If you are buying or renting, you usually want a clear picture of published police records around a postcode - not a vague “safe / unsafe” label. This guide walks through a practical check using official data.police.uk data on CrimeMapsUK.
What “crime rate” usually means online
Many sites talk about crime rates as if every area had a single score. Official open data is more limited:
- it shows recorded street crime and anti-social behaviour, not every incident that happened
- published locations are approximate
- CrimeMapsUK does not invent resident rates or safety scores unless an official matching population denominator exists
Treat the check as due diligence on published records, not a guarantee.
If you used to look this up on StreetCheck, that site was bought in March 2026 and the old address now goes to CrystalRoof. See What happened to StreetCheck for what is still free on police.uk and on CrimeMapsUK.
A simple three-step check
1. Start with the force area
Force pages put a city or region in context. For example:
- Crime in London (Metropolitan Police area)
- Crime in Manchester
- Crime in Birmingham
- Crime in Leeds
Browse every loaded area from crime by police force area.
Remember: a force area is much larger than one street. London’s Met page is not the same as one borough or postcode.
2. Use the maps and dashboards
- Crime map - hex density for approximate locations
- Crime statistics - totals, categories, and outcomes by force and month
- Trends and Comparisons - change over time
Read How to read a police crime map and How to interpret the hex maps before drawing strong conclusions from colours alone.
3. Narrow to the postcode with a neighbourhood report
For a documented 0.5 km circle around a specific postcode, order a neighbourhood crime report. The PDF prints the postcode, centre, radius, month window, category mix, and limits.
See How to read a neighbourhood report for what each section means.
What to compare carefully
- Force totals vs a street: different scales; do not treat them as twins
- Two websites with different methods: CrimeMapsUK sticks to published police data and documents the pipeline on the methodology page
- Conveyancing searches: a separate legal process - see Crime checks vs conveyancing searches
Limits to keep in mind
- Under-reporting varies by offence type
- Recent months can be revised after publication
- Outcomes are not court conviction rates
- Approximate locations mean pins are never exact addresses
Next step
If you have a specific postcode in mind, start with a free look at the crime map and the relevant force area page, then order a neighbourhood report when you want a shareable PDF scoped to that postcode.