Whether you're buying a house, renting a flat, or just curious about your neighbourhood, knowing the local crime rate matters. Our Crime Checker tool gives you instant access to official police data for any postcode in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
How It Works
Using the crime checker is straightforward:
- Enter a UK postcode — Type or select from suggestions
- Click Check — We fetch the latest data from Police.uk
- Review the results — See totals, breakdown by category, and crimes on the map
The tool shows crime data from the last 3 months, giving you a current picture of what's happening in the area. Each crime is plotted on an interactive map so you can see exactly where incidents have been reported.
What Data Do You Get?
Crime Summary
At a glance, you'll see the total number of crimes reported in the area and a simple crime level rating (Low, Medium, High, or Very High). This gives you an immediate sense of how the area compares.
Category Breakdown
Not all crime is equal. A high-crime area might have lots of shoplifting (concerning for businesses, less so for residents) or lots of burglary (concerning for everyone). Our breakdown shows exactly which types of crime are most common:
- Anti-Social Behaviour — Nuisance, noise, and public disorder
- Burglary — Break-ins to homes and buildings
- Vehicle Crime — Theft of or from vehicles
- Violence & Sexual Offences — Violent crimes and sexual offences
- Shoplifting — Theft from shops
- Criminal Damage & Arson — Property damage and fire-setting
- Drugs — Possession and supply offences
- Other Theft — Theft not in other categories
- Public Order — Causing fear, alarm, or distress
- Robbery — Theft with force or threat of force
- Weapons — Possession of weapons offences
Interactive Crime Map
Every crime is plotted on the map with an icon showing its category. Click any marker to see details including the street name and month. This helps you understand whether crime is concentrated in specific areas or spread across the neighbourhood.
Understanding the Data
Location Anonymisation
To protect victims' privacy, crime locations are "snapped" to a nearby point rather than the exact address. A crime shown "on or near High Street" could have occurred anywhere along that street. This is a limitation of the data, not our tool.
Data Freshness
Police.uk updates data monthly, typically with a 2-month delay. So in December, you'd see data up to October. This is the most current street-level crime data publicly available in the UK.
Scotland Limitation
Police Scotland doesn't publish data to Police.uk. Only British Transport Police crimes (on trains and at stations) are available for Scottish postcodes, so crime levels will appear artificially low. For Scottish crime statistics, you'll need to check Police Scotland directly.
Why Check Crime Rates?
Buying a Property
Crime rates affect property values, insurance costs, and quality of life. Before committing to a purchase, check the crime profile of the area. High burglary rates might mean higher contents insurance. Lots of anti-social behaviour could affect your enjoyment of the property.
Renting
Unlike buying, renting gives you more flexibility — but you still want to know what you're getting into. Check crime rates before signing a lease, especially if you're moving to an unfamiliar area.
Families with Children
If you have children, you might want to check crime rates around schools, parks, and walking routes. While no area is completely crime-free, some are notably safer than others.
Business Decisions
If you're opening a shop or office, crime rates matter. High shoplifting might affect retail viability. Vehicle crime could concern employees who drive to work.
Tips for Interpreting Results
- Compare nearby areas — Check several postcodes to understand relative safety
- Look at the breakdown — Total crime matters less than the types of crime
- Consider context — Town centres naturally have more crime than quiet suburbs
- Check multiple times — One bad month doesn't define an area
- Visit in person — Data only tells part of the story
Privacy
We don't store your searches or track which postcodes you check. The postcode lookup happens in your browser, and crime data is fetched directly from Police.uk. When you share a link, only the postcode is included in the URL.
Data Source
All crime data comes from Police.uk, the official open data portal for UK police forces. The data is published under the Open Government Licence and updated monthly by police forces across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Try It Now
Ready to check crime rates in your area? Enter a postcode and get instant results — no sign-up required.
Got questions or feedback? Get in touch — we'd love to hear from you.