Our Methodology
How we collect, process, and present UK crime data.
Data Sources
Police.uk Open Data
Street-level crime and outcome data published monthly by UK police forces. Data covers 43 police forces in England and Wales.
Reporting lag: 1-2 months
ONS Census 2021
Population, demographics, ethnicity, housing, and socioeconomic data at Output Area (OA) granularity.
Updated: Decennial
HM Land Registry
Property transaction data including sale prices, property types, and transaction dates.
Updated: Monthly
Open Government Licence
All data is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0, ensuring transparency and reusability.
Crime Rate Calculation
Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents to enable fair comparison between areas of different population sizes. The formula:
Population figures are sourced from the ONS Census 2021 at the Local Authority (LTLA) level via the uk_city_stats ethnicity total. For ward-level population, we use mid-year estimates where available.
Ranking System
Rankings are computed monthly across multiple tiers:
National Rank
Rank among all 331 Local Authorities by total crime count and crime rate.
County Rank
Rank within the county (e.g., West Yorkshire) by count and rate.
Ward Rank
Rank of wards within a city, enabling hyper-local safety assessment.
Limitations & Disclaimers
Reporting lag: Police.uk data has a 1-2 month delay. The "latest month" shown on our platform reflects the most recent data released by police forces, not the current calendar month.
Location accuracy: Street-level crime locations are anonymised to the nearest map point by Police.uk. Crimes are mapped to approximate locations, not exact addresses.
Under-reporting: Not all crimes are reported to police. Published statistics represent recorded crime only and may under-represent actual crime levels.
Quick Reference
Questions about our data?
We are committed to transparency. If you have questions about our methodology or data sources, please get in touch.
Contact Us