For our subscribers, we have now upgraded our Scottish Crime Datazone page to enable you to run reports that discover out of all 6,505 Datazones;

1. Which had the highest/lowest total of crime in either 2007/08 or 2011-12?
2. Which had the highest/lowest crime rate in either 2007/08 or 2011-12?
3. Which had the highest/lowest crime per hectare in either 2007/08 or 2011-12?
4. Which had the highest/lowest crime rate per hectare in either 2007/08 or 2011-12?
5. Which had the greatest increase/decrease in total crime between 2007/08 and 2011/12?
6. Which had the greatest increase/decrease in total crime rate between 2007/08 and 2011/12?
7. Which had the greatest increase/decrease in crime per hectare in either 2007/08 or 2011-12?
8. Which had the greatest increase/decrease in crime rate per hectare in either 2007/08 or 2011-12?

All results are exportable to excel, so you can look at them in  a spreadsheet.

The leading crime and postcode data research and analysis platform

A new feature for our subscribers, you can now choose from 3 different years for population datasets for Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) and Middle Super Output Areas (MSOAs). This matters if you want to match to corresponding data from the 2011 census or work from more recent population data for a more accurate crime rate.

The leading crime and postcode data research and analysis platform

The leading crime and postcode data research and analysis platform

As always, caution with the latest month which is always  half-complete. We are careful to update the last 12 months data to capture any revisions, additions or deletions, for which the latest few months invariably have in abundance. 

Every few months, there are a few thousand new postcodes and some that are deleted too. So it’s important to stay updated and current. We have just added 4,900 new ones since the last update at the end of last year.

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So I’m quite excited to tell you about some improvements we have made to the free to use  app – where can I afford to live? – which is here.

You can now specify not only the area type (e.g. postcode sector, middle super output area etc.) and your budget range, but now the type of property (flat, detached house or even non-residential – other) and we now newly reveal how many transactions make up that average price over the last 24 months.

In my most full-time, part-time job at the Institute of Directors where I work on infrastructure policy, I have done quite a lot of work on broadband (see full paper here) and I am working on a big housing piece at the moment.

I am very struck by looking at this house price data and in particular using this tool, that there are large pockets of affordable housing all over the country. It’s just that the connectivity isn’t in place in many rural areas to make them viable homes and locations to live and work in. Ultrafast broadband to these areas really would be transformational – we could have a dynamic rural economy.

I’m sure this will change in the fullness of time but there is an argument that building ultrafast connectivity would be better done from the most remote areas inwards first. This would take some pressure off public transport and the road network for longer commutes to places of work and may even lead to urban de-scaling.

More importantly though, it would increase the disposable income of people who can make life work in much cheaper areas of the country and put capital to much more productive uses.

The leading crime and postcode data research and analysis platform