A new website, which identifies crime hotspots, could help Bradford people clear up their communities.

The www.beatcrime.info site, devised by West Yorkshire Police Authority, allows people to find out how many and what type of crime has happened in the area they live.

The West Yorkshire force is the first to use such a site, which has a map containing dots indicating crime locations so people can see where offences are happening.

Crimes on any beat in the past month will be available, along with charts to explain crime trends over the past two years. Categories covered by the site include domestic burglary, vehicle crime, violence, anti-social behaviour and nuisance by youths.

But critics fear details on the site could polarise crime-hit areas, or even help criminals evade detection.

The authority said people concerned about local crime levels would be able to do something about it through links on the website to crime prevention advice.

They can also access Neighbourhood Watch schemes, report minor incidents, or tap into local police initiatives.

Authority chairman Councillor Mark Burns-Williamson, launching the website yesterday, said: "We want people to be informed and involved. We want to give them easy access to accurate, up-to-date information about crimes and this site does that.

"Last month, 70 per cent of the 258 beats in West Yorkshire recorded fewer than ten burglaries in the month, only 16 averaged more than one a day, and 25 - almost ten per cent - had no burglaries at all.

"We hope people will feel reassured, rather than alarmed. In the vast majority of cases the statistics will be far lower than the perception is."

One senior Bradford detective who did not want to be identified raised concerns about communities shown in a negative light. And he said criminals who logged on would know where police were centring their activities.

But Coun Burns-Williamson said: "If we are about improving communities and neighbourhoods, it is best to be up front about what's happening in certain areas and tackle it in a positive way."

Bradford North Labour MP Terry Rooney said: "There is a danger of ghettoising places. People have a right to know, but too little, or too much, information can be dangerous. Once a street or neighbourhood gets a bad name it takes a long time to get rid of it."