Crime in the Metropolitan Police area: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (281,610), anti-social behaviour (233,731) and other theft (97,586) made up 55% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 3rd of the 41 police force areas covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest tenth.

Recorded crime in the Metropolitan Police area peaked in the year to August 2020 (1,150,654 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2018 (1,026,722). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 9%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, the Metropolitan Police area recorded notably more theft from the person (4.7 times the national rate), robbery (2.5 times the national rate) and bicycle theft (89% above the national rate), and notably less criminal damage and arson (42% below) and other crime (31% below). On the year before, possession of weapons rose from 5,152 to 7,007, while criminal damage and arson fell from 54,424 to 35,640 and theft from the person fell from 93,617 to 71,849.

What each category covers: crime categories.

916,963 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in the Metropolitan Police area in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 101.0 per 1,000 residents, higher than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 3% on the year ending March 2025 (944,158), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 43 territorial police force areas of England and Wales, the Metropolitan Police area had the 6th highest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 41 force areas with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).

Offences recorded in the Metropolitan Police area, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 120,880 offences (13% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for theft from the person (5.0 times the national rate), robbery of personal property (2.8 times the national rate) and robbery of business property (2.1 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving (0.53 times), arson (0.57 times) and miscellaneous crimes against society (0.69 times).

The largest rises on the year were in possession of weapons (+25%) and possession of drugs (+20%). The largest falls were in theft from the person (−22%) and arson (−18%). Robbery of business property and shoplifting are not compared with the year ending March 2025: from April 2025 the Home Office Counting Rules were clarified so that a theft from a shop in which violence is used or threatened against staff or anyone else is recorded as robbery of business property rather than shoplifting (ONS).

Recorded crime in the Metropolitan Police area since the year ending March 2013

The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2013 to 2026. The Metropolitan Police area's rate was above the England and Wales rate in every one of those 14 years. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).

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 (355.5 per 1,000) and Richmond upon Thames the lowest (57.3). 5.5% of the crimes recorded in the area that year were not assigned to a district, so the district figures add up to less than the force total.

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 police force areas have a higher crime rate than the Metropolitan Police area; the highest is the City of London Police area (639.5 per 1,000) and the lowest the Surrey Police area (70.3).

Of the 32 areas within the Metropolitan Police area, Westminster had the highest crime rate (409.7 per 1,000) and Richmond upon Thames the lowest (73.0), 6 times apart.

Of the 883,483 crimes in the Metropolitan Police area with a recorded outcome, 49% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.2% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 233,731 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

The Metropolitan Police area has an estimated population of 9,074,625 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more households without a car (42%, against 23%), more private renting (30%, against 20%) and fewer retired residents (13%, against 22%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up the Metropolitan Police area average decile 4.9 (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.