Matt Ashby @LessCrime

I help people use data to reduce crime. Associate Professor at @UCLCrimeScience. Former police officer. lesscrime.info Nottingham and London, UK Joined April 2009

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

2 days ago

@JohnTeslaBull @RobertKwolek Because people driving cars hit people on foot or on bikes. Occasionally that’s part of a terrorist attack, although it’s much more frequently because of drink, drugs, stupidity or a combination of them.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

4 days ago

@craig1983s @DanNeidle Adjusted for inflation, fuel duty is currently at its lowest since March 1993.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

4 days ago

@ThatSavageGuy21 @leicspolice I get it’s annoying, and it may not be justified. But at the same time, if those officers need to abandon their meal break to answer an urgent call (which is something that happens quite often), we probably don’t want them having to walk very far to get back to their car.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

a week ago

@Lord_Farquaady @dt_on_x @CallumLyon Council tax is collected directly by local councils and goes straight to them. In areas with more than one council, the district/borough usually collects it then passes on the different bits to the county council, police, etc.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

a week ago

@AriseAston @RachaelUnedited Can I ask how long ago you lived in Peckham? Being a victim of knifepoint robbery twice in two months sounds like something that would have been more likely in Peckham in the 90s than now.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

a week ago

@Dilrukshi_LK @ProfSchrepel That would definitely be unethical if you already knew which group was going to benefit. But if you don't know which (non-)treatment will be most effective, surely it's more ethical to run an experiment to find out?

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

2 weeks ago

@Amusing_Muse @DefenceGeek @SBarrettBar All national-security hearings in the magistrate’s court occur at City of Westminster Mags. The relevant laws aren’t used that often so most magistrates around the country won’t have any expertise in them. And of course people will follow the case – it’s already in the news.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

2 weeks ago

@Jarrecra Uniform pants? 🩲

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

2 weeks ago

Large survey finds police in England and Wales say “ill-fitting, inconsistent or low-quality uniforms [undermine] confidence, pride and their ability to present a professional image”. I doubt 46 forces each having slightly different uniforms helps. doi.org/10.1093/bjc/az…

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

2 weeks ago

@MentalHealthCop I'd imagine most Londoners have heard of Fabric – it's been one of the capital's biggest nightclubs for nearly 30 years.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

2 weeks ago

@Badminton134773 @JenniferIles @James_Treadwell All the UK institutions I’ve known, the title only stays if a person has emeritus status. Are you sure the institutions you worked at were different, or did people just keep using the title unofficially?

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

3 weeks ago

@ThomHansen1989 @akoustov @vincentgregoire My point was that democracies get to decide their own laws, even if those laws seem absurd when seen from other countries. But I could have used examples of laws in the US that are discriminatory, eg the ‘partisan purpose’ loophole in gerrymandering.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

3 weeks ago

@akoustov @vincentgregoire Now you know how people in other countries feel about US gun laws! I remember vividly the first time a US colleague told me about campus carry laws – I absolutely couldn’t believe that was real. But the US is (after a fashion) a democracy, so it gets to decide.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

3 weeks ago

@Jerry_Ratcliffe @BaltimorePolice At some point they paid for someone to design a logo for them, and now they’re damn well going to get their money’s worth!

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

4 weeks ago

@picanor_narra @Lord_Beesus Judicial review applies to decisions made by ministers and officials, not to legislation. “The courts cannot overturn or quash primary legislation passed by parliament. This is because, in the UK constitution, parliament is sovereign.” instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/judi…

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

4 weeks ago

@picanor_narra @Lord_Beesus And all of that constitutional administrative law falls away if Parliament passes an act saying it does. Parliament might choose not to do that (perhaps because it might cause other businesses not to invest in the UK), but it’s entirely able to.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

4 weeks ago

@ShruggedAslef I’m not saying it’s TfL’s fault they don’t now choose to immediately replace all 8,000+ buses with new buses with aircon. That would be silly. I’m saying TfL has always been responsible for specifying buses, so they’re responsible for not having specified aircon previously.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

4 weeks ago

@ShruggedAslef Sure, but it’s TfL that specifies whether buses must have aircon or not, so it’s a bit disingenuous to suggest it’s not TfL’s fault that most buses don’t have aircon.

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Matt Ashby @LessCrime

4 weeks ago

@cristo_radio @SarahLudford I’d have no problem with restrictions on the number of taxis and private hire vehicles able to enter the West End during the daytime, to reduce congestion so that bus routes are faster. But that does seem at odds with your wish for taxis to be able to pick up everywhere.