The people of Buckinghamshire can now find out how safe their streets are through an app.
WalkSafe, which can be downloaded on iPhones and Androids, pins locations of reported crime, such as sexual assault, mugging and knife crime, by using police data.
The app has gained national attention following the death of Sarah Everard at the start of March, which has led to 500,000 new users in the space of a week, as well as an increase in discussions regarding the safety of women.
How does the app work?
Once you have installed it, it will track your current location.
The sudden increase of the app being downloaded came after Sarah Everard's death at the start of March (Met Police)
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After zooming in or out of the map, certain pins will appear with different colours, explaining what crime has been reported on that street in the last few days.
There are four different pins on the app and they are:
- Red – violence/sexual assault
- Black – knife crime
- Light Blue – feeling unsafe
- Yellow – mugging
On its website, WalkSafe said: “We all value our safety, but danger is a fact of life.
“Even when walking we make bad decisions because we don’t know where the dangers lie.
According to the app, there were several reported violent/sexual assault crimes in Milton Keynes
“We increasingly worry about mugging, violence, and knife crime.
“These dangers are numerous, hidden, changing and unknown - it’s impossible to know them all, all the time.”
The app has revealed that reported crimes involving sexual assault/violence are rife across the county, with towns such as Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Marlow and Milton Keynes being littered with red pins.
What the app showed for Aylesbury
Amersham, Chalfont St Peter, Chesham, Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross, and Princes Risborough also had several red pins which show that several sexual assault/violent crimes have been reported to the police.
Several black pins, which represent knife crime, are also spotted in High Wycombe and Aylesbury.
What has been reported in Marlow
The developers of the app added: “The WalkSafe map visualises crime reports published monthly by the police - this helps users to see where serious crimes have been committed, to spot patterns, and to identify regular trouble spots.
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“We publish key data twice weekly.
What has been reported in the south of Bucks
“The WalkSafe app also scans the road ahead - alerting our users when they walk near to areas that have seen reports of knife attacks, sexual assault, mugging and pickpocketing.
“No one can predict where the next crime will be, however, we believe being informed and staying alert is the key to staying safer.”
The crimes reported in High Wycombe
Users must zoom into specific areas on the map to see what crimes have been committed on each street.
For more information, visit www.walksafe.io.
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