Crime in Barnet district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (9,356), anti-social behaviour (8,729) and vehicle crime (3,821) made up 58% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 121st of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

Recorded crime in Barnet district peaked in the year to August 2020 (40,216 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2018 (33,835). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 11%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Barnet district recorded notably more vehicle crime (90% above the national rate), robbery (53% above the national rate) and burglary (50% above the national rate), and notably less criminal damage and arson (54% below) and possession of weapons (50% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 630 to 844 and possession of weapons rose from 155 to 196, while criminal damage and arson fell from 1,958 to 1,257 and drugs fell from 1,908 to 1,592.

What each category covers: crime categories.

27,467 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Barnet district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 67.8 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Barnet district had the 110th lowest 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 Barnet district is an undercount.

No change on the year or longer series is given for Barnet 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 Barnet district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 3,775 offences (14% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for trafficking of drugs (2.8 times the national rate), vehicle offences (1.7 times the national rate) and residential burglary (1.6 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for miscellaneous crimes against society (0.44 times), arson (0.44 times) and possession of weapons (0.46 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, Barnet district had the 7th 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.

6 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Barnet district; the highest is Westminster (409.7 per 1,000) and the lowest Harrow district (81.4).

Of the 25 areas within Barnet district, Cricklewood had the highest crime rate (172.0 per 1,000) and Edgwarebury the lowest (61.1).

The 10 locations below account for 19% of the crime recorded in Barnet district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (1,834).

Of the 28,816 crimes in Barnet district with a recorded outcome, 47% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 5.3% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 8,729 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Barnet district has an estimated population of 405,050 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more private renting (33%, against 20%), more residents with Level 4 qualifications or above (49%, against 34%) and fewer retired residents (15%, against 22%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Barnet district average decile 5.3 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.

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