Concerns are being expressed that the British Home Office’s recently announced plan to provide online crime maps for every neighbourhood in England and Wales would have a detrimental impact on housing prices and school enrolment in neighbourhoods with high crime rates; see articles in the Times and the Daily Mail for details.

It’s interesting to compare the reaction: there have been crime maps in the U.S., and I can’t recall a discussion of the downside of having this information available; rather, I suspect that people would prefer having this information available before they move.

The plan is based on a West Midlands pilot project.

Via All Points Blog and Infonaut.