Police and Reporting Crime Across the UK

Most forces let you report crime, give information or send in evidence such as photographs and dashcam footage through their own website. Online reporting is for matters that are not emergencies, and you will usually be given a reference number.

In Scotland, use Police Scotland's contact page and secure online forms. In Northern Ireland, use the PSNI report pages. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own systems, so guidance written for England and Wales may not apply.

Call 101 anywhere in the UK for non-emergency police matters, or use your force's online reporting route. Neither is suitable when somebody needs help now.

If you want to give information about crime without giving your name, the independent charity Crimestoppers takes anonymous information. It is not the police and cannot send anyone out.

Domestic abuse includes physical violence, threats, controlling and coercive behaviour, sexual abuse, financial abuse and stalking by a partner, ex-partner or family member. Call 999 if you are in immediate danger, and use the press 55 route if you cannot speak.

Repeated unwanted contact, following, monitoring, messages or online behaviour can be a criminal offence. Keeping a record of dates, times and evidence helps the police.

Abuse, threats, damage or violence connected to who somebody is, or who somebody is assumed to be, can be reported to the police whether or not it turns out to be a criminal offence.

You can report to the police at any time, however long ago it happened, and you can get specialist support without reporting. Sexual assault referral centres and specialist services can help you decide what you want to do.

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. Otherwise you can contact the police, children's social care at the council, or the NSPCC helpline if you are worried about a child. You do not need proof to raise a concern.

There is no waiting period before reporting somebody missing. Contact the police straight away if you are worried about someone, especially a child or a person at risk.

Forced labour, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation and human trafficking are serious crimes. Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger, and 101 or the Modern Slavery and Exploitation Helpline otherwise.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, fraud and cybercrime are reported to the national reporting service at reportfraud.police.uk, which is run by the City of London Police as the national lead force for fraud. Reports made there are assessed nationally before any local investigation. Call 999 if you are in immediate danger, or 101 if a crime is in progress.

In Scotland, report fraud to Police Scotland on 101, or 999 in an emergency. Scotland is not covered by the national reporting service used elsewhere.

Call 999 for a collision where somebody is injured, the road is blocked or dangerously obstructed, or a driver has left the scene. Report dangerous or careless driving, and send dashcam or camera footage, through your force's website.

Speeding tickets, penalty notices and driving offences follow their own process, which is separate from parking and toll charges issued by councils and private companies.

Antisocial behaviour can be reported to the police and, in many cases, also to your council or your landlord — for example persistent noise, rubbish, intimidation in a public place or problems on an estate. Keeping a diary of what happened and when helps all of them act.

Call 999 if behaviour becomes violent, threatening or dangerous.

You can get free, independent support whether or not you report to the police, and whether or not anybody is charged. Support services are separate from the investigation and are organised differently in each UK nation.

In England and Wales, the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime sets out what you should expect from the police, prosecutors and courts.

Complaints usually start with the force itself, which has a professional standards department. If you are unhappy with how a complaint is handled, there is an independent body for each part of the UK.

• England and Wales — the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
• Scotland — the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.
• Northern Ireland — the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.

• Dyfed-Powys Police (opens in a new tab)
• Gwent Police (opens in a new tab)
• North Wales Police (opens in a new tab)
• South Wales Police (opens in a new tab)

Police Scotland is a single national force covering the whole of Scotland, with local policing divisions across the country.

• Police Scotland (opens in a new tab)

The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the territorial force for the whole of Northern Ireland.

• Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) (opens in a new tab)

British Transport Police police the railway network, stations and trains in England, Wales and Scotland, including some tram and underground networks. Call 999 in an emergency on the railway. Railway matters in Northern Ireland are dealt with by the PSNI.

The Ministry of Defence Police provide policing at defence sites across the UK. Their jurisdiction is limited to defence property and related matters, so ordinary crime elsewhere goes to the local territorial force.

The Civil Nuclear Constabulary is an armed force that protects civil nuclear sites and nuclear material in transit. It does not deal with everyday policing in the surrounding area.

The national reporting service for fraud and cybercrime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is at reportfraud.police.uk, run by the City of London Police as national lead force for fraud. In Scotland, report to Police Scotland instead.

The National Crime Agency works on serious and organised crime across the UK, usually alongside police forces rather than taking reports from the public about local incidents. Report crime to the police in the normal way.