• The police.uk website is a national website directed by the Home Office. The site is maintained by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) and presents street level crime information. The Constabulary provides an upload of data each month but does not control any aspect of this site.
• Both the Constabulary and Avon and Somerset residents have expressed concern that police.uk does not provide an accurate representation of street level crime due to the methodology stipulated by the NPIA.
• Street level crime information is derived using 'snap points', which are anonymised locations where a street has more than 12 households. If a street has less than 12 households then the crimes for that street will be allocated to the nearest 'snap point'. A single 'snap point' can therefore include crimes from surrounding roads or a wider area and will, under a number of circumstances, present a misleading and disproportionate picture.
• These difficulties are caused by the methodology, which seeks to ensure data is both anonymous and as localised as possible and not, as some have said, because of inaccuracies in police data. All police forces and members of the public are experiencing the same issues. The Home Office are currently unable to provide a solution to the concerns expressed from both the Constabulary and residents but are looking at options that might reduce some of the distortion.

Crime statistics for your local area and other police forces can be found at www.police.uk