As the largest city in the UK and the 37th largest city in the world, London represents a huge central hub for the whole of the UK. It’s one of the most widely visited tourist spots on the continent, attracting some 20.3 million tourists to its labyrinthine streets, major attractions and celebrations of British and international history.
But whether you’re planning a temporary or more permanent move to the capital, or you’re looking to escape one of the more dangerous areas of England & Wales, learning the safest boroughs in London is essential in making the right decision.
That’s the area we’ll be exploring today, as part of an ongoing series of crime statistic articles designed to provide an insight into our country’s issues with criminality. We’ll be diving into the statistics that define London’s safest areas, as well as what makes them so safe.
From the leafy reaches of the Metropolitan Green Belt to the hustle and bustle of Camden Market, it’s a diverse balance of green spaces and culture and a beating mechanical heart of industry and trade. Hosting royalty, resplendence, and the ribboned banks of the Thames, London is a microcosmic view of the whole of Britain, as well as home to over 14 million people.
That’s manifested itself in the city’s crime rate, however. As we delved into with our counterpart guide to London’s most dangerous areas, our capital’s overall crime rate of 116 crimes per 1,000 residents (between October 2023 and September 2024) does the region no favours. Despite its immense and undeniable popularity, there are issues which spark concern.
Theft (343,114 offences) and violent crime (262,686 offences) are the two major contributors towards that rate, with the former having seen a 15% rise over that last 12-month period. They’re far from the only issues facing Londoners and the city’s massive tourism scene, and policing initiatives often centre around reducing those levels.
However, there are some positives when we look more into the different issues across the policing spectrum. Weapon possession has fallen by a notable 11% over the last year and is down by 23% when compared with the same period in 22/23.
There’s also been a notable decrease in the cases of arson (down by 26%), fraud and forgery (down by 11%), and interfering with a motor vehicle (down by 5%). These are all notes of positivity in what can make for grim reading.
And while the overall picture of Britain’s capital isn’t necessarily as positive as we’d like it to be, there are glimmers of hope across some of London’s more sedate boroughs. Let’s flip the script and explore the safest areas of London, as well as their dwindling figures in key crimes across the capital.
Let’s break down the 15 safest boroughs of London, and how their crime rate stacks up against what’s on offer in that region.
While the borough is one of London’s more populous, hosting almost 400,000 residents, Croydon’s crime rate is still significantly lower than over half of the 32 areas of the capital, with 97 crimes per 1,000 people over the course of the last year.
As one of London’s major hubs for commerce and business, its integral sense of community has ensured that Croydon’s levels of criminality have stayed lower than many might expect. That’s especially true in the rates of business burglary (598 offences), pickpocketing/theft from the person (846 offences) and bicycle theft (206 offences).
As one of the primary nightlife hubs of West London, Ealing’s crime rate reflects its significant economic development over the last 65 years. At 96.6 crimes per 1,000 residents, residential areas like Pitshanger and Gunnersbury can breathe a tentative sigh of relief.
That economic injection, coupled with strong retail and cultural centres, ensures Ealing retains its spot among the safer areas of London. A closer look reveals several key crime types that fall below the citywide average, including drug possession (686 offences), pickpocketing (1,247 offences) and motor vehicle theft (1,305 offences).
Lodged at the northern fringes of the capital, the London Borough of Enfield has seen substantial renovations in the last 2 decades, with the town centre thoroughly modernised, and ongoing works to the Edmonton Green area. It’s that investment that’s seen Enfield’s crime rate dip to 94 crimes per 1,000 residents, placing it among London’s safest boroughs.
Exploring the data more thoroughly, we find that there are multiple contributors towards that lower rate of crime. Chief among these are rates of both business robbery (149 offences) and bicycle theft (216 offences), which fall far below the city’s average.
Perhaps best known for being home to the southern reaches of Epping Forest, this greenery ensures that Waltham Forest retains a lower crime rate than more than half of the other 31 London boroughs, with just 93.9 crimes per 1,000 residents.
Waltham Forest also represents one of the largest cultural hubs for the whole of the London area, and its recently reinforced policing means some of the city’s lowest rates of shoplifting (1,854 incidents), arson (55 incidents) and criminal damage (1,807 incidents).
According to a recent report from Trust For London, Wandsworth holds the distinction of being the London borough with a below-average level of employment, with just 4.6% of the borough’s population out of work as of the 2023/24 fiscal year.
This is just one factor that contributes towards Wandsworth’s place as one of London’s safest boroughs. The area’s overall crime rate of 87.3 crimes per 1,000 residents is just the headline statistic, with low figures across both criminal damage (1,710 offences) and drug possession (669 offences) also offering notes of positivity.
Famed for its huge complement of more than 7000 local and international businesses, the Havering borough area is among London’s most affordable, ranked second in Trust for London’s latest report. That sense of equality and fairness is pervasive in the borough’s crime rate, too, with Havering seeing 87.3 crimes per 1,000 residents.
The standout point here is that Havering’s rate of bicycle theft (118 incidents) is the second-lowest across the city, while figures across some of London’s largest issues, such as robbery from businesses (161 incidents) and weapon possession (148 incidents).
Home to the verdant Hainault Forest Country Park, Redbridge’s lower crime rate is largely down to its emphasis on green spaces, and a healthy focus on its local economy. Plus, this North London borough’s investment in education, alongside a flourishing arts and culture scene, ensures that the crime remains consistently low at around 91 crimes per 1,000 people.
Digging deeper only finds more causes for celebration for residents and businesses alike in Redbridge. The borough’s rate of criminal damage (1,515 offences) is the lowest across the whole of London, alongside similarly low rates of drug possession (644 offences) and bicycle theft (216 offences).
On the southeastern fringes of the capital, Bromley’s swathes of green spaces and keen sense of cultural preservation in its architecture are no doubt major contributors towards the borough’s spot among London’s safest areas. That’s further cemented by the region’s crime rate, which sits at 77.6 crimes per 1,000 residents.
A strong local authority presence, coupled with the heritage afforded by places like Bromley Old Town Hall, ensures lower rates of both business burglary (420 offences) and possession of drugs (580 offences) – two prominent issues across the rest of the capital.
Set against the edge of the Metropolitan Green Belt in North London, Barnet’s position as one of London’s safest boroughs is largely due to its emphasis on the preservation of culture and green spaces. That’s most evident in its crime rate, which sits at a surprisingly low 77.4 crimes per 1,000 residents.
A deeper dive reveals several key positives that are sure to resonate with the borough’s residents. Chief among these is the rate of weapon possession (118 offences), which is the second-lowest across the city as a whole. That’s in addition to equally low figures in both criminal damage (1,938 offences) and arson (75 offences).
The epitome of a more modern “Big Smoke”, Bexley is a developed, suburban area that predominantly caters towards families, juxtaposing its suburban living against a backdrop of green spaces like Foots Cray Meadows and Danson Park. Bexley’s dipping crime rate hinges on that balance, with an overall crime rate of 72.8 crimes per 1,000 residents
Bexley’s crime rate is a point of pride, and there’s no doubt been concerted efforts to keep some of London’s major issues lower in the leafy borough. The area’s rate of bicycle theft (84 offences) is the lowest city-wide, while the figures in both business burglary (279 offences) and theft from a vehicle (981 offences) place the borough among the 3 safest in London.
Merton’s position as one of the top 5 safest boroughs in London is slim, but statistics from Trust For London point towards this lower rate being largely down to the lower rates of poverty in the area, as well as a continually improving rate of income deprivation. That’s translated to a much-improved rate of crime, which currently sits at 72.1 crimes per 1,000 residents.
Look more closely, and Merton’s positives are much more apparent. That’s inclusive of London’s lowest rate of business burglary (198 offences), as well as comparatively low rates of drug possession (353 offences) and criminal damage (1,144 offences).
While only slightly lower than Merton, what sets Sutton apart as one of the safest boroughs in London is its thriving arts and culture scene. As home to some of the most prestigious theatres in the larger London area, Sutton’s security and safety stem from its investment in that industry, as well as the impressively low crime rate of 68.7 crimes per 1,000 residents
Sutton’s rate of business robbery (90 incidents) is the second lowest across the capital, perhaps indicative of the strong policing presence in the borough. That’s closely followed by low figures in both robbery of personal property (282 incidents) and theft from motor vehicles (582 incidents).
Situated along the banks of the eponymous river, Kingston-upon-Thames is primarily a commerce-focused area, with an array of green spaces (notably Richmond Park, and the Thames Riverside), all of which contribute towards this London borough’s low crime rate of just 68.3 crimes per 1,000 residents in the area.
A deeper dive into the waterside borough finds more causes for celebration when it comes to criminality in Kingston-upon-Thames. The borough saw the lowest figures in both sexual assault (110 offences) and robbery from businesses (72 offences), alongside a declining rate of theft from motor vehicles (438 offences).
Just missing out on the coveted safest borough in London, Harrow still represents one of the most stable and strong communities in the London city area. This borough strikes an ideal balance – it’s a short distance from the centre of London with exceptional train and Tube links, it upholds a reputation as one of the educational centres of the capital, and it’s one of the capital’s “greener” areas.
The borough’s overall crime rate of 68.2 crimes per 1,000 residents is more concrete evidence of the safety Harrow’s residents enjoy. The borough’s rate of arson (31 offences) is the lowest across the city, while the rates of both criminal damage (1,069 offences) and shoplifting (1,763 offences) – two of London’s biggest issues – are exceptionally low.
By some margin, the safest borough in London is the picturesque Richmond-upon-Thames. Situated along the bank of the capital’s iconic river, this borough’s low crime rate of 65.7 crimes per 1,000 residents is largely down to its flourishing green spaces, its proximity to key public transport routes, and its higher proportion of more affluent residents.
Richmond enjoys the city’s lowest figures in both violent crime (3,260 incidents) and criminal damage (961 incidents), alongside consistently low rates of drug (183 incidents) and weapon possessions (39 incidents).
In the interests of being as thorough and transparent as possible, we’ve used data from the Metropolitan Police’s official data repository, covering the period between October 2023 and October 2024.
To remain consistent, and to ensure that we properly represent the key variables between boroughs such as population and area size, we’ve used a ratio of the number of crimes per 1,000 residents. We’ve also opted to break down the crimes London’s safest boroughs face by the various offence subgroups to avoid any confusion and give a more thorough overall picture.
