Crime and perceptions of liveability

1. The following article is about the hypothetical city of Hollenbeck City. Read and analyse the
article to help you answer the questions that follow.

Hypothetical to exist only as an idea or concept. A hypothetical place is not a real place; it is
created for the purpose of thought and discussion.
Hollenbeck City is a hypothetical place and the data and data sources relating to Hollenbeck
are also hypothetical.

SOURCE A Geography Gazette

Groups unite to condemn manipulation of social media

A. Reporter 26 August 2014

Many community groups and the local council, including Mayor Simone Stevens, of Hollenbeck City
in Leighborough County, United Kingdom, have united in their call to condemn the posting of
images of rioters by dishonest social media commentators.

There was an angry demonstration in Hollenbeck City on Friday, sparked by the decision to drop all
charges against a high profile public servant who had been involved in an extensive and dishonest
financial scheme. This scheme led to the loss of hard-won savings of hundreds of local people and
the closing down of a housing project which had lost all of its funding.

Images posted to social media sites, which likened the Hollenbeck incident to the serious riots that
occurred in London in 2011, suggest that tensions in Hollenbeck were much worse than they were.

While social media reports indicated that violence continued all night into the early hours of the
morning, a Police spokesperson said that the protesting groups had dwindled to sets of two and
three people by around midnight and only four arrests had been made by the end of what was, at
times, a tense stand-off.

As a part of a larger campaign to improve the public perception of Hollenbeck, Mayor Stevens and
other Hollenbeck residents have voiced their concerns about this latest threat to their citys media
profile. Hollenbeck has had a number of unfavourable media reports about past incidents of social
unrest in the city. Mayor Stevens argued that people might avoid moving to Hollenbeck City
because the images on Twitter of London street riots, that were passed off as being in Hollenbeck,
created the perception that the city was unsafe and that crime and violence was out of control. She
is keen to change such perceptions.

Many residents of Hollenbeck agreed with Mayor Stevens and supported her campaign to have the
images removed and the misconceptions created by social media corrected. They argued that
Hollenbeck is in fact a lovely place to live and that the riots that occurred were not a normal
occurrence.

Long-time Hollenbeck resident, Natalie Smith, has started a Facebook page that aims to improve
the perception of Hollenbeck. Many people have contributed photos and recorded fond memories of
living in the area.

A 16-year-old resident of Hollenbeck, Jane Bishop, told the Gazette, I like living in Hollenbeck
because I feel safe and because my family can easily access all the facilities here.

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Read the lines
2. Decide whether the following statements are true or false based on the data in Source A.

Statement True or False

Simone Stevens is the Mayor of Hollenbeck City. T

Simone Stevens condemned the posting of images of rioters on social T

media.

Violence had continued all night into the early hours of the morning. F

A Facebook page was created to improve perceptions of Hollenbeck. T

Jane Bishop is an elderly resident of Hollenbeck. F

Read between the lines

3. Decide whether the following statements are true or false based on the data in Source A.

Statement True or False

All residents in Hollenbeck think the area is a safe place to live. F

Many Hollenbeck residents are keen to change the negative T

perceptions of the area.

Simone Stevens said that the crime rate in the Hollenbeck district is F
not important.

4. If you decided any ONE of the above statements is false, explain why it is false.

Mayor Simone Stevens didnt state tha the crime rate in the Hollenback district is not
important. She mentioned the opposite, that its very important.

Reading beyond the lines

5. Decide whether you agree or disagree with the following statement and explain why.
Only young people think that Hollenbeck is a wonderful place to live

I disagree because theres also long time resident, Natalie Smith, who started a Facebook
page that aims the improve Hollenbecks perception. Long time resident means shes old
and if she wants to improve Hollenbecks perception, she must love it.

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Correlating data
6. Analyse Graph 1, Reported crimes May-August in the Hollenbeck area, to answer the
following questions.
Graph1

Reported crimes May-August in the Hollenbeck area 2004-2013

9000

8000

7000

6000
Crimes reported

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Year

Read around the graph

a) What is the graph about?

Crimes that are reported from May to August in 2004 to 2013 in the Hollenbeck area.

b) What is the timeframe of the data?

year

c) Is there any data missing that might be useful?

Does it happen in day or night.

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Read inside the graph
d) In which year was the highest number of crimes reported?

2013

e) In which years did the reported crimes rise?

2012

f) What is the general trend shown on the graph?

6000

Table 1: Population of Hollenbeck City Council Area 2004-2013

Year

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Population

250 000 253 000 260 000 264 000 270 500 278 000 282 000 287 000 294 000 300 000

Data sourced fromHollenbeck City Community Profile http://communityprofile.com.uk/HollenbeckCity

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7. Create a line graph using the data from the table above to show the changes in population in
Hollenbeck from 2004 to 2013. You may use the grid below or a digital tool. Ensure the graph
includes all the appropriate graphing conventions (BATKIS).

Graph 2: Population of Hollenbeck City Council Area

20042013

Reported crimes are those about which the police have been officially informed and are
investigating or solving. The crime rate is the number of crimes reportedper 100 000
people in an area.

8. Has the population of Hollenbeck increased or decreased between 2004 and 2013 and by how
many?

Increased by 50000 people.

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Correlating subjective and objective data
9. Compare the data presented in Graph 1 Reported crimes May-August in Hollenbeck City area
and Graph 2 Population of Hollenbeck City Area 2004-2013. Would you say the crime rate
has increased or decreased in Hollenbeck City over time? Explain your answer using the data
presented in both graphs.

I would say decrease because theres lots of people coming to live here over the years and
although there was some rising time when crime rages, overall the record looks pretty low
comparing the population and the crime amount.

10. Decide if the perception that Hollenbeck City is an unsafe place is reasonable. Explain your
answer using subjective and objective data.

It is reasonable because the news shows lots of dangerous things about protests and riots
and there are data about the reported crimes

11. Why do you think that the amount of crime that people perceive exists in a place affects how
they feel about the liveability of that place?

If they feel safe, it could also consider liveable in somes eyes.Riots also cause traffic jam
and loud noises, trashed streets so it also affects the people in more ways other than just
safety.

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