Safety Score Calculation Method
Our Safety Score is a 0–10 percentile-based measure of reported crime risk in a postcode, calculated from Police.uk street-level data aggregated at Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) level with national decile ranking.
Data Provenance & Specs
Calculation Workflow (Step-by-Step)
Geolocate Postcode to LSOA
Each postcode centroid is mapped to its parent Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) using the ONS Postcode Directory.
Aggregate 12-Month Crime Volume
All police-recorded crimes in the LSOA are summed across the most recent 12-month rolling period.
National Percentile Ranking
Each LSOA is ranked against all ~32,800 LSOAs across England and Wales by total crime volume.
Convert to 0–10 Safety Score
Percentiles are inverted and mapped to a 0–10 scale where 10 = safest (0th percentile, lowest crime) and 0 = highest crime risk.
Score Scale & Interpretation
Because scores are percentile ranks, a score of 9/10 means the area is safer than 90% of the UK.
| Safety Score | National Percentile | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 8.0 – 10.0 | Top 20% safest | Exceptionally low crime risk relative to UK national benchmarks. |
| 6.0 – 7.9 | Safest 20% – 40% | Above average safety score with below average crime counts. |
| 4.0 – 5.9 | Middle 40% – 60% | Typical national average for reported crimes per resident. |
| 2.0 – 3.9 | Higher risk (60% – 80%) | Below average safety rating; higher reported crime incidents. |
| 0.0 – 1.9 | Highest 20% crime risk | Elevated crime volume relative to national LSOA distributions. |
- Reported Crimes Only: Measures police-recorded incidents, not un-reported crime.
- LSOA Boundaries: All postcodes within the same LSOA (~600 postcodes) share the same spatial safety rating.
- Lag: Police.uk publishes records with a 2–4 week lag.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, sourced from Police.uk.