ANALYSIS The Government launched a crime mapping service last week, allowing people to see what offences have been committed in any part of the UK.
It seems the web-based service proved popular with the general public the site crashed within hours of going up after millions tried to test it out.
The Government believes this transparency around offences will help people get more involved in their community and make police more accountable.
Surely the service offers benefits for organisations as well as individuals, though?
So how could businesses take advantage of this crime mapping service? Could it even be damaging for them as well?
Helping out the community
Although the online service has been designed mainly with residents in mind rather than businesses, the latter could clearly take advantage.
As a Home Office spokesperson put it to IT PRO: "Information is power."
Indeed, businesses will be actively encouraged to get involved with the crime fighting effort where their premises are based.
"We are also encouraging developers, community groups and other organisations to make use of the raw data that is available to download in new and innovative ways to help improve community safety," the spokesperson added.
Any company helping out their community will surely increase its local reputation something that can in turn bring more customers and accolades.
Improved employee motivation and pride could be another positive knock-on effect as well. After all, everyone knows a happy worker is often a more productive one.
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