London using Google to map crime and encourage witnesses
From today, victims of street crime in London will be able to report attacks online, as part of a scheme to get more people involved in keeping communities safe.
The StreetViolence website also allows those who have suffered robbery and other crimes to post witness appeals and warn the local community by pinpointing the crime on a Google map.
The Witness Confident charity, which is behind the scheme, hopes that it will galvanise people to become more involved in helping to keep communities safe by providing accurate information about the circumstances of an incident. Guy Dehn, director of Witness Confident, says: "As a way of telling the police you can help, the site is a welcome alternative to hanging behind at the scene, standing around at a police station or waiting in line at a call centre.
