The UK government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, counter-terrorism and policing, has expanded the crime mapping website to enable people to compare crime levels in the England and South Wales.
Initially launched by the Home Office in February 2011, the crime mapping website maps the offences including robbery, burglary and violent crime, in addition to anti-social behaviour (ASB).
According to the Home Office, the website will also provide general public to view the changes in recorded crime rates over the past three years.
The website has also been allowing users to see the offences that have been reported in their localities through input as a street name or postcode.
The implementation of the new tool comes a month prior to the police and crime commissioner’s elections to be held in November 2012.
Policing Minister Damian Green told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: "What they will do is for the first time ever give a democratic voice. At the moment no local person can have any kind of say over what the police authority does… Now there will be a singleperson to give them some voice."
General public can also use the information from the website to see whether candidates listed for commissioner elections will focus on crimes directly distressing their communities.
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