Information expert Experian has launched a new crime model that includes instances of unreported crimes rather than just insurance claims.
It is able to assess the risk of burglary and motor crime at individual postcode level, with an average of 15 houses per postcode.
And it is being used by the Home Office with its own crime statistics.
Sue Hall, head of Experian's insurance services, says traditional models, which are based on insurance claims, are less effective because they ignore attempted burglaries.
"Experian has resolved this difficulty by commissioning its own research and is using its statistical expertise and wide range of geographically-based data to produce predictive models for household and vehicle crime."
The model has been built using variables such as household income, male unemployment, age of resident, DVLA type on the types of vehicles in an area and the proximity of properties to motorway junctions.
Experian's database includes information on burglary frequency, success of entry, value of property stolen and known incidents of burglary within the respondent's immediate neighbourhood.
It includes incidents of theft from and of motor vehicles including vandalism, as well as the location of the vehicle stolen.
As part of the research, Experian conducted 40,000 face to face interviews with the victims of crime at their homes.
"The crime model will be particularly useful to the insurance industry which needs a more effective method for assessing the risk of crime at individual level," Hall added.
