Why does this website exist?
Public policing data has long been difficult to access in a consistent and usable format. Much of it is spread across numerous Home Office and ONS spreadsheets, which are regularly updated with different structures and terminology. While existing platforms like police.uk provide some structured data, their scope is limited and the available APIs are not always easy to work with.
This website was created to bring key datasets together in one place, unify their structure, and make them easier to search, explore, and understand. The aim is to help anyone with an interest in policing - from researchers and journalists to local communities - make better use of the data that already exists.
Why do you only provide data for England and Wales?
PoliceData.co.uk uses several official data sources, including the Home Office’s Force Area tables and wider ONS datasets. At present, these sources do not consistently include data for Northern Ireland or Scotland. We are currently exploring alternative datasets to expand our coverage in the future.
Is the data accurate?
All data on PoliceData.co.uk comes directly from officially published datasets, including those from the Home Office, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Police.uk.
When we import these datasets, our system structures the information into a format that makes it easier to explore and analyse - allowing you to filter by location, year, and specific measures with much more flexibility than the original files provide.
To help ensure accuracy, the import process includes integrity checks. For example, we calculate overall totals as data is processed and confirm these match the source datasets, helping prevent errors from slipping in.
In the main platform we always provide a link back to the original published dataset so you can review the source directly. If you spot anything unusual, you can always verify it at its origin.
We do, however, advise that any interpretation or conclusions should take into account the definitions, caveats, and limitations set out in the original sources.
Who owns this platform?
PoliceData.co.uk is owned and operated by Truespin Digital Ltd (Company No. 12738059).
Truespin Digital is an approved HM Government G-Cloud supplier, Cyber Essentials certified, and registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
All services are hosted within a secure, UK-based data centre that is ISO 27001 certified, with enforced TLS encryption for all connections.
Privacy Policy
This platform primarily processes data that is already publicly available from official government sources. We only collect limited personal information necessary to manage user accounts and provide access to the service.
We do not sell or share personal data with third parties for marketing purposes. Any information we hold is handled securely and in accordance with UK data protection legislation.
If you would like to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, update your information, or have your account removed, please contact us at support@truespin.co.uk.
For additional details about our data handling practices or if you have any privacy concerns, you are welcome to get in touch.
What information do you collect about guests?
When accessing the site as a guest, we create a temporary session record so that the platform can function correctly. This session is automatically deleted once the guest access period ends.
We do not ask for or store any personal information from guest users. We do not retain a history of searches or queries made while browsing the site. If you save any queries whilst browsing as a guest, these are deleted at the point of account expiry.
As with most websites, basic technical information such as your IP address may be logged automatically by our web servers for security and diagnostic purposes. This is standard practice and does not allow us to identify individuals without additional data.
