Local-level crime statistics for England and Wales, for the 318 Basic Command Units (BCUs) provided an insight into differences in crime rates across the country. Crime figures and rates for the 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) were also be considered. CDRPs were created as partnerships between police forces and local authorities (together with police authorities, health authorities, and probation committees) to tackle crime within local authority boundaries. However, important social, economic, and demographic characteristics influence policing environments, making straight comparisons across all areas potentially unrealistic and unfair. Leeds University was asked to develop family groupings of BCUs and CDRPs to aid performance comparisons on a like-with-like basis. The families were created using cluster analysis, a statistical technique that involves identifying which variables can be used to characterize entities and differentiate between them. Individual entities were gradually combined on the basis of their similarities. Tables