Police.uk publishes recorded crime data for every postcode in England and Wales — and it is the most granular, freely available safety dataset in the country. Postcode.page uses this data to show crime rates per 1,000 residents for every postcode district. But like any data source, it tells part of the story, not all of it.
What the Data Shows
Police.uk reports recorded crimes — crimes that were reported to the police and logged on the national crime recording system. The data is broken into categories:
- Violent crime
- Burglary
- Vehicle crime
- Antisocial behaviour
- Other theft
- Drugs, public order, shoplifting, and other categories
Postcode.page shows the total rate per 1,000 residents and a comparison to the national average. This allows you to answer the question: “Is this area more or less affected by crime than England and Wales overall?”
The Biggest Limitation: Under-Reporting
Recorded crime is not the same as actual crime. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), which asks residents directly whether they have been a victim, consistently finds that only around 40–45% of crimes are reported to the police — and of those, not all are recorded.
The under-reporting rate varies by crime type. Domestic abuse, sexual offences, and certain forms of fraud are severely under-reported. Burglary and vehicle crime are reported at higher rates (partially driven by insurance requirements). Antisocial behaviour is among the most inconsistently recorded.
The practical implication: a district with a low recorded crime rate could reflect genuinely low crime, or low reporting, or both. You cannot tell from the data alone.
The Footfall Effect
This is the most important caveat for urban buyers. A postcode district that covers a town centre, railway station, or nightlife area will always record more crime than a purely residential district — not because the residential streets are unsafe, but because the town centre attracts more people and therefore more incidents.
For example, a district covering a major shopping street and a quiet suburb will show a higher crime rate than a district covering only the quiet suburb, even if both suburbs are equally safe. When comparing an inner-city district to a suburban one, the footfall effect can account for the majority of the difference.
Our safest areas guide notes this and focuses on lower-footfall districts for that reason.
Changes in Recording Practices
Police forces change how they record crime periodically — often in response to inspections or policy changes. A sudden spike or drop in recorded crime in a district might reflect a change in recording practices rather than a change in actual crime. Multi-year trends are more reliable than single-year comparisons.
How to Use Crime Data Well
Use it comparatively, not absolutely. A rate of 80 crimes per 1,000 residents means little in isolation. Compared to the national average of 93 per 1,000 (for instance), it means the area has 14% less recorded crime than average. That is a useful signal.
Weight it against footfall. Town centres will always score worse. If the district you are looking at covers a high street, discount the headline figure and focus on the residential-specific crime types (burglary, vehicle crime) rather than violent crime and antisocial behaviour, which are heavily footfall-influenced.
Look at trends. A district where crime has been falling for three consecutive years is different from one where it has been rising. Postcode.page shows a 12-month trend indicator for each district.
Combine it with a site visit. Walk the area at different times of day. Talk to local residents. Data is a useful screen — local knowledge is the final check.
Crime data for every English and Welsh postcode district is available on Postcode.Page, including a comparison to the national average and a breakdown by crime type. See the safest areas in England & Wales guide for a full ranking.