Most Similar Forces

This report updates the Most Similar Forces (MSF) method used to compare police force areas in England and Wales. It incorporates new data, refined statistical techniques and sector input to improve the accuracy and relevance of groupings for benchmarking crime and demand.

Using socio-economic indicators, the model identifies groups of similar forces through feature selection, principal component analysis and distance-based measures. The findings show that these groupings provide a strong basis for comparing weighted crime rates, though their suitability varies by crime type and requires validation by users.