Data-driven insights for Safer Streets

9 September 2025

Working with police forces and victim-support charities, our researchers, led by Adam Joinson, are contributing to the REPHRAIN Safer Streets project, advancing new approaches to understanding and preventing crime at the neighbourhood level.

At the heart of this work is an innovative research data platform that achieves full coverage across all Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) or neighbourhoods in England. Developed using insights from police and people affected by crime, it enables analysts and decision-makers to explore how the built environment, weather, socio-demographic context, and local online discussion relate to changes in anti-social behaviour, violence, and sexual offences over time.

The project’s value lies in its practical impact. It supports the development of operational dashboards that help translate complex data into actionable interventions, strengthening place-based crime prevention.

REPHRAIN (the National Research Centre on Privacy, Harm Reduction and Adversarial Influence Online) brings together academic, industry, and policy partners to address online harms. Learn more about the project and its wider work on the REPHRAIN website.