Crime in Barking and Dagenham district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (8,377), anti-social behaviour (4,603) and vehicle crime (2,152) made up 62% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 86th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

Recorded crime in Barking and Dagenham district peaked in the year to August 2020 (25,385 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2018 (22,447). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 9%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Barking and Dagenham district recorded notably more robbery (2.8 times the national rate), theft from the person (95% above the national rate) and vehicle crime (86% above the national rate), and notably less shoplifting (51% below) and criminal damage and arson (44% below). On the year before, possession of weapons rose from 121 to 162, while criminal damage and arson fell from 1,360 to 887 and shoplifting fell from 1,247 to 960.

What each category covers: crime categories.

19,592 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Barking and Dagenham district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 84.2 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Barking and Dagenham district had the 98th highest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 302 districts with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).

Of the crimes recorded in the Metropolitan Police area in the year ending March 2026, 5.5% were not assigned to a district. Those crimes are counted in the force and England and Wales totals but in no district, so the figure for Barking and Dagenham district is an undercount.

No change on the year or longer series is given for Barking and Dagenham district: comparable figures start in the year ending March 2026, because the share of crimes in the Metropolitan Police area not assigned to a district moved from 4.3% in the year ending March 2025 to 5.5% in the year ending March 2026, which changes district totals without any change in crime.

Offences recorded in Barking and Dagenham district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 3,604 offences (18% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for robbery of personal property (3.2 times the national rate), possession of drugs (1.9 times the national rate) and robbery of business property (1.7 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for shoplifting (0.48 times), bicycle theft (0.61 times) and miscellaneous crimes against society (0.65 times).

Districts in the Metropolitan Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 32 districts in the Metropolitan Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Barking and Dagenham district had the 15th lowest rate.

Source: Home Office police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables (released 23 July 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Financial years, excluding fraud; how they differ from the street-level figures: methodology.

5 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Barking and Dagenham district; the highest is Hackney district (145.9 per 1,000) and the lowest Bexley district (78.3).

Of the 20 areas within Barking and Dagenham district, Abbey had the highest crime rate (403.3 per 1,000) and Eastbrook & Rush Green the lowest (71.1), 6 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 19% of the crime recorded in Barking and Dagenham district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (977).

Of the 19,774 crimes in Barking and Dagenham district with a recorded outcome, 41% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 3.9% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 4,603 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Barking and Dagenham district has an estimated population of 232,747 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more social housing (31%, against 17%), more unemployed residents (5.6%, against 3.4%) and a younger population (8.6%, against 18.9%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Barking and Dagenham district average decile 3.1 (1 = most deprived), more deprived than average.

Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.