become stereotyped and stigmatised so that insurancepremiums rise, house prices fall and pizza take-aways refuse todeliver or taxi drivers to pick up. The maps could also tellburglars where the crime hotspots - and police patrol cars - are tobe found, allowing them to go about their breaking and enteringundisturbed. The distortion of police priorities that will follow,at a time when forces' budgets are being cut, could make thisgimmick positively harmful.