Photo: Jim Osley · CC BY-SA 2.0Harlow has more crime per resident than 91% of UK towns
The yearly rates were 45.5 violent and sexual offences and 20.5 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents. More crime per resident is recorded in 34% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more. What’s more, a Safety Grade of D follows from crimes police recorded inside Harlow’s built-up area over the years September 2023 to August 2026: #72 of 81 in Essex. Violent crime was up 10% in a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Harlow
One ward carries much of the rate
Toddbrook ward, where 33% of Harlow’s shoplifting and theft is recorded, recorded 2,487 of Harlow’s 12,759 violent and sexual offences in three years: 94.2 per 1,000 of its own residents a year. Across the rest of Harlow the figure is 40.4. Where in Harlow ↓
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 10% more violent crime per resident in Harlow than in the year before; across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage held steady (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 75 UK towns and cities of 65,000 to 126,000 people, Harlow has the 49th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Hastings, Darlington and South Shields, higher than Dartford, Bedford and Crewe. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
31% of Harlow’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 9% in the lowest-crime 30%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind Harlow’s D
A firm grade. Built on 18,493 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Harlow against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Harlow runs highest on bicycle theft (1.6 per 1,000 against 0.9), drugs (5.8 per 1,000 against 3.8) and possession of weapons (1.6 per 1,000 against 1.1). Anti-social behaviour sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 4,245 | 45.4 | 38.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 1,147 | 12.3 | 17.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 867 | 9.3 | 10.3 |
| Public order | not graded | 803 | 8.6 | 7.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 797 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 730 | 7.8 | 6.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 604 | 6.5 | 4.9 |
| Drugs | not graded | 542 | 5.8 | 3.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 341 | 3.6 | 3.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 199 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 151 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 146 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 122 | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 79 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more.
Crime in Harlow per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 19 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 20 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
31% of Harlow residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
9% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 31% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime domain scores the risk of violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage where people live, so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Harlow’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) in the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (crime domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of England’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
Lowest recorded crime in Church Langley, Great Parndon and Sumners and Kingsmoor; highest in Toddbrook
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Church Langley | 8,945 | 16.8 | 7.6 | |
| Great Parndon | 6,298 | 24.7 | 15.8 | |
| Sumners and Kingsmoor | 7,541 | 30.7 | 14.7 | |
| Harlow Common | 7,451 | 32.4 | 14.3 | |
| Old Harlow | 11,178 | 29.9 | 17.8 | |
| Bush Fair | 8,202 | 43.1 | 18 | |
| Netteswell | 8,413 | 46.8 | 22.1 | |
| Staple Tye | 7,914 | 54.5 | 28.1 | |
| Little Parndon and Hare Street | 10,065 | 60.3 | 25.4 | |
| Mark Hall | 7,973 | 62 | 24.5 | |
| Toddbrook | 8,804 | 94.2 | 33.8 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 2,090 | 55% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 1,324 | 36% violent |
| Shopping areas | 896 | 42% shoplifting & theft |
| Hospitals | 785 | 59% violent |
| Petrol stations | 773 | 75% shoplifting & theft |
| Police stations | 695 | 48% violent |
| Nightclubs | 316 | 39% shoplifting & theft |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 241 | 43% violent |
| Bus and coach stations | 200 | 31% violent |
| Conference and exhibition centres | 150 | 30% violent |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so Toddbrook records 2.3× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Harlow. police.uk places each crime at an anonymous map point; some are named for the kind of place (a supermarket, a car park), and each row adds up every place of that kind in Harlow. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Harlow’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
How crime in Harlow has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling three-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year. In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent +10% (towns its size +2%), homes and vehicles +3% (towns its size -5%), shoplifting and theft +9% (towns its size -3%), anti-social behaviour +38% (towns its size -2%).
Of 75 towns its size, Harlow is 49th from the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metropolitan Newtownabbey Antrim and Newtownabbey | 67,599 | 21.3 | 9 | 8.3 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 39 | Chelmsford Essex | 110,612 | 44.5 | 15.2 | 21 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 46 | Dartford Kent | 69,131 | 43.5 | 20.8 | 17.4 | D |
| 47 | Bedford Bedfordshire | 97,226 | 44.5 | 20.3 | 23.9 | D |
| 48 | Crewe Cheshire | 74,116 | 51.3 | 14.3 | 17.6 | D |
| 49 | Harlow Essex | 93,570 | 45.5 | 20.5 | 19.4 | D |
| 50 | Birkenhead Merseyside | 109,854 | 50.1 | 17.2 | 13.7 | D |
| 51 | Gateshead Tyne and Wear | 115,278 | 44.1 | 24 | 20.7 | D |
| 52 | St Helens Merseyside | 107,684 | 52 | 16.9 | 16.1 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 62 | Basildon Essex | 115,935 | 54.2 | 24.2 | 19.8 | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 75 | Doncaster South Yorkshire | 87,440 | 72.6 | 38.2 | 43.3 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Harlow, and others in Essex.
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 74% of Harlow’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 15% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (59% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 10% of violent and 5% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 6,451 crimes.
Five people died in collisions on Harlow’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 440 collisions with injuries inside Harlow in five years, in which five people died (2 were pedestrians). 113 people were killed or seriously injured: 32 on foot and 11 on a bicycle.
That is about what is typical for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: at their median rate (1.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Harlow’s size would see about 5 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Harlow’s own rate (1.1) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Harlow had 24.2 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, below the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (30.3). 28% of them were on foot, against 31% across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Harlow’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Harlow
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harlow | 93,570 | 45.5 | 20.5 | D |
| Roydon | 1,587 | 23.4 | 19.3 | C |
| Thornwood Common | 1,030 | 19.1 | 14.2 | B− |
| Sawbridgeworth | 10,471 | 23.2 | 12.7 | C+ |
| North Weald Bassett | 4,323 | 26.7 | 13.1 | C+ |
| Coopersale | 1,067 | 11.3 | 14.1 | B+ |
| Lower Nazeing | 3,631 | 19.7 | 15.2 | B− |
| Epping | 10,693 | 31.6 | 21.4 | C− |
Harlow records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Roydon, 3 miles away, records 23.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Harlow’s 45.5.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Big public sites inside the boundary. police.uk counted 785 at or near a hospital over three years. They count in Harlow’s rate, as they would for any town that has them.
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Harlow sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Harlow
Is Harlow safe?
Police recorded 45.5 violent and sexual offences and 20.5 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Harlow’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 9% of UK towns. Among 75 UK towns of 65,000 to 126,000 people, Harlow is 49th from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Harlow?
By council ward, Church Langley, Great Parndon and Sumners and Kingsmoor record the least violent and household crime per resident: 16.8, 24.7 and 30.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 94.2 in Toddbrook.
Is crime going up in Harlow?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 10%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage held steady, shoplifting and theft rose 9% and anti-social behaviour rose 38%. Across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, violent crime held steady.
Is Harlow town centre safe at night?
police.uk placed 316 crimes and reports at or near nightclubs in three years, 29% of them violent, and Toddbrook ward records 94.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 of its residents a year. Over the last two years, violent crime peaked in July and was lowest in November.
What is the most common crime in Harlow?
Violence & sexual offences: 4,245 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (867) and public order (803), with 1,147 reports of anti-social behaviour.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.