M
API Matrix

UK Police API

⭐ Beginner's Pick Security / No Auth Required Beginner HTTPS
Free to Use Varies (check documentation)
82 Score
Grade A
Visit Official Site Compare Alternatives

Overview

The UK Police API provides open access to crime data, police force information, and neighborhood policing data across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. You can retrieve crime statistics by location, list police forces, and find neighborhood teams for any area. It's completely free with no API key required, making it ideal for civic tech projects and data journalism.

💡

Beginner Tip

Use the /crimes-street/{category} endpoint with a lat and lng parameter to get crimes near any UK location — latitude/longitude for UK cities are easy to find on Google Maps.

Available Data

Response fields: police uk
Use case: Integrate uk police data data into web and mobile applications
UK Police data via REST API
JSON-formatted response data
Freely accessible without authentication

Example Response

JSON Response 
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "result": "Data from UK Police",
    "description": "UK Police data",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

Field Reference

category Crime category slug, e.g., violent-crime, burglary, vehicle-crime.
location_type Whether the crime occurred at a Force or BTP (British Transport Police) location.
location Approximate street location including latitude, longitude, and street name.
month The month this crime was recorded, in YYYY-MM format.
outcome_status Latest investigation outcome (e.g., "Under investigation", "No suspect identified"), or null if pending.
id Unique identifier for this crime record.

Implementation Example 

// ⚠️ Note: This URL may be a documentation page. Check official docs for actual API endpoint.
const url = "https://data.police.uk/docs/";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

400 Bad Request on location queries The lat and lng parameters are required for street-level crime endpoints.
✓ Always include both lat (latitude) and lng (longitude) as query parameters, e.g., ?lat=51.5074&lng=-0.1278.
Empty crimes array Data for very recent months may not yet be published, as there is usually a 2-3 month lag.
✓ Use a date parameter from 2-3 months ago (format: YYYY-MM) to ensure data is available, e.g., &date=2024-01.
503 Service Unavailable The API can be slow during high traffic or data update periods.
✓ Implement retry logic with exponential backoff; the API is generally reliable but may have brief downtime during monthly data releases.

Matrix Score Breakdown

🌐 Reachability 30/30
⚡ Speed 15/20
🔒 Security 15/15
🛠 Developer XP 15/20
✓ Reliability 7/15
Response Time 368ms

Fully tested on Apr 5, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth No Auth
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS UNKNOWN
Category Security
Difficulty Beginner
Verified: 2026-04-04

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