Crime in Lambeth district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (11,391), anti-social behaviour (10,295) and theft from the person (4,988) made up 55% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 12th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest tenth.

The year to August 2026 had the most recorded crime in Lambeth district of any year here (48,809 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 12%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Lambeth district recorded notably more theft from the person (9.4 times the national rate), robbery (4.4 times the national rate) and bicycle theft (3.9 times the national rate), and notably less criminal damage and arson (33% below) and other crime (33% below). On the year before, possession of weapons rose from 215 to 359 and bicycle theft rose from 829 to 1,032, while criminal damage and arson fell from 2,229 to 1,430.

What each category covers: crime categories.

36,243 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Lambeth district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 114.4 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, Lambeth district had the 21st 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 Lambeth district is an undercount.

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

The largest category was violence without injury, with 4,673 offences (13% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for theft from the person (8.3 times the national rate), robbery of personal property (4.8 times the national rate) and bicycle theft (3.0 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for stalking and harassment (0.67 times) and miscellaneous crimes against society (0.68 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, Lambeth district had the 7th 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.

4 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Lambeth district; the highest is City of London (639.5 per 1,000) and the lowest Merton district (74.2).

Of the 26 areas within Lambeth district, Waterloo & South Bank had the highest crime rate (662.4 per 1,000) and Streatham Wells the lowest (65.3), 10 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 20% of the crime recorded in Lambeth district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (2,428).

Of the 38,514 crimes in Lambeth district with a recorded outcome, 55% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 5.4% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 10,295 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Lambeth district has an estimated population of 316,920 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more households without a car (58%, against 23%), more social housing (34%, against 17%) and more residents with Level 4 qualifications or above (56%, against 34%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Lambeth district average decile 4.5 (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.