Islington in North London has emerged as one of the most dangerous places to live in England and Wales, according to the latest Home Office crime figures. With a crime rate of 132 offences per 1,000 residents, the borough ranks fifth highest in the country when Central London is excluded, trailing only Middlesbrough (150), Blackpool (146), Manchester (143), and Hartlepool.
The figures, published quarterly, reveal stark contrasts across the capital. Southwark in South London follows closely with 121 crimes per 1,000 residents, while Hackney in the East End records 116. These rates are significantly higher than the national average, highlighting pockets of elevated criminal activity within the city.
Westminster's rate skewed by tourism
Central London boroughs, heavily frequented by tourists, show even higher rates. Camden records 180 crimes per 1,000 residents, and Kensington and Chelsea 146, but Westminster tops the national chart with a staggering 355 crimes per 1,000 residents. However, this figure is distorted by the millions of tourists who visit annually, vastly outnumbering the resident population.
The Met recorded 75,649 offences in Westminster last year, a 16% drop. Theft from the person is 13 times higher in Westminster than in Birmingham, a direct consequence of tourist numbers attracting opportunistic criminals. Despite this, the overall trend in London shows a 3% fall in recorded crimes, with 925,694 offences in the year ending March 2026.
National crime trends show mixed picture
Across England and Wales, 5.2 million non-fraud offences were recorded in the same period, a 1% drop. However, certain serious offences have risen: sexual offences by 4%, stalking and harassment by 4%, robbery by 10%, drug crime by 12%, and possession of weapons by 8%. These increases contrast with the broader decline over the past decade.
Crime rates, which adjust for population size, are considered the fairest way to compare areas of different sizes. They reveal that major cities like Birmingham, Leeds, and Manchester have the highest volumes of offences, but rates per 1,000 residents provide a clearer picture of risk.
Met Commissioner calls London 'massively safe'
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has pushed back against narratives portraying London as dangerous, attributing them to hostile states and competitor cities. Speaking outside Holborn Police Station, he told the Press Association: “There are culture wars out there, and frankly, we’re routinely invited to join one side or the other, we politely decline that. We get on with doing our job without fear or favour. Look, there are hostile states out there, Russia and Iran, who try to undermine stability in other countries. They are magnifying some of this content. Then there are competitor cities who want to undermine London, but London is massively safe.”
Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan echoed these sentiments, blaming bot farms and foreign actors for spreading disinformation. He said: “So, two things are happening: one is you’re seeing bot farms across the world, from Vietnam to Sri Lanka, where people are churning out this negative stuff about London. Why? Because it makes them money. And secondly, you’re seeing state actors, whether it’s Russia, China… we’ve seen Maga-influenced actors in the USA spreading disinformation, misinformation, and lies.”
Crime drops in key categories
Statistics released on Thursday show significant reductions in neighbourhood crime in London. Theft from people fell by 23% (23,311 offences), personal robberies by 11% (2,943), and vehicle offences by 9% (8,737). In Westminster, offences dropped by more than a third, with nearly 14,000 fewer crimes. The Met’s crackdown on phone thefts led to 13,000 fewer mobile phone thefts across London, with numbers halving in the West End.
Sir Mark praised the efforts: “That’s a phenomenal effort. And it’s both classic policing – brilliant officers on the streets making a difference – as well as supported by clever technologies such as facial recognition cameras helping us capture wanted offenders, or drones that are helping us deal with dangerous people on e-bikes.”
Facial recognition technology defended
The Met’s use of live facial recognition (LFR) has drawn criticism from human rights groups, but Sir Mark insists it is supported by the public. He claimed survey data suggests about 80% of Londoners back the technology. “There’s a minority of people trying to whip up concern,” he said. “We all live in a world where every business, everything we interact with, is using technology more, and Londoners want police to be using technology to protect them, and that’s what they’re seeing us do.”
However, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has previously deemed the Met’s LFR policy “unlawful” for being “incompatible” with human rights laws. In August 2025, EHRC chief executive John Kirkpatrick stated: “The law is clear: everyone has the right to privacy, to freedom of expression and to freedom of assembly. These rights are vital for any democratic society. As such, there must be clear rules which guarantee that live facial recognition technology is used only where necessary, proportionate and constrained by appropriate safeguards.”
Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan defended the technology as a “proportionate response that is required,” adding, “We need more bodies on the beat, and we need tools to invest in technology.” The Met first trialled LFR at the Notting Hill Carnival in 2016 and officially deployed it in 2020.
