Crime in Tower Hamlets district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (11,968), anti-social behaviour (10,671) and shoplifting (3,975) made up 55% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 17th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest tenth.

Recorded crime in Tower Hamlets district peaked in the year to August 2020 (52,225 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2018 (44,742). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 8%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Tower Hamlets district recorded notably more theft from the person (5.1 times the national rate), bicycle theft (3.9 times the national rate) and robbery (2.9 times the national rate), and notably less criminal damage and arson (38% below) and other crime (33% below). On the year before, shoplifting rose from 2,801 to 3,975 and possession of weapons rose from 221 to 286, while criminal damage and arson fell from 2,021 to 1,382.

What each category covers: crime categories.

35,377 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Tower Hamlets district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 106.6 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, Tower Hamlets district had the 39th 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 Tower Hamlets district is an undercount.

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

The largest category was violence without injury, with 5,041 offences (14% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for theft from the person (4.3 times the national rate), bicycle theft (3.2 times the national rate) and robbery of personal property (2.9 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for arson (0.51 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, Tower Hamlets district had the 9th 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 Tower Hamlets district; the highest is City of London (639.5 per 1,000) and the lowest Waltham Forest district (105.3).

Of the 21 areas within Tower Hamlets district, Spitalfields & Banglatown had the highest crime rate (247.5 per 1,000) and Island Gardens the lowest (77.8), 3 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 13% of the crime recorded in Tower Hamlets district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (1,358).

Of the 37,531 crimes in Tower Hamlets district with a recorded outcome, 49% 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 10,671 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Tower Hamlets district has an estimated population of 331,886 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more households without a car (66%, against 23%), more social housing (36%, against 17%) and more private renting (38%, against 20%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Tower Hamlets district average decile 3.4 (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.