Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Newham than in 89% of UK towns
Recorded violence rose 10% in a year. Behind the grade sit 38.9 violent and sexual offences and 23.0 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 people a year. It grades D for safety on crimes police recorded inside Newham’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026: #22 of 33 in London. With 3,925 cases in the 12 months to August 2026, theft from the person reaches 11.2 per 1,000 residents here, well above the typical 0.7.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Newham
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 10% more violent crime per resident in Newham 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 rose 7% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
About the middle for a borough its size
Of 36 UK towns and cities of 246,000 to 474,000 people, Newham has the 19th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Haringey, Belfast and Plymouth, higher than Greenwich, Lewisham and Lambeth. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Newham: D for safety, and why
A firm grade. Built on 64,725 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Newham 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, Newham runs highest on theft from the person (11.2 per 1,000 against 0.7), robbery (4.8 per 1,000 against 1.4) and vehicle crime (13.6 per 1,000 against 4.9). Other crime and criminal damage & arson sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 12,495 | 35.6 | 38.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 9,822 | 28 | 17.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 4,775 | 13.6 | 4.9 |
| Other theft | not graded | 4,432 | 12.6 | 6.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 4,186 | 11.9 | 10.3 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 3,925 | 11.2 | 0.7 |
| Drugs | not graded | 2,392 | 6.8 | 3.8 |
| Public order | not graded | 2,351 | 6.7 | 7.4 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 1,775 | 5.1 | 3.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1,671 | 4.8 | 1.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 1,400 | 4 | 7.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 566 | 1.6 | 2.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 545 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 335 | 1 | 1.1 |
“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.
Police in Newham identify a suspect less often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 85% of Newham’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 41% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (40% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 6% of violent and 3% 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. 21,670 crimes.
Crime in Newham 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 23 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 37 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
How crime in Newham 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 +7% (towns its size -5%), shoplifting and theft -8% (towns its size -3%), anti-social behaviour +2% (towns its size -2%).
How Newham’s neighbourhoods rank in England
4% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 15% 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.
Newham’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 Wall End, Plashet and Little Ilford; highest in Stratford Olympic Park
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wall End | 16,503 | 23.3 | 11.4 | |
| Plashet | 11,617 | 24 | 12.5 | |
| Little Ilford | 17,547 | 24.7 | 15.6 | |
| West Ham | 15,704 | 29 | 16.4 | |
| Green Street East | 16,971 | 26.6 | 19.1 | |
| East Ham South | 18,517 | 30.5 | 18.2 | |
| Forest Gate North | 10,992 | 29.8 | 19.4 | |
| Boleyn | 15,104 | 28.8 | 21.7 | |
| Plaistow West & Canning Town East | 16,695 | 31.5 | 20.5 | |
| Royal Victoria | 14,539 | 31.3 | 23.6 | |
| Custom House | 17,666 | 32.1 | 23 | |
| Plaistow North | 18,292 | 34.8 | 20.4 | |
| Green Street West | 15,787 | 38 | 17.9 | |
| Forest Gate South | 17,774 | 35.5 | 21 | |
| Manor Park | 15,832 | 37.4 | 23.2 | |
| Royal Albert | 9,307 | 39.3 | 23.2 | |
| Maryland | 12,453 | 43.7 | 26.6 | |
| Beckton | 16,152 | 44.2 | 31.3 | |
| East Ham | 15,133 | 58.5 | 28.6 | |
| Plaistow South | 13,177 | 62.6 | 25.7 | |
| Stratford | 15,744 | 62.9 | 27.7 | |
| Canning Town North | 10,576 | 56.9 | 37.3 | |
| Canning Town South | 7,123 | 55.2 | 49.3 | |
| Stratford Olympic Park | 11,860 | 71.1 | 40.5 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Shopping areas | 10,827 | 70% shoplifting & theft |
| Supermarkets | 3,707 | 58% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 2,808 | 35% shoplifting & theft |
| Petrol stations | 2,387 | 49% shoplifting & theft |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 1,518 | 29% violent |
| College and university buildings | 1,376 | 33% violent |
| Bus and coach stations | 910 | 63% shoplifting & theft |
| Police stations | 590 | 56% violent |
| Hospitals | 331 | 40% shoplifting & theft |
| Nightclubs | 249 | 38% shoplifting & theft |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so Stratford Olympic Park records 1.9× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Newham. 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 Newham. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Newham’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Towns its size: Newham comes 19th of 36
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harrow London | 260,534 | 23.3 | 15.4 | 16 | C+ |
| 2 | Bexley London | 246,074 | 26.1 | 17.5 | 14.3 | C |
| 3 | Barnet London | 388,572 | 25.3 | 21 | 18.8 | C |
| 4 | Bromley London | 325,469 | 25.7 | 20.8 | 17.4 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Greenwich London | 288,117 | 38.3 | 20.8 | 22.9 | D |
| 17 | Lewisham London | 300,764 | 38.8 | 21.2 | 23.5 | D |
| 18 | Lambeth London | 317,108 | 40.1 | 21.2 | 42.3 | D |
| 19 | Newham London | 351,065 | 38.9 | 23 | 39.5 | D |
| 20 | Southwark London | 307,076 | 40 | 22.1 | 54.3 | D |
| 21 | Hackney London | 258,464 | 40.5 | 21.9 | 42.2 | D |
| 22 | Cardiff South Glamorgan | 348,511 | 40 | 22.4 | 26.6 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 36 | Bradford West Yorkshire | 333,968 | 72.2 | 28.3 | 19.3 | 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 Newham, and others in London.
21 people died in collisions on Newham’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 4,052 collisions with injuries inside Newham in five years, in which 21 people died (12 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist). 608 people were killed or seriously injured: 211 on foot and 123 on a bicycle.
That is 1.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (1.1, 210 towns).
Counting serious injuries too, Newham had 34.6 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (30.3). 35% 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 Newham’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Newham
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newham | 351,065 | 38.9 | 23 | D |
| Tower Hamlets | 311,072 | 43.3 | 23 | D |
| Redbridge | 309,509 | 31.1 | 17.7 | C− |
| Greenwich | 288,117 | 38.3 | 20.8 | D |
| Barking and Dagenham | 218,236 | 40.5 | 20 | D |
| Waltham Forest | 278,129 | 28.5 | 21 | C− |
| Hackney | 258,464 | 40.5 | 21.9 | D |
| City of London | 7,820 | 252.8 | 111.5 | D− |
Newham records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. Redbridge, 3.6 miles away, records 31.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Newham’s 38.9.
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 331 at or near a hospital over three years. They count in Newham’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 Newham 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 Newham
Is Newham safe?
Police recorded 38.9 violent and sexual offences and 23 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Newham’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 11% of UK towns. Among 36 UK towns of 246,000 to 474,000 people, Newham is 19th from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Newham?
By council ward, Wall End, Plashet and Little Ilford record the least violent and household crime per resident: 23.3, 24 and 24.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 71.1 in Stratford Olympic Park.
Is crime going up in Newham?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 10%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 7%, shoplifting and theft fell 8% and anti-social behaviour held steady. Across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, violent crime held steady.
Is Newham town centre safe at night?
police.uk placed 249 crimes and reports at or near nightclubs in three years, 21% of them violent, and Stratford Olympic Park ward records 71.1 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 February.
What is the most common crime in Newham?
Violence & sexual offences: 12,495 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came vehicle crime (4,775) and other theft (4,432), with 9,822 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.