Data
This section contains links to the source data that supports policing information shown on this website. Please choose a dataset from the menu to the left.
The data available on this site is licensed for use under the Open Government Licence
HMICFRS is committed to making the data it collects easily accessible. If you have any queries regarding the content of this section, please email contacthmicfrs@hmicfrs.gov.uk.
Data comparators
HMICFRS most often uses England and Wales (sometimes referred to as national) averages or Most Similar Groups (MSGs) to provide comparators for policing data.
MSGs are groups of police force areas that have been found to be the most similar to each other based on an analysis of demographic, social and economic characteristics which relate to crime. With the exception of the City of London Police (for which it was not possible to identify any most similar forces), each force area has its own group of up to seven force areas to which it is ‘most similar’.
They are designed to help make a fairer comparison between police forces than the England and Wales average can sometimes offer. Although caution should still be used in making black and white comparisons between forces, even in the same MSG.
For more information about MSGs and how they are formed, please see the MSG technical note (PDF document).
MSGs by force
| Force | Most Similar Group |
|---|---|
| Avon and Somerset | Staffordshire Derbyshire Essex Hampshire Hertfordshire Kent Sussex |
| Bedfordshire | Leicestershire Nottinghamshire Hertfordshire Kent Hampshire Essex South Yorkshire |
| Cambridgeshire | Warwickshire Thames Valley Gloucestershire Wiltshire Avon and Somerset Staffordshire Devon and Cornwall |
| Cheshire | Northamptonshire Derbyshire Staffordshire Wiltshire Devon and Cornwall Avon and Somerset Suffolk |
| City of London | City of London does not have an MSG due to the unique nature of the force |
| Cleveland | Merseyside Northumbria Greater Manchester West Yorkshire Humberside |
| Cumbria | Lincolnshire Norfolk North Wales |
| Derbyshire | Staffordshire Avon and Somerset Cheshire Northamptonshire Essex Kent Wiltshire |
| Devon and Cornwall | Wiltshire Suffolk Warwickshire North Wales West Mercia Norfolk North Yorkshire |
| Dorset | Surrey Cambridgeshire Gloucestershire Thames Valley Warwickshire Sussex West Mercia |
| Durham | Gwent Humberside South Wales Northamptonshire |
| Dyfed-Powys | Lincolnshire Cumbria Norfolk |
| Essex | Hertfordshire Avon and Somerset Hampshire Staffordshire Leicestershire Sussex Derbyshire |
| Gloucestershire | West Mercia Warwickshire North Yorkshire Cambridgeshire Wiltshire Devon and Cornwall Suffolk |
| Greater Manchester | West Midlands Merseyside West Yorkshire Cleveland Northumbria South Yorkshire South Wales |
| Gwent | Humberside Durham South Wales Lancashire Northumbria Northamptonshire South Yorkshire |
| Hampshire | Hertfordshire Sussex Essex Leicestershire Thames Valley Avon and Somerset Staffordshire |
| Hertfordshire | Hampshire Essex Leicestershire Sussex Avon and Somerset Staffordshire Thames Valley |
| Humberside | Gwent South Wales Lancashire Northumbria Durham South Yorkshire West Yorkshire |
| Kent | Nottinghamshire Essex Staffordshire Avon and Somerset Northamptonshire Derbyshire Hertfordshire |
| Lancashire | South Wales South Yorkshire Northumbria Nottinghamshire Humberside Kent West Yorkshire |
| Leicestershire | Hertfordshire Hampshire Sussex Essex Bedfordshire Nottinghamshire Kent |
| Lincolnshire | Norfolk North Yorkshire North Wales West Mercia Suffolk Devon and Cornwall Cumbria |
| Merseyside | Cleveland Greater Manchester West Midlands Northumbria West Yorkshire South Yorkshire |
| Metropolitan Police Service | West Midlands Greater Manchester West Yorkshire |
| Norfolk | North Wales Suffolk North Yorkshire West Mercia Devon and Cornwall Lincolnshire Wiltshire |
| North Wales | Suffolk Norfolk Devon and Cornwall Wiltshire West Mercia Warwickshire North Yorkshire |
| North Yorkshire | West Mercia Norfolk Gloucestershire Lincolnshire Suffolk North Wales Devon and Cornwall |
| Northamptonshire | Cheshire Derbyshire Staffordshire Kent Avon and Somerset Essex Nottinghamshire |
| Northumbria | South Wales West Yorkshire Lancashire South Yorkshire Humberside Gwent Cleveland |
| Nottinghamshire | Kent Bedfordshire Lancashire Essex South Yorkshire Leicestershire Hertfordshire |
| South Wales | Lancashire Northumbria Humberside South Yorkshire Gwent West Yorkshire Nottinghamshire |
| South Yorkshire | West Yorkshire Lancashire Northumbria South Wales Nottinghamshire Bedfordshire Kent |
| Staffordshire | Avon and Somerset Derbyshire Essex Hampshire Hertfordshire Northamptonshire Cheshire |
| Suffolk | Devon and Cornwall North Wales Wiltshire Norfolk Warwickshire West Mercia North Yorkshire |
| Surrey | Dorset Thames Valley Cambridgeshire |
| Sussex | Hampshire Hertfordshire Thames Valley Leicestershire Essex Avon and Somerset Staffordshire |
| Thames Valley | Sussex Hampshire Cambridgeshire Hertfordshire Essex Avon and Somerset Leicestershire |
| Warwickshire | Wiltshire Devon and Cornwall West Mercia Suffolk Gloucestershire Cambridgeshire North Wales |
| West Mercia | North Yorkshire Warwickshire Gloucestershire Suffolk Devon and Cornwall Wiltshire Norfolk |
| West Midlands | Greater Manchester Merseyside West Yorkshire |
| West Yorkshire | South Yorkshire Northumbria Lancashire South Wales Greater Manchester Nottinghamshire West Midlands |
| Wiltshire | Devon and Cornwall Warwickshire Suffolk North Wales West Mercia Norfolk Cheshire |