Crime in Westminster: statistics, rates and trends

Theft from the person (17,267), other theft (14,831) and anti-social behaviour (13,281) made up 53% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 2nd of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest tenth.

Recorded crime in Westminster peaked in the year to August 2024 (103,508 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2021 (58,377). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 20%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Westminster recorded notably more theft from the person (48.9 times the national rate), other theft (11.0 times the national rate) and robbery (9.4 times the national rate). On the year before, possession of weapons rose from 248 to 451 and shoplifting rose from 7,270 to 9,388, while theft from the person fell from 29,627 to 17,267 and criminal damage and arson fell from 2,439 to 1,555.

What each category covers: crime categories.

74,649 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Westminster in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 355.5 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, Westminster had the 2nd 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 Westminster is an undercount.

No change on the year or longer series is given for Westminster: 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 Westminster, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was theft from the person, with 19,435 offences (26% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for theft from the person (52.3 times the national rate), robbery of personal property (12.7 times the national rate) and other theft offences (11.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for arson (0.69 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, Westminster had the 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.

1 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Westminster; the highest is City of London (639.5 per 1,000) and the lowest Wandsworth district (98.4).

Of the 19 areas within Westminster, West End had the highest crime rate (2,201.9 per 1,000) and Abbey Road the lowest (74.9), 29 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 26% of the crime recorded in Westminster over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Nightclub” (5,362).

Of the 72,747 crimes in Westminster with a recorded outcome, 64% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 3.7% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 13,281 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Westminster has an estimated population of 209,996 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more households without a car (66%, against 23%), more private renting (43%, against 20%) and more students (13.6%, against 7.9%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Westminster average decile 4.7 (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.