Crime and Safety in Harlow
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Harlow is the third most dangerous major town in Essex, and is among the top 20 most dangerous overall out of Essex's 315 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Harlow in 2026 is 86 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Essex's overall crime rate, coming in 25% higher than the Essex rate of 69 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Harlow is the 46th most dangerous major town, and the 837th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In January 2026, Harlow was the worst major town in Essex for criminal damage and arson, with 70 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.65 per 1,000 daytime population. January 2026 was also a bad month for Harlow residents, when it was Essex's most dangerous major town for other theft, recording 64 crimes at a rate of 0.60 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Harlow are violence and sexual offences, with 4,082 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 38. This is 1.6% higher than 2025's figure of 4,017 offences and a difference of 0.48 from 2025's crime rate of 38. Harlow's least common crime is theft from the person, with 70 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 20% from 2025's figure of 88 crimes.
Harlow 2026 Crime Scorecard
Third Most Dangerous
Major Towns, Essex
40% higher, regional crime rate
East of England
20% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Harlow is 40% higher than the East of England and 20% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Harlow Crime Rate Over Time
| Harlow | |
| East of England | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Harlow Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Harlow represent the time frame between January 2016 and April 2026. Each point on the map represents an area where crimes have been recorded locally.
Use Crime Map
Hover over a point to see a breakdown of crime types recorded at that location. You can also filter by individual crime types, or use a combinations of offences to visualise the data you need.
See How Harlow Compares
You can compare Harlow's crime statistics against any other town, village, or city from across the country. Search for a location's name below to see how they stack up.
Introduction to Harlow's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Harlow up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Harlow's 1,811 postcodes using three area sizes for comparison:
- Within a Five-Minute Walk
- Within a Ten-Minute Walk
- Within a Fifteen-Minute Walk
Individual crime risk scores and index figures are for the 12-month period ending April 2026 unless otherwise stated.
CrimeRate Insights
Looking into a specific address in Harlow? CrimeRate Insights reports convert raw numbers into practical insight for any location, from single addresses and postcodes, up to major towns and cities.
Crime rates don’t happen by themselves; they follow people and patterns. Where crowds gather - near pubs and late-night venues, around the station, by supermarkets and forecourts - incidents naturally concentrate.
That doesn’t mean an area is "bad"; it usually means footfall is higher.
Your report explores these factors in a calm, non-judgemental way, putting the numbers in context and helping you spot what’s typical for places like this.
Crime Risk Scores
Harlow • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Harlow has a crime risk score of 636. This is based on analysis of 1,811 nearby areas within Harlow, with "most" referring to roughly two thirds of the nearby locations.
Crime risk scores are on a scale of 1 to 1,000 and consider the severity of the crimes involved, as determined by sentencing guidelines. A score of 1 represents the lowest risk, and 1,000 the highest risk. This approach ensures that - unlike overall crime rate figures - bicycle theft is not given the same importance in Harlow's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Harlow, crime risk scores are typically around 636, while in Essex they are average 496.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 682 (502 for Essex), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 689 (Essex 509).
Trends in Crime Risk
Harlow
Calculated via Seasonal and Trend decomposition using Loess, the Seasonality Adjusted line represents the original data with seasonality subtracted, and the Trend line has been plotted unadjusted. Overall trend direction has been identified using the Mann-Kendall trend test, and rate calculated from the slope of the best-fit line identified from linear regression.
No trend could be found in Harlow's crime risk scores over the last 10 years, and the trend may well be static.
Looking at the previous five years, the trend in Harlow's crime risk score is down by 15%. While potentially a good indicator of the overall risk trend, cross-referencing with major cultural events and Covid's impact during this time is advised.
Over the last year, Harlow's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 3.4%, indicating that the risk profile is going up. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Harlow
The CrimeRate Index shows how crime rates compare against the national average.
1.0 equals the average
2.0 is double
3.0 triple
0.5 is half and
0.25 a quarter.
Highest Crime Rates
Harlow • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Excluding other crime and other theft because their geographic location is often not relevant, anti-social behaviour as its definition is too wide, and bicycle theft for its specificity.
Drugs offences have a crime rate of 5.52 reports per 1,000 people in Harlow, which is 1.79 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 588 crime reports logged by Essex Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Essex Police recorded 151 reports of Possession of Weapons in Harlow, resulting in a crime rate of 1.41 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.66.
The crime rate for Public Order is 1.35 times the national average at 7.84 reports per 1,000. This is from 836 crime reports reported to Essex Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Harlow
Excluding other crime and other theft, anti-social behaviour, and bicycle theft, and calculated with the same STL method described in Trends in Crime Risk, using CrimeRate Index figures to identify crime types that are trending above or below the national average, and the analysis timeframe limited to the last three years.
Drugs offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.74 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 2.05 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 15% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Harlow
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Vehicle Crime offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.51 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Vehicle Crime CrimeRate Index was 1.91 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 21% over this timeframe.
Shoplifting offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.88 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 1.42 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 38% over this timeframe.
Robbery offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.70 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Robbery CrimeRate Index was 2.00 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 65% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Harlow • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Harlow | Essex | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 987 | 9.25 | 0.65 | 15,826 | 7.63 | 0.54 | 74,182 | 10.23 | 0.72 |
| Bicycle Theft | 128 | 1.19 | 1.63 | 1,211 | 0.59 | 0.81 | 5,325 | 0.72 | 0.99 |
| Burglary | 299 | 2.79 | 0.89 | 5,328 | 2.58 | 0.82 | 17,593 | 2.42 | 0.77 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 806 | 7.56 | 1.20 | 12,427 | 5.98 | 0.95 | 40,107 | 5.51 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 588 | 5.52 | 1.79 | 6,807 | 3.27 | 1.06 | 18,935 | 2.59 | 0.84 |
| Other Crime | 188 | 1.76 | 0.95 | 3,330 | 1.61 | 0.87 | 12,241 | 1.70 | 0.92 |
| Other Theft | 630 | 5.90 | 1.04 | 10,377 | 4.98 | 0.88 | 34,703 | 4.78 | 0.84 |
| Possession of Weapons | 151 | 1.41 | 1.66 | 1,752 | 0.84 | 0.99 | 5,931 | 0.83 | 0.98 |
| Public Order | 836 | 7.84 | 1.35 | 10,675 | 5.12 | 0.88 | 32,088 | 4.42 | 0.76 |
| Robbery | 109 | 1.03 | 0.87 | 1,433 | 0.69 | 0.58 | 4,492 | 0.61 | 0.52 |
| Shoplifting | 722 | 6.78 | 0.95 | 13,424 | 6.46 | 0.91 | 43,068 | 5.94 | 0.83 |
| Theft From the Person | 70 | 0.69 | 0.45 | 997 | 0.49 | 0.32 | 3,654 | 0.52 | 0.34 |
| Vehicle Crime | 584 | 5.46 | 1.27 | 10,314 | 4.97 | 1.16 | 27,821 | 3.84 | 0.89 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 4,082 | 38.26 | 1.26 | 65,641 | 31.56 | 1.04 | 200,684 | 27.65 | 0.91 |
Download | |||||||||
Total Crime by Year
Harlow | Essex | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 9,193 | 86.19 | 1.20 | 143,716 | 69.14 | 0.96 | 446,642 | 61.53 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 9,152 | 86.27 | 1.17 | 139,780 | 67.68 | 0.91 | 441,082 | 61.31 | 0.83 |
| 2024 | 10,417 | 99.53 | 1.32 | 150,055 | 73.45 | 0.97 | 443,460 | 62.34 | 0.83 |
| 2023 | 11,062 | 107.60 | 1.36 | 162,636 | 80.64 | 1.02 | 474,715 | 67.51 | 0.85 |
| 2022 | 11,314 | 111.67 | 1.45 | 166,739 | 83.60 | 1.09 | 471,617 | 67.78 | 0.88 |
| 2021 | 9,839 | 98.32 | 1.43 | 150,121 | 75.78 | 1.11 | 437,869 | 63.51 | 0.93 |
| 2020 | 10,276 | 103.17 | 1.39 | 162,259 | 82.34 | 1.11 | 465,376 | 67.88 | 0.92 |
| 2019 | 9,572 | 95.85 | 1.26 | 161,365 | 82.25 | 1.08 | 482,539 | 70.87 | 0.93 |
| 2018 | 7,898 | 80.17 | 1.13 | 137,578 | 70.55 | 0.99 | 439,882 | 64.91 | 0.91 |
| 2017 | 7,229 | 74.23 | 1.16 | 122,860 | 63.43 | 0.99 | 396,747 | 58.76 | 0.92 |
| 2016 | 2,368 | 24.35 | 1.28 | 37,128 | 19.19 | 1.01 | 116,493 | 17.30 | 0.91 |
Download | |||||||||
Harlow Compared to Nearby Major Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Major Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basildon | 12,950 | 98.18 | 14% more dangerous |
| Colchester | 11,853 | 95.64 | 11% more dangerous |
| Harlow | 9,193 | 86.19 | - |
| Chelmsford | 7,630 | 85.76 | 0.50% safer |
| Grays | 3,909 | 82.46 | 4.3% safer |
Comparing Harlow to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 8% safer |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 4.1% safer |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 2.4% safer |
| Harlow | 86.19 | - |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 14% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 21% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 22% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 24% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 24% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 25% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 45% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
To download charts and tables, you must subscribed to CrimeRate Pro
You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Offences In and Around Harlow's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Harlow that are named and have had crimes recorded within their boundaries in the 12 months to Apr 2026.
| Name | ASB | Drugs | Public Order | Robbery | VSO | All Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harlow Common | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | 12 | 20 |
| Church Langley Field | 3 | 4 | 4 | - | 6 | 2 |
| Jean McAlpine Park | 2 | - | 1 | - | 3 | 5 |
| Mark Hall Park | 3 | 1 | - | - | 10 | 4 |
| Town Park | 25 | 15 | 21 | 10 | 70 | 110 |
| The Water Gardens | 3 | 1 | 9 | - | 13 | 26 |
| Long Ley Playing Field | 1 | - | 1 | - | 7 | 10 |
| East Park | 3 | - | 1 | - | 5 | 3 |
| Canons Gate Allotments | - | - | - | - | 12 | 4 |
| Silvesters Allotments | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 12 |
| Rectory Field Playing Field | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 6 |
| Tithelands Park | 1 | - | 3 | - | 11 | 5 |
| Greygoose Park | - | 1 | - | - | 4 | 2 |
| Sumners Leisure Centre | 11 | - | 2 | - | 8 | 2 |
| Stackfield Allotments | 4 | - | 1 | - | 15 | 7 |
| Ram Gorse Allotments | - | - | - | - | 6 | 3 |
| The Dashes Playing Field | - | 4 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 6 |
| Upper Stoneyfield Allotments | 1 | - | - | - | 10 | 2 |
| Commonfields Allotments | 4 | 1 | 3 | - | 20 | 15 |
| The Stow Playing Field | 2 | 2 | - | - | 14 | 11 |
| Ladyshot Playing Field | 1 | 4 | 4 | - | 22 | 24 |
| Arkwrights Allotments | 1 | - | 2 | - | 12 | 19 |
| Long Ley Allotments | 1 | 2 | - | - | 2 | 1 |
| Harlow Cricket Club | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | 14 | 9 |
| Mark Hall Sports Centre | 4 | - | 1 | - | 11 | 5 |
| Norman Booth Leisure Centre | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 4 |
| Mill Lane Allotments | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 3 | 0 |
| Izzards Allotments | - | 2 | - | - | 3 | 2 |
| Collins Meadow Playing Field | 2 | 2 | - | - | 11 | 5 |
| Barn Mead Playing Field | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 20 | 14 |
| Honey Hill Allotments | 9 | 5 | 3 | - | 37 | 24 |
| Brays Mead Allotments | 2 | - | 2 | - | 17 | 9 |
| Bush Fair Playing Field | 13 | 9 | 6 | - | 26 | 26 |
| Nicholls Field Allotments | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | 7 | 7 |
| Nicholls Field Playing Field | 6 | - | 1 | - | 19 | 14 |
| Stile Croft One Allotments | 1 | - | 1 | - | 10 | 3 |
| Dudley Terrace Allotments | - | 7 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 10 |
| Fullers Mead Allotments | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 6 | 2 |
| Harlow Leisurezone | 4 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 22 | 40 |
| Rundells Allotment Gardens | 4 | 2 | 6 | - | 13 | 7 |
| Harlow Rugby Club | 1 | 2 | - | - | 10 | 2 |
| Terlings Park | - | 3 | 1 | - | 5 | 1 |
Recent Crimes in Harlow
The 20 most recent crime reports in Harlow.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Dads Wood | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Dads Wood | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Dads Wood | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Parking Area |
Methodology & Data Sources
Harlow Crime Report
Data Sources & Processing
Every month, CrimeRate processes crime reports from data.police.uk, the UK's official provider of open crime report data. Each crime report includes anonymised coordinates, most often "snapped" to the middle of the nearest street, or to the nearest major landmark. The reports also include the month and year the crime was reported, as well as the type of crime.
Data releases on data.police.uk happen once a month, with a two-month delay. This means that, for example, crimes reported in Harlow during August 2026 will typically become available in October 2026. The latest release is for Apr 2026 and was released in Jun 2026. To provide current and historical crime statistics, CrimeRate processed 61,669,232 crime reports for the latest release.
Harlow Data Points
For Harlow, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2023 release of their Parishes and Non Civil Parished Areas dataset, using the PARNCP23CD column value E43000064.
Due to the 2021 Census being conducted during a UK-wide Coronavirus lockdown, the daytime population figures released so far cannot be relied on for purposes such as comparing crime rates. Instead, CrimeRate uses Harlow's daytime - or "workday" - population of 81,377 from the ONS 2011 Census for calculations throughout the site.
All geographic boundaries use the full resolution - extent of the realm versions where provided to avoid missing crime reports near coastlines and rivers - the banks of the Thames in particular - that would otherwise not be included when using the clipped to the coastline datasets.
Calculating Crime Rates
CrimeRate locates the UK region, county, and town/city/village locality for each crime report, and calculates the crime rate by taking the sum of all crime reports, dividing it by the locality's daytime / "workday" population, and multiplying the result by 1,000 to get the crime rate per 1,000.
Crime Risk Score Calculations
CrimeRate calculates crime counts for local, nearby, and wider areas for every postcode in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The postcodes locations are deduplicated by a process that ensures distinct points are approximately 50 metres apart. This process removes the bias that would otherwise come from counting the same crimes several times in heavily populated areas.
Using a custom algorithm developed in-house, CrimeRate applies a crime severity weighting to each area's crime counts, based on the type of crime reported. This increases or decreases the crime count, or zeroes it out entirely, depending on the crime type. A separate crime severity rate is then calculated, standardised, and scaled to fit the crime risk score range of 1 to 1,000, with 1 being the lowest score, and 1,000 the highest.
Crime risk scores undergo further analysis per town, city, and village plus other areas including police forces and neighbourhoods. CrimeRate uses percentiles to work out the most common range of crime risk scores in each locality. This includes identifying the high and low bounds where approximately 68% of scores fall, and finding the median (50th percentile) for easy reference.
The crime types with a weight of zero are: Anti-Social Behaviour; Bicycle Theft; Other Crime; Other Theft; and Shoplifting. The highest weights to are assigned to Violence & Sexual Offences, and the lowest to Vehicle Crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crime in Harlow