Jo has welcomed the Coalition Government's world-leading website www.police.uk which provides data maps that show crime and anti-social behaviour at a street by street level in Orpington.  This means, from today, everyone can see exactly what crime is happening and where - right down to the level of their street corner. If anyone has concerns about the crime they see or how issues are dealt with, they can raise them with the police.

 Jo said, 'I am really pleased that the Government has demonstrated that they are serious about cutting the levels of crime and anti-social behaviour in our communities.  By providing crime data in an open format that anyone can access, even from their mobile, we can all hold the police to account. We can ensure that they deal with the issues that actually matter to us locally - and not those decided by a Whitehall bureaucrat'.

A recent report by the police inspectorate showed only eleven per cent of police officers were visible and available to the public at any time.  The Coalition Government is introducing a series of measures as part of their plan to fight crime:

Slashing bureaucracy – steps already taken to save up to 800,000 hours of police time include scrapping the stop form and limiting stop and search reporting, removing all targets and setting the police just one goal: to cut crime, introducing directly-elected Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure that police forces respond to the needs of local communities, and providing transparent information so local communities really know about crime in their area.