Crime in your area, last twelve months, plainly

Common questions

How does Police.uk collect crime data?

Police.uk is the official data portal run by the Home Office. Every month, police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland submit street-level crime records which are published as open data (OGL v3.0). Each record includes the crime category and an approximate location — anonymised to the nearest street or road segment rather than the exact address. The data shown here is aggregated to the LSOA (Lower Layer Super Output Area) level, covering around 1,500 households.

What does 'antisocial behaviour' mean in crime statistics?

Antisocial behaviour (ASB) in Police.uk data includes incidents that do not meet the threshold for a criminal offence — noise nuisance, neighbour disputes, public disorder, vandalism and rough sleeping, among others. It is typically the highest-volume category in most areas. High ASB counts do not necessarily indicate a high risk of personal crime; they often reflect a dense urban environment or active reporting culture.

Why is there a two-month lag in the crime data?

Police forces have up to two months after a crime is recorded to submit data to the Home Office. Police.uk then publishes a new dataset monthly once submissions close. This means the most recent data you see here is typically two to three months behind the current date. The rolling 12-month window shown accounts for this lag — the most recent month included is always at least two months before today.

Can I see specific crimes at an address?

No. Police.uk deliberately anonymises crime locations to the nearest street segment to protect both victims and the property market. This tool aggregates data to the LSOA (neighbourhood) level — approximately 1,500 households — which is the finest grain appropriate for area comparison. Individual address-level records are not available through any public source. The Eavesdrop full report (£9.99) includes a neighbourhood crime context section but does not surface individual addresses.

What is a normal crime level for a UK postcode?

The national median LSOA sees roughly 50–80 recorded incidents per 12 months across all categories. Dense city-centre LSOAs often record over 300 per year; rural areas may record fewer than 20. The percentile score shown here ranks the LSOA against all ~33,000 LSOAs in England and Wales: below the 25th percentile is well below average ('Looks good'); above the 75th percentile is notably above average ('Red flag').