Using alternative data to understand violent crime
Observatory
Published 30, April 2018
When it comes to dealing with crime, it seems as though everyone has an opinion about what needs to be done. But crime statistics are an area where governments are not moving with the times: official statistics for crimes are typically generated through reports to police, as they have been for more than a century in the UK.
This means that there is not a full picture of crime, which in turn means efforts to prevent or reduce crime might be misdirected. But there are ways to improve understanding of where and when crimes occur through combining existing, routinely collected data from other public services and even further afield.
This new analysis piece from the Observatory explores how alternative data can be used to better understand violent crime.
