New crime data access is a 'step towards greater transparency' says a Leicestershire Police crime analysist

A new crime data tool is a step towards ‘greater transparency’ says a chief inspector at Leicestershire Police.

Police have launched a Data Crime Performance Pack (DCPP) to make crime statistics more accessible to the public.

The information will be supplied to the Home Office by all 43 forces across England and Wales and will be continuously updated.

Chief Inspector Dwight Barker, who works in crime analysis at Leicestershire Police, said the revolutionary tool would help the public understand crime trends.

He said: “Never before have the public been able to interact with police data in this way and I hope it is a step for greater transparency around how Leicestershire police share that data.

“Over recent years Leicestershire Police have been focussed on reducing serious violence across the force area and it is great for the communities we serve to be able to see that in these figures.

“Nationally there was an increase in serious violence last year, but here we have managed to achieve a number of reductions. There have been less firearms offences, and less crime involving knives. Even where there has been an increase, such as the 14.9 per cent increase in police recorded violent crime with injury, this can be seen to be considerably lower than the 21.4 per cent average increase experienced nationally.”

There are currently three areas of policing covered – homicide, serious violence and neighbourhood crime. Topics can be explored in greater detail in some areas where trends in violent crime such as homicide, gun or knife crime may be identified.

The chief inspector added the force also welcomed any scrutiny the performance data may bring, but it was important for people to look at the wider picture.

He said: “The data is interactive, which could mean an individual has the ability to set parameters that produce alarming figures. We will be happy to try and explain our understanding of the trends underlying these figures but it is important that users of this system do look at the variety of data that it can produce. This is particularly true when looking at percentage changes. The part of the country that has had the largest increase in robbery figures still has the lowest rate for that crime in the country.”

He said Leicestershire Police had experienced a huge decrease in neighbourhood crime since the pandemic. And, while the data shows more neighbourhood crime in 2022 than there was in 2021, Leicestershire residents are less likely to be a victim of this type of crime than in 2019.

He added: “In addition, for the last few years we have improved our recording practices significantly which has also had an impact on these figures, making sure all crime is captured but therefore we have seen a steady increase in the volume of crime we record.

“That being said, we also recognise that these neighbourhood crimes can have a huge impact on the lives of the victims and we continue to work with our partners to reduce these numbers further.”

Visit the HMICFRS website to access the data tool.