Crime in Epping Forest: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (3,853), anti-social behaviour (1,100) and vehicle crime (1,046) made up 57% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 198th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lower half.

Recorded crime in Epping Forest peaked in the year to August 2020 (14,579 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2025 (10,225). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 25%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Epping Forest recorded notably more vehicle crime (53% above the national rate), and notably less bicycle theft (81% below) and theft from the person (73% below). On the year before, anti-social behaviour rose from 851 to 1,100, while bicycle theft fell from 29 to 22 and shoplifting fell from 920 to 710.

What each category covers: crime categories.

8,703 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Epping Forest in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 63.3 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 6% on the year ending March 2025 (9,278), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Epping Forest had the 92nd 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 Essex Police area in the year ending March 2026, 1.9% 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 Epping Forest is a slight undercount.

Offences recorded in Epping Forest, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 1,521 offences (17% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for trafficking of drugs (1.5 times the national rate), vehicle offences (1.4 times the national rate) and arson (1.4 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for bicycle theft (0.22 times), theft from the person (0.27 times) and robbery of business property (0.35 times).

The largest rises on the year were in arson (+43%) and stalking and harassment (+20%). The largest falls were in non-residential burglary (−38%) and possession of weapons (−30%). Robbery of business property and shoplifting are not compared with the year ending March 2025: from April 2025 the Home Office Counting Rules were clarified so that a theft from a shop in which violence is used or threatened against staff or anyone else is recorded as robbery of business property rather than shoplifting (ONS).

Recorded crime in Epping Forest since the year ending March 2013

The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2013 to 2026. Epping Forest's rate was above the England and Wales rate in 1 of those 14 years and below it in 13. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).

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

Of the 14 districts in the Essex Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Epping Forest had the 6th 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.

Every one of the 8 nearest districts has a higher crime rate than Epping Forest.

Of the 32 areas within Epping Forest, Waltham Abbey West had the highest crime rate (145.4 per 1,000) and Coopersale the lowest (40.2), 4 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 21% of the crime recorded in Epping Forest over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (509).

Of the 9,380 crimes in Epping Forest with a recorded outcome, 40% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.9% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,100 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Epping Forest has an estimated population of 137,451 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer households without a car (14%, against 23%), fewer students (5.8%, against 7.9%) and less private renting (15%, against 20%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Epping Forest average decile 6.8 (1 = most deprived), less 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.