Crime Statistics API
Look up official UK crime statistics by postcode using Police UK data with comprehensive analysis and trends
Overview
The Crime Statistics API provides comprehensive access to official UK crime data sourced directly from Police UK's open data service. Our API aggregates and analyzes crime incidents by category for any UK postcode, providing historical trends and detailed breakdowns with intelligent data processing and a 2-month publication lag to ensure data accuracy.
This API provides:
- Official police force area identification and postcode coordinate resolution
- Historical monthly crime totals for customizable time periods (up to 24 months)
- Crime category breakdowns with incident counts, percentages, and outcome statistics
- Detailed location information including ward, district, and police force boundaries
- Detailed case outcome analysis showing resolution status for each crime type
- Crime trend analysis and month-over-month comparison data
- Population-adjusted crime rates where demographic data is available
- Complete coverage of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland police forces
UK Crime Categories:
Major Crime Categories
- Anti-social behaviour: Public order offences
- Violence and sexual offences: Assault, harassment
- Criminal damage and arson: Property damage
- Public order: Disorder and weapons offences
- Burglary: Residential and commercial break-ins
- Vehicle crime: Theft of/from vehicles
- Shoplifting: Retail theft offences
Key Features
- Official Police UK data integration
- Real-time postcode geolocation services
- Historical trend analysis capabilities
- Configurable time window analysis
- Raw incident data access for research
- Fast response times (<500ms typical)
This API is ideal for:
- Property portals displaying neighborhood safety information
- Estate agents providing comprehensive area analysis to buyers
- Insurance companies assessing risk profiles for properties
- Local government and planning authorities conducting safety assessments
- Academic research institutions studying crime patterns and trends
- Security consultancies providing area risk assessments
- Community safety applications and neighborhood watch platforms
- Investment analysts evaluating property market conditions
Important Notes
- • Crime data is sourced from official Police UK databases with a standard 2-month publication lag
- • Data reflects reported incidents only and may not include all criminal activity
- • Always consider multiple factors when assessing area safety and consult local authorities for the most current information
Performance Note
API response times increase with longer lookback periods. A 12-month analysis typically completes in under 2 seconds, while a full 24-month analysis may take 3-4 seconds due to sequential API calls to Police UK's service.
Authentication
All requests to the Crime Statistics API require authentication using an API key. You can obtain your API key from your PropertyInsights dashboard after subscribing to an API plan.
Include your API key in the request header as follows:
X-API-Key: your_api_key_here
Security Warning
Endpoints
Base URL
https://propertyinsights.co.uk/api/v1/
Crime Statistics by Postcode
/crime/by-postcode?postcode={postcode}&months={months}&includeRaw={boolean}Retrieve comprehensive crime statistics for a specific UK postcode. Returns aggregated monthly totals, crime category breakdowns, location information, and optionally raw incident data. Data covers the specified time period with intelligent analysis of trends and patterns.
Request Parameters
GET /crime/by-postcode
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| postcode | Required | String | UK postcode (e.g., SW1A 2AA) |
| months | Optional | Number | Number of months to include (default 12, max 24) |
| includeRaw | Optional | Boolean | Include raw incidents for the reference month (true/false) |
Billing details in the response
Successful chargeable JSON responses include a top-level billing object. The endpoint examples on this page focus on the endpoint-specific data, so this repeated block may not be shown in every example.
"billing": {
"mode": "prepaid",
"creditsCharged": 1,
"creditsRemaining": 1999,
"creditsRefreshAt": "2026-08-14T09:30:00.000Z"
}| Field or header | Meaning |
|---|---|
| billing.creditsCharged X-Credits-Charged | Credits charged by this call. Failed and non-chargeable calls return 0 in the header. |
| billing.creditsRemaining X-Credits-Remaining | The credit balance after the call. |
| billing.creditsRefreshAt X-Credits-Refresh-At | The next monthly credit refresh as an ISO 8601 timestamp. Trial and non-renewing balances return null and omit the header. |
All authenticated API-key calls expose the billing headers, including validation errors and zero-credit status or management requests. Only successful chargeable JSON responses add the billing object to the response body.
Response Format
All API responses are returned in JSON format. The standard response structure is as follows:
{
"success": boolean,
"data": {
"locationName": string,
"postcode": string,
"latitude": number,
"longitude": number,
"policeForce": string,
"referenceMonth": string,
"monthsRequested": number,
"monthlyTotals": object,
"crimeCategories": array,
"totalCrimes": number,
"rawCrimes": array // Optional
},
"error": {
"code": string,
"message": string
} // Only present if success is false
}Response Fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| locationName | String | Human-readable location name (ward/district) |
| policeForce | String | Name of the responsible police force |
| referenceMonth | String | Most recent month with available data (YYYY-MM format) |
| monthlyTotals | Object | Monthly crime totals keyed by YYYY-MM format |
| crimeCategories | Array | Crime categories with counts, percentages, and outcome breakdowns for reference month |
| percentage | Number | Percentage of total crimes this category represents |
| outcomes | Object | Breakdown of case outcomes by type (e.g., "Investigation complete; no suspect identified", "Unable to prosecute suspect") |
| rawCrimes | Array | Individual crime incidents (only when includeRaw=true) |
Examples
Example 1: Basic Crime Statistics
GET https://propertyinsights.co.uk/api/v1/crime/by-postcode?postcode=SW1A%202AA&months=12 X-API-Key: your_api_key_here
{
"success": true,
"data": {
"locationName": "City of Westminster",
"postcode": "SW1A 2AA",
"latitude": 51.5034,
"longitude": -0.1276,
"referenceMonth": "2025-06",
"monthlyTotals": {
"2025-06": 37,
"2025-05": 40,
"2025-04": 34,
"2025-03": 37,
"2025-02": 31,
"2025-01": 32,
"2024-12": 43,
"2024-11": 42,
"2024-10": 49,
"2024-09": 39,
"2024-08": 31
},
"crimeCategories": [
{
"category": "violent-crime",
"count": 19,
"percentage": 51.4,
"outcomes": {
"Action to be taken by another organisation": 1,
"Under investigation": 13,
"Unable to prosecute suspect": 4,
"Investigation complete; no suspect identified": 1
}
},
{
"category": "anti-social-behaviour",
"count": 9,
"percentage": 24.3,
"outcomes": {
"Investigation complete; no suspect identified": 6,
"Local resolution": 2,
"No outcome recorded": 1
}
},
{
"category": "criminal-damage-arson",
"count": 5,
"percentage": 13.5,
"outcomes": {
"Investigation complete; no suspect identified": 3,
"Unable to prosecute suspect": 2
}
}
]
}
}Returns 12 months of crime statistics for Downing Street area showing 37 total incidents in the most recent month with detailed outcome breakdowns
Example 2: 6-Month Crime Analysis
GET https://propertyinsights.co.uk/api/v1/crime/by-postcode?postcode=SW1A%202AA&months=6 X-API-Key: your_api_key_here
{
"success": true,
"data": {
"locationName": "City of Westminster",
"postcode": "SW1A 2AA",
"latitude": 51.5034,
"longitude": -0.1276,
"referenceMonth": "2025-06",
"monthlyTotals": {
"2025-06": 89,
"2025-05": 76,
"2025-04": 82,
"2025-03": 95,
"2025-02": 71,
"2025-01": 68
},
"crimeCategories": [
{
"category": "anti-social-behaviour",
"displayName": "Anti-social behaviour",
"count": 32,
"percentage": 36.0,
"outcomes": {
"Investigation complete; no suspect identified": 18,
"Unable to prosecute suspect": 8,
"Local resolution": 4,
"Community resolution": 2
}
},
{
"category": "shoplifting",
"displayName": "Shoplifting",
"count": 18,
"percentage": 20.2,
"outcomes": {
"Investigation complete; no suspect identified": 10,
"Unable to prosecute suspect": 4,
"Offender given penalty notice": 2,
"Awaiting court outcome": 2
}
},
{
"category": "violence-and-sexual-offences",
"displayName": "Violence and sexual offences",
"count": 15,
"percentage": 16.9,
"outcomes": {
"Investigation complete; no suspect identified": 8,
"Unable to prosecute suspect": 3,
"Awaiting court outcome": 2,
"Offender given a caution": 2
}
}
],
"rawCrimes": [
{
"month": "2024-10",
"category": "anti-social-behaviour",
"location": "On or near Mosley Street",
"context": "",
"persistent_id": "a1b2c3d4e5f67890123456789abcdef0",
"location_subtype": "ROAD",
"outcome_status": null
},
{
"month": "2024-10",
"category": "shoplifting",
"location": "On or near Market Street",
"context": "",
"persistent_id": "b2c3d4e5f67890123456789abcdef01a",
"location_subtype": "ROAD",
"outcome_status": {
"category": "Unable to prosecute suspect",
"date": "2024-11"
}
}
]
}
}Returns 6 months of crime statistics for Downing Street area showing detailed outcome breakdowns
Error Handling
The API uses standard HTTP response codes and returns detailed error information in JSON format. All errors follow a consistent structure to help you handle them appropriately in your application.
| HTTP Code | Error Code | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 400 | MISSING_POSTCODE | Postcode parameter is required |
| 400 | INVALID_POSTCODE | Invalid UK postcode format |
| 400 | INVALID_MONTHS | Months parameter must be between 1 and 24 |
| 404 | POSTCODE_NOT_FOUND | Postcode not found in UK database |
| 404 | NO_CRIME_DATA | No crime data available for this area |
| 429 | RATE_LIMITED | Too many requests - rate limit exceeded |
| 502 | POLICE_API_ERROR | Upstream Police UK API service error |
| 503 | SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE | Crime data service temporarily unavailable |
| 401 | AUTHENTICATION_REQUIRED | Valid API key is required |
| 402 | INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS | Not enough API credits remaining to perform operation |
| 500 | DATABASE_ERROR | Error accessing database - please try again |
| 500 | INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR | An unexpected error occurred |
Error Response Format
{
"success": false,
"error": {
"code": "NO_CRIME_DATA",
"message": "No crime data available for the specified postcode area."
}
}Rate Limits
API requests are subject to rate limiting based on your subscription plan. The current limits are:
| Plan | Requests per Minute | Requests per Day | Requests per Month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 10 | 500 | 5,000 |
| Standard | 30 | 2,000 | 30,000 |
| Premium | 100 | 5,000 | 100,000 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom |
When you exceed your rate limit, the API will return a 429 Too Many Requests response. Each response includes the following headers to help you track your usage:
X-RateLimit-Limit: [requests-per-minute limit] X-RateLimit-Remaining: [requests remaining in current window] X-RateLimit-Reset: [timestamp when limit resets]
Performance Note: Crime statistics requests typically complete within 300-500ms, making them suitable for real-time property analysis applications.
Need Help?
If you need assistance with implementation or have questions about the Crime Statistics API, our support team is here to help.