London crime falls 2.3% but Westminster sees highest rate

More than 900,000 crimes were recorded across London in the past year, according to Metropolitan Police data. The total number of offences logged between September 2025 and August 2026 stood at 917,809, representing a 2.3% decrease compared to the preceding year. This overall reduction in crime levels masks varied trends across the capital's boroughs.

Westminster leads in crime rates

Westminster registered the highest volume of crimes, with 74,464 offences recorded in the specified period. It also reported the highest crime rate per capita, at 273.1 incidents per 1,000 residents. Despite this, Westminster saw a significant drop in crime, with a 17.41% decrease from the previous year when 90,159 crimes were logged.

Following Westminster, Newham recorded the second highest number of offences with 42,038, while Southwark had 41,486 and Camden reported 39,541. At the other end of the scale, south-west London boroughs including Richmond, Kingston, Merton, and Sutton experienced the lowest crime figures.

Offence types and trends

Theft remained the most prevalent offence across London, with 284,062 cases logged. This figure represents an 8.7% reduction from the previous year's total of 311,101 thefts. Conversely, violence against the person offences saw an increase, with 258,143 cases reported, up 7.3% from 240,617 in the prior year. Croydon reported the highest number of violence against the person incidents, with 11,512.

Vehicle crimes were the third most common category, experiencing a 7.1% decrease. Drug-related offences also declined sharply by 9.9%. Westminster, Lambeth, and Croydon recorded the highest numbers of sexual offences over the past year. Some boroughs, such as Tower Hamlets and Lewisham, saw notable year-on-year increases in overall crime levels, rising by 4.35% and 4.34% respectively. Barnet, Redbridge, Kingston, and Sutton also experienced increases.

Borough crime variations

While Westminster experienced a substantial decrease in crime, other areas saw rises. Tower Hamlets reported the largest year-on-year increase at 4.35%, followed closely by Lewisham at 4.34%. Barnet, Redbridge, Kingston, and Sutton also recorded increases in their crime figures. Conversely, Kensington and Chelsea saw crime levels fall by 10.58%, and Camden, Haringey, Richmond, Merton, and Waltham Forest all reported drops of over 5%.