Richmond upon Thames is currently the safest London borough. All 32 boroughs ranked by Metropolitan Police recorded crime — total notifiable offences per 1,000 residents (Met Police recorded crime, year ending 2024). Lower crime rate → higher score.
How to read this ranking
This ranks boroughs by Met Police recorded crime per 1,000 residents — the standard measure used by the ONS and the Met itself. It counts every reported offence (shoplifting, tourist pickpocketing, night-time economy crime, retail theft) against the number of people who live there.
That's why Westminster, Camden and Kensington & Chelsea rank worst: tiny residential populations, huge daytime footfall from tourists, workers and shoppers, and the West End night-time economy — all recorded offences divided by very few residents. It does not mean a resident there is more likely to be a victim than in Croydon or Lewisham.
Reputation ≠ recorded rate. Croydon and Lewisham have a rougher public image, but on the per-resident measure they sit mid-table. For a fairer picture of what daily life feels like on a specific street, check the postcode-level safety score — it uses police.uk street-level crime within 1 mile of your postcode.
Ranking uses Metropolitan Police recorded crime — total notifiable offences per 1,000 residents, published by the MPS crime dashboard (Met Police recorded crime, year ending 2024). Lower crime rate → higher safety score (0–100), rescaled across all 32 London boroughs so scores are directly comparable. City of London is policed by City of London Police and is excluded. Within each borough, the "safest postcode we cover" column uses live police.uk street-level data from the postcodes SettleWithUs covers.