This section is for deeper looks at published policing data — the kind of analysis you can run yourself with the CrimeMapsUK dashboards, maps, and trends tools.
Some articles will walk through a particular place: how recorded crime or stop-and-search looks around a force or neighbourhood, what changed over recent months, and which comparisons are (and are not) fair to make. Others will show how to use a specific page on the site — for example reading a hex map, interpreting category shares, or putting a neighbourhood report in context.
Every piece sticks to official published data. We do not rank areas as safe or unsafe, and we keep the same caveats documented on our methodology page: approximate locations, recording gaps, and force-to-force differences.
If you are checking an area before moving, start here:
- How to check crime rates before buying a house
- Crime checks vs conveyancing searches
- How to read a police crime map
- What a postcode crime report should include
- How to read a neighbourhood report
If you are new to the data itself, these explainers help:
- What is a street crime
- What is a stop and search record
- What is a crime outcome
- How to use the dashboards
- How to interpret the hex maps
- What is a police force or constabulary
You can also explore crime by police force area (for example Crime in London), the crime statistics dashboard, trends, or the crime map directly.