Local MP Simon Hart has welcomed a new Government website that enables everyone to check if crime or anti-social behaviour is taking place on their street corner.

On the new website www.police.uk, residents can type in their postcode to find out if any problems have occurred in their area.

The new transparency in policing will lead to residents being able to hold local police forces to account.

The Conservative-led coalition government is introducing a series of measures as part of their plan to fight crime:

• Slashing bureaucracy – steps already taken to save up to 800,000 hours of police time by scrapping the stop form and limiting stop and search reporting.
• Removing all targets and setting the police just one goal: to cut crime.
• Introducing directly-elected Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure that police forces respond to the needs of local communities
• Providing transparent information so local communities really know about crime in their area.

Mr Hart said: 'I am really pleased that the Conservative-led government has demonstrated they are serious about cutting the levels of crime and anti-social behaviour in our communities.

'By providing crime data in an open format that anyone can access, we can all hold the police to account. We can ensure they deal with the issues that actually matter to us locally not those decided by a Whitehall bureaucrat'.