Crime in Lewisham district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (11,212), anti-social behaviour (7,039) and shoplifting (3,267) made up 58% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 45th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest quarter.

Recorded crime in Lewisham district peaked in the year to August 2020 (38,264 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2018 (31,376). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 18%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Lewisham district recorded notably more robbery (2.6 times the national rate), theft from the person (2.4 times the national rate) and vehicle crime (76% above the national rate), and notably less criminal damage and arson (36% below) and other crime (33% below). On the year before, shoplifting rose from 1,981 to 3,267 and possession of weapons rose from 239 to 350, while criminal damage and arson fell from 2,041 to 1,306 and theft from the person fell from 1,505 to 1,232.

What each category covers: crime categories.

28,390 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Lewisham district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 94.2 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, Lewisham district had the 64th 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 Lewisham district is an undercount.

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

The largest category was violence without injury, with 4,368 offences (15% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for robbery of personal property (2.6 times the national rate), theft from the person (2.2 times the national rate) and robbery of business property (1.9 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for arson (0.58 times) and miscellaneous crimes against society (0.66 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, Lewisham district had the 12th 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.

5 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Lewisham district; the highest is City of London (639.5 per 1,000) and the lowest Bromley district (86.9).

Of the 20 areas within Lewisham district, Lewisham Central had the highest crime rate (262.4 per 1,000) and Telegraph Hill the lowest (78.6), 3 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 18% of the crime recorded in Lewisham district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (1,799).

Of the 29,887 crimes in Lewisham district with a recorded outcome, 41% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 6.5% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 7,039 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Lewisham district has an estimated population of 301,255 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more households without a car (48%, against 23%), more social housing (29%, against 17%) and more unemployed residents (5.7%, against 3.4%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Lewisham district average decile 4.1 (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.