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Oxford targets 'generation-Asbo' with tech
What would Inspector Morse think?

By Tim Ferguson

Published: Monday 16 October 2006

Oxford City Council is to start using software to identify crime hotspots and target anti-social behaviour.

The system will record information about subjects along with data from cases investigated. When incidents are reported they will be logged on the system and the location of the disturbance marked on a map.

According to a council spokeswoman, the intelligence gathered will enable police to effectively identify potential lines of enquiry or recognise possible problem areas by analysing patterns of behaviour and incident reports.

The spokeswoman added that a major benefit of the system is that information can be stored electronically. This will reduce the reliance upon paper-based records and will speed up the investigation process by bringing a greater transparency to the data.

Rather than officers trawling through filed reports, the system will show them if an area is seeing a high proportion of similar incidents - such as a cluster of noise complaints in a particular area.

The system will use software developed by Caps Solutions, known as the UNI-form anti-social behaviour module. It is due to go live by the beginning of next month.