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API Endpoints

Crime & Policing

Police Forces

Tokens
× 1

API Credit Cost

Endpoint Overview

This endpoint gives a list of all police forces in England and Wales, provided by the data.police.uk API.

Coverage

EnglandEngland
WalesWales

Update Frequency

Weekly

Request Format

HTTP Method:

GET

To use the API you should send an HTTP request to the following endpoint URL. This will return a JSON response.

https://api.postcodearea.co.uk/police-forces/?key=&postcode={postcode}

Note that your key has automatically been added to the API endpoint for convenience.

Querystring Parameters:

{postcode}

A valid UK postcode (e.g., SW1A 1AA). Note that you can send the postcode with or without the space separating the outward and inward codes. For example, both "SW1A 1AA" and "SW1A1AA" are both valid.

{api_key}

A valid API key that authenticates your account.

Authorisation

For every endpoint request your API Key should be sent as part of the querystring:

https://api.postcodearea.co.uk/police-forces/?key={api_key}&postcode=WS3+3PD

For example:

https://api.postcodearea.co.uk/police-forces/?key=&postcode=WS3+3PD

Example Request and Response

If the above URL endpoint exists and the API key is valid, our system will return the following example response:

https://api.postcodearea.co.uk/police-forces/?key=&postcode=WS3+3PD
{"data":[{"id":"avon-and-somerset","name":"Avon and Somerset Constabulary"},{"id":"bedfordshire","name":"Bedfordshire Police"},{"id":"cambridgeshire","name":"Cambridgeshire Constabulary"},{"id":"cheshire","name":"Cheshire Constabulary"},{"id":"city-of-london","name":"City of London Police"},{"id":"cleveland","name":"Cleveland Police"},{"id":"cumbria","name":"Cumbria Constabulary"},{"id":"derbyshire","name":"Derbyshire Constabulary"},{"id":"devon-and-cornwall","name":"Devon & Cornwall Police"},{"id":"dorset","name":"Dorset Police"},{"id":"durham","name":"Durham Constabulary"},{"id":"dyfed-powys","name":"Dyfed-Powys Police"},{"id":"essex","name":"Essex Police"},{"id":"gloucestershire","name":"Gloucestershire Constabulary"},{"id":"greater-manchester","name":"Greater Manchester Police"},{"id":"gwent","name":"Gwent Police"},{"id":"hampshire","name":"Hampshire Constabulary"},{"id":"hertfordshire","name":"Hertfordshire Constabulary"},{"id":"humberside","name":"Humberside Police"},{"id":"kent","name":"Kent Police"},{"id":"lancashire","name":"Lancashire Constabulary"},{"id":"leicestershire","name":"Leicestershire Police"},{"id":"lincolnshire","name":"Lincolnshire Police"},{"id":"merseyside","name":"Merseyside Police"},{"id":"metropolitan","name":"Metropolitan Police Service"},{"id":"norfolk","name":"Norfolk Constabulary"},{"id":"north-wales","name":"North Wales Police"},{"id":"north-yorkshire","name":"North Yorkshire Police"},{"id":"northamptonshire","name":"Northamptonshire Police"},{"id":"northumbria","name":"Northumbria Police"},{"id":"nottinghamshire","name":"Nottinghamshire Police"},{"id":"northern-ireland","name":"Police Service of Northern Ireland"},{"id":"south-wales","name":"South Wales Police"},{"id":"south-yorkshire","name":"South Yorkshire Police"},{"id":"staffordshire","name":"Staffordshire Police"},{"id":"suffolk","name":"Suffolk Constabulary"},{"id":"surrey","name":"Surrey Police"},{"id":"sussex","name":"Sussex Police"},{"id":"thames-valley","name":"Thames Valley Police"},{"id":"warwickshire","name":"Warwickshire Police"},{"id":"west-mercia","name":"West Mercia Police"},{"id":"west-midlands","name":"West Midlands Police"},{"id":"west-yorkshire","name":"West Yorkshire Police"},{"id":"wiltshire","name":"Wiltshire Police"}],"response_time":0.0664,"Source":"https://data.police.uk/api/","Output Area":"England & Wales","Radius":10,"Distance Unit":"Mile","Records":-1,"Unique Fields":1,"Referrer":"api.postcodearea.co.uk","Host":"https://api.postcodearea.co.uk/police-forces/?key=pa_XWQAV24RXCUU19NGUFM11TKTLN&postcode=st200ly","Endpoint":"/police-forces/?key=pa_XWQAV24RXCUU19NGUFM11TKTLN&postcode=st200ly"}

Error Handling

HTTP Status Code Error Message Reason
400 Invalid postcode format The postcode provided is not valid.
401 Unauthorised request API key missing or invalid.
404 Postcode not found No data available for the given postcode.
404 No Results Found No data available for the given radius.
429 Too many requests Exceeded rate limit.
500 Internal server error An unexpected issue occurred.

Caching Policy

You may temporarily cache data retrieved from the API for performance optimisation purposes, provided that the cached data is:

  1. Stored in-memory only (e.g., application-level cache).
  2. Retained for no longer than one hour.

Caching API data to any persistent storage, including but not limited to databases, files, or external systems, constitutes a breach of our API Terms and Conditions. Such actions are strictly prohibited to ensure data accuracy and compliance with our licensing agreements.

If you have specific requirements for extended caching, you must seek prior written consent from us.

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