Residents must fight back against crime by using police.uk website

Harlow MP Robert Halfon with Home Secretary Theresa May and Essex Chief Constable Jim Barker-McCardle  

After worrying incidents of anti-social behaviour in Great Pumtree, a local coach, and Harlow town centre - all reported in last week's Harlow Star - it is vital that residents fight back by coming forward to speak with the police if they are witnesses, and also to hold Essex Police to account online through the new website Police.uk.

The website is a new online tool, which for the first time means that local people can track if criminals are caught, and whether they were taken to court.

In the next stage of development of www.Police.uk, Harlow residents will not only be able to access street level crime data but also see what action the Essex Police Force have taken as a result and whether offenders are sentenced, fined, or go to jail.

We are all used to reading the reports in the Harlow Star when crimes are committed. But residents deserve to know what is being done about it. Was someone arrested for the crime? Did they go to court? Did we get justice? This new tool puts that information at our fingertips.

After the terrible attacks in Great Pumtree, a local coach, and Harlow town centre - all reported in last week's Harlow Star - we now need zero tolerance on anti-social behaviour.

Harlow people will not put up with thugs and criminals ruining our neighbourhood.

The work to provide justice outcomes on Police.uk has been taken forward by the Home Office, National Policing Improvement Agency, the Ministry of Justice and police forces across England and Wales.

The UK government has already made more open data sets available than any other Government in the world. This open data is making public services such as justice, transport, health and education more transparent and accountable. It is also driving economic growth as it used to create useful applications.

The Government will publish further open data commitments and set out a robust framework to strengthen access to data shortly.