CrimeMapsUK has four main dashboards for published police data. They all use the same records as the maps and neighbourhood reports, but they answer different questions: what was recorded in a period, how stop and search looks, how totals change over time, and how two selections compare.
None of them produces a safety score. Counts are published records for the filters you choose, with the same limits documented on the methodology page.
Shared habits that apply everywhere
Most dashboards share the same reading pattern:
- Read What this page shows first — coverage period, months included, and any police-force filter.
- Use the filters if you want a different month range or one force.
- Open How these figures are calculated when a rate or label is unclear.
- Use View data table under a chart for exact figures; chart labels are sometimes shortened so the plot stays readable.
- Use Download chart if you want a PNG of the current view.
Changing the force or months changes every chart on that page. The default view is usually the latest loaded month (or the full loaded history on Trends).
Crime Statistics
Open Crime Statistics when you want a force-wide or national view of published street-crime records for a chosen period.
The top of Crime Statistics states the coverage period and force filter before any charts.
Typical uses:
- which crime categories dominate the selected months
- how published outcomes break down
- which forces contribute the most records in the selection
Category charts show record counts, not rates per resident. Open the data table when you need the exact totals behind a bar.
Read carefully:
- outcome labels can change as investigations progress
- the action/local resolution rate is a descriptive share of this dataset, not a conviction rate
- filtering to one force removes national context from every chart
Stop and Search Statistics
Open Stop and Search Statistics for the parallel view of published stop and search records.
Same filter pattern as crime statistics: choose months and an optional police force, then read the coverage summary.
Typical uses:
- age, gender, and search-type patterns in the selection
- which legislation powers appear most often
- recorded find rates and published outcomes
Long legislation names are shortened on the chart (for example PACE or Drugs Act labels). Hover the chart or open the table for the full wording.
A recorded find is derived from the published outcome label. It does not show whether a search was justified or proportionate.
Trends
Open Trends when you want change across the months currently loaded into CrimeMapsUK, rather than a single month snapshot.
Trends defaults to a longer time window so you can see the shape of the loaded history, optionally limited to one force.
Volume-over-time charts help you see whether totals rose or fell across years or months. Coverage still depends on which months are loaded for crime and stop and search.
Useful checks:
- confirm the selected from/to months before comparing early and late years
- remember that publication timing and recording practice can move totals as well as real changes in activity
- use category charts when you need composition, not only headline volume
Comparisons
Open Comparisons when you want two selections side by side — two months, one force against all forces, or two forces in the same month.
Start with a common question, then read the plain-English summary and the paired cards for both selections.
How to use it:
- Pick a preset, or open Advanced to choose any two police forces and month ranges.
- Read In plain English before the charts — it states the headline street- crime difference for the current selections.
- Use the paired summary cards to compare both sides, not only the second selection.
- Open More charts for resolution-rate shifts, composition change, and the full category table.
On the blue/orange change charts, bars left of zero are lower in the second selection and bars right are higher. Categories that appear in only one selection are listed in the data table rather than forced into a percentage change.
Which dashboard should I open?
What was recorded in these months?
How have totals changed over the loaded history?
How do two places or periods differ?
What does a small area look like on a map?
Crime map or stop and search map — see How to interpret the hex maps
What about one postcode circle in a PDF?
Neighbourhood reports — see How to read a neighbourhood report