Crime in Islington district: statistics, rates and trends

Anti-social behaviour (9,254), violence and sexual offences (8,920) and shoplifting (4,564) made up 55% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 5th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest tenth.

Recorded crime in Islington district peaked in the year to August 2025 (41,439 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2021 (35,029). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 15%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Islington district recorded notably more theft from the person (9.3 times the national rate), bicycle theft (4.6 times the national rate) and robbery (4.3 times the national rate), and notably less criminal damage and arson (31% below) and other crime (31% below). On the year before, possession of weapons rose from 160 to 247 and shoplifting rose from 3,275 to 4,564, while criminal damage and arson fell from 1,717 to 1,039 and vehicle crime fell from 2,384 to 1,822.

What each category covers: crime categories.

29,264 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Islington district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 131.2 per 1,000 residents, higher than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Islington district had the 9th 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 Islington district is an undercount.

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

The largest category was other theft offences, with 3,540 offences (12% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for theft from the person (8.1 times the national rate), trafficking of drugs (4.4 times the national rate) and robbery of personal property (4.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for miscellaneous crimes against society (0.67 times) and arson (0.71 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, Islington district had the 4th highest 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.

3 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Islington district; the highest is City of London (639.5 per 1,000) and the lowest Haringey district (132.6).

Of the 18 areas within Islington district, Bunhill had the highest crime rate (298.5 per 1,000) and Tufnell Park the lowest (99.2), 3 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 18% of the crime recorded in Islington district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Shopping Area” (1,446).

Of the 32,043 crimes in Islington district with a recorded outcome, 53% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.1% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 9,254 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Islington district has an estimated population of 223,024 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more households without a car (67%, against 23%), more social housing (40%, against 17%) and more residents with Level 4 qualifications or above (57%, against 34%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Islington district average decile 3.8 (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.