It caused £300,000 to develop, became the most visited UK government website ever, and then crashed after just a few hours of going live.
Police.uk is a new UK portal that hopes to track the most crime-ridden streets across England and Wales. It has been designed to provide UK citizens with information about local crime statistics.
But the new website went down after too much public interest crashed its servers. It has also come under criticism for driving down property prices in high-crime areas.
Home Secretary Theresa May defended police maps.
''This is giving people a real tool, real power to see that something is being done about crime in their area," she said.
May also argued that the tool will make police more accountable to victims of crime.
Policing Minister Nick Herbert also supported the crime-mapping technology.
He said: ''We have to tell the truth about crime, we have to reveal the truth about what is happening and give the information and the power to the public."
This is the first time that crime maps have been used to provide in-depth data about a country's crime rate. US cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, currently offer crime statistics on a street-by-street level.
Victim support groups backed the need for potential victims of crime to have full information.
A Victim Support spokesperson said: "To publish fuller information has the potential to bring greater transparency to the workings of the criminal justice system for victims, witnesses and the public.''
Do you think the new crime map scheme is a good idea?
Who will benefit the most from the new technology?
Can UK solicitors make use of the data?
Join the debate in the Findlaw Community, where you'll find answers to most major topics within UK law.
Related articles
Britain's most crime-ridden streets revealed by police map (Daily Telegraph)
Learn about the law if you are a victim of crime (Findlaw.co.uk)
More about compensation for victims of crime (Findlaw.co.uk)
Find a UK solicitor in your area
