Case Study: Hot Blocking achieves a 33% reduction in violent crime and safer streets with Ordnance Survey

Hot Blocking - Customer Case Study

Westminster Police faced large-scale underreporting of violent street crime, limited intelligence on where alcohol-related assaults were occurring, and a need for cost‑effective, venue- and street‑level targeting. Ordnance Survey supplied the mapping foundations (PSMA data and OS MasterMap layers) to support the Hot Blocking approach — developed by SafeStats and used by the GLA — giving clear, shareable location intelligence for policing and partner agencies.

Using Ordnance Survey’s datasets combined with shared ambulance and A&E data, Hot Blocking enabled targeted police deployment (Operation Trafalgar, West End 2012) and measurable impact: a 33% reduction in crime in peak times, 122 fewer ambulance call‑outs in the first half of 2012 (an estimated £28,000 saving), and better-prepared emergency services and venue partnerships for ongoing crime prevention.