The overriding motivations in the public sector are image and politics. Image is about being seen to do the right thing, and politics is about retaining and extending personal power while being seen to do the right thing.
Let’s look at a classic example of the first one.
Crime Map
According to the Independent newspaper, England and Wales have become the first two countries in the world to release a street-by-street map of the incidents of crime in a given neighborhood. All you have to do is go to the Police web site and enter the post code (zip code) for the area that interests you.
You will then be shown a “crime map.” The information will be updated monthly, and you’ll be able to access it from your mobile phones and obtain GPS coordinates.
No doubt there will be those who’ll wonder why I’ve identified this as Another Fine Mess. Dark alleys, secluded areas, and blind spots in camera surveillance will reveal all the most likely hives of criminal activity, right? And that should forewarn the public to exercise especial vigilance, which must be a good thing; wouldn’t you agree?
So why isn’t it the right thing to do?
UK Housing Market
At present, the number of applications for re-mortgages in the United Kingdom is nearly at its lowest ever (just one in three), and the number of actual mortgages sought has also dropped. House prices are at their lowest for four years and are predicted to fall even further in 2011.
Between the caution shown by lenders, who want to avoid bad loans, and the uncertainty of buyers, who are more concerned about the security of their jobs, the market could hardly be more fragile.
Best Places to Live
Nearly every study that shows where the best places are to live, there is also a category that identifies the level of crime. And it’s no surprise that those areas that have less of it, also feature highest on the list of desirable places to abide.
The Crime Map, of course, makes them much easier to identify down to a margin of just a dozen houses.
This means that, as a home owner, you could suddenly find yourself living in a pocket where the value of your house could sink – out of sight.
More Crime
Why should that concern us? Because neighborhoods that are characterized by low prices also tend to attract . . . more crime.
If the British Government thinks that by narrowing down the worst areas according to the incidence of murders, rapes, and burglaries is a good thing, then they’d better think again.
Not only will prices suffer, but it will wave a flag for hooligans everywhere that pickings are better in some places than others.
No doubt the police will say that these statistics prove that they are more effective in those areas.
That, however, seems to be an unlikely explanation because, as we all know, that they can’t arrest everyone. So, it’s probable that the increase in arrests will occur in those areas where the there’s more crime in the first place.
How can I come to such a dire conclusion? It’s perfectly logical.
The Police all across the country have been complaining for years that they lack the resources to do the job they’ve been trained to do, which is to protect the public. Therefore, they can’t claim that they’re so efficient that they’re arresting more people than ever, while at the same time claiming that these cuts have put the public in greater danger.
Either the public is safer, or they’re not. Which is it?
Undesirable Living Spaces
The Crime Map, in my opinion, will have the opposite effect to that which is intended. It will not only warn the public not to live there, but it also will prevent many of those who no longer want to from leaving.
Unless the policy is reversed, these areas will get worse, not better.
And do you know what the really scary thing is about this nutty idea? Because it looks like the right thing to do and the technology exists so that it can be done, other free nations are likely to do the same thing.
Heaven help us!
