Crime and Safety in Croydon, London

Last updated: 07 Jun 2026

Page highlights:

Croydon is among the top 20 safest boroughs in London. The overall crime rate in Croydon in 2026 is 76 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares favourably to London's overall crime rate, coming in 8% lower than the London rate of 82 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Croydon is the 25th safest city, and the 927th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.

In February 2026, Croydon had the worst crime rate in London for criminal damage and arson, with 208 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.47 per 1,000 daytime population. July 2024 was also a bad month for Croydon residents, when it was London's most dangerous area for possession of weapons, recording 26 crimes at a rate of 0.06 per 1,000 daytime population.

The most common crimes in Croydon are violence and sexual offences, with 12,683 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 28. This is 1.5% higher than 2025's figure of 12,491 offences and a difference of 0.47 from 2025's crime rate of 28. Croydon's least common crime is bicycle theft, with 194 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 2.0% from 2025's figure of 198 crimes.

Croydon 2026 Crime Scorecard

Top 20 Safest

Boroughs, London

5% lower, regional crime rate

London

4.9% higher, national crime rate

England, Wales & NI

Local Crime in Context

As of April 2026, the crime rate in Croydon is 5% lower than London and 4.9% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.

Croydon Crime Rate Over Time

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Croydon
London
England, Wales & NI

Croydon Crime Map

Incidents mapped in Croydon 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.

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Design element, blobs on the right

See How Croydon Compares

You can compare Croydon'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.

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Introduction to Croydon's crime statistics

 

This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Croydon up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Croydon's 7,036 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.

Overview map crime around Croydon

CrimeRate Insights

Looking into a specific address in Croydon? 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

Croydon • 12 Months Ending April 2026

 

The typical five-minute walk within Croydon has a crime risk score of 509. This is based on analysis of 7,036 nearby areas within Croydon, with "most" referring to roughly two thirds of the nearby locations.

Five Mins
509 crime risk score
Ten Mins
593 crime risk score
Fifteen Mins
653 crime risk score

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 Croydon's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.

Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Croydon, crime risk scores are typically around 509, while in London they are average 534.

Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 593 (613 for London), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 653 (London 663).

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Trends in Crime Risk

Croydon

 

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.

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The 10-year trend indicates a decrease of 15% in Croydon's crime risk score. This is potentially a strong signal of how the crime risk is evolving. Cross-referencing with major cultural events and Covid's impact during this time is advised.

Looking at the previous five years, the trend in Croydon's crime risk score is up by 9%. While potentially a good indicator of the overall risk trend, analysis may offer further insight when combined with the checks mentioned above.

Over the last year, Croydon's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 4.2%, 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

Croydon

 

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

Croydon • 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.

Robbery
1.97 CrimeRate Index
Vehicle Crime
1.79 CrimeRate Index
Drugs
1.57 CrimeRate Index

Robbery offences have a crime rate of 2.33 reports per 1,000 people in Croydon, which is 1.97 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 1,044 crime reports logged by Metropolitan Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.

For the same period, Metropolitan Police recorded 3,464 reports of Vehicle Crime in Croydon, resulting in a crime rate of 7.71 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.79.

The crime rate for Drugs is 1.57 times the national average at 4.84 reports per 1,000. This is from 2,171 crime reports reported to Metropolitan Police.

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Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types

Croydon

 

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.

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Burglary offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.21 for the month of April 2026.

Three years ago, the monthly Burglary CrimeRate Index was 1.10 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 10% over this timeframe.

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Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.94 for the month of April 2026.

Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 0.77 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 22% over this timeframe.

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Public Order offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.88 for the month of April 2026.

Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.72 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 22% over this timeframe.

Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types

Croydon

 

Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.

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Robbery offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.40 for the month of April 2026.

Three years ago, the monthly Robbery CrimeRate Index was 2.33 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 40% over this timeframe.

Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map

Croydon • 12 Months Ending April 2026

 

Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.

 
Croydon
London
Metropolitan Police
Crime TypeCountRateIndexCountRateIndexCountRateIndex
Anti-Social Behaviour8,96820.011.42235,98521.681.53236,18721.581.53
Bicycle Theft1940.430.5913,6951.261.7313,7441.261.73
Burglary1,7683.961.2747,3594.341.3947,4514.331.38
Criminal Damage and Arson2,5525.710.9154,0984.990.7954,2204.970.79
Drugs2,1714.841.5753,1674.871.5853,2804.851.57
Other Crime5391.210.6513,0081.190.6413,0281.190.64
Other Theft2,6515.931.0497,4528.971.5897,7798.951.57
Possession of Weapons3070.690.816,4430.600.716,4610.600.71
Public Order2,4725.520.9560,0495.520.9560,1565.490.95
Robbery1,0442.331.9730,8042.832.4030,8572.832.40
Shoplifting3,1767.090.9987,9768.091.1388,2698.081.13
Theft From the Person8201.801.1677,1607.114.5977,3447.084.57
Vehicle Crime3,4647.711.7981,7557.501.7481,9007.501.74
Violence and Sexual Offences12,68328.300.93273,43425.120.83273,89725.040.82
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Total Crime by Year

 
Croydon
London
Metropolitan Police
YearCountRateIndexCountRateIndexCountRateIndex
202633,84175.521.05896,40082.391.14898,38682.171.14
202534,59677.251.04896,96183.231.12898,78782.941.12
202434,07776.731.02900,98684.381.12902,68184.121.12
202332,20073.780.93835,47178.981.00837,24478.791.00
202232,33874.920.98795,64675.770.99797,30375.560.98
202130,66071.031.04727,98369.091.01729,40168.831.00
202031,50972.780.98819,46777.661.05821,36277.411.04
201930,62271.200.93849,31080.701.06851,17580.591.06
201829,70869.220.97810,06377.081.08811,73876.911.08
201729,59068.981.08758,16072.411.13759,75572.221.13
20169,06421.141.11234,56522.421.18235,00322.391.17
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Crime in Croydon's Neighbourhoods

12 Months Ending Apr 2026

 

NeighbourhoodTotal CrimesCrime RateRate Difference
Coulsdon North59558.25 23% safer
Crystal Palace77790.55 20% more dangerous
Norbury1,16392.51 22% more dangerous
Purley1,40067.41 11% safer
Thornton Heath6,88385.45 13% more dangerous
Upper Norwood1,08854.40 28% safer
Woodcote1744.23 41% safer

Croydon Compared to Other London Boroughs

12 Months Ending Apr 2026

 

BoroughTotal CrimesCrime RateRate Difference
Westminster75,198125.0266% more dangerous
Southwark39,25591.2821% more dangerous
Greenwich27,58387.1115% more dangerous
Brent32,65386.4514% more dangerous
Enfield29,37885.7614% more dangerous
Hammersmith and Fulham20,78684.8812% more dangerous
Barking and Dagenham19,66681.127% more dangerous
Hillingdon31,08980.617% more dangerous
Waltham Forest23,07680.116% more dangerous
Ealing32,44877.953.2% more dangerous
Hounslow26,74477.292.3% more dangerous
Croydon33,84175.52-
Redbridge24,73373.622.5% safer
Tower Hamlets37,48869.039% safer
Havering19,43767.1311% safer
Wandsworth26,47066.9811% safer

Comparing Croydon to the UK's Major Cities

12 Months Ending Apr 2026

 

City NameCrime RateRate Difference
Croydon75.52-
Cardiff79.555% more dangerous
Newcastle upon Tyne82.699% more dangerous
Sheffield84.0911% more dangerous
Leicester97.8730% more dangerous
Bristol104.6439% more dangerous
Birmingham105.0539% more dangerous
Liverpool106.4841% more dangerous
Leeds107.1042% more dangerous
Nottingham107.7443% more dangerous
Westminster125.0066% more dangerous

Offences In and Around Croydon's Parks & Leisure Spaces

 

Limited to spaces in Croydon that are named and have had crimes recorded within their boundaries in the 12 months to Apr 2026.

NameASBDrugsPublic OrderRobberyVSOAll Others
Roke Open Space111-75
Addiscombe Railway Park71331714
Norwood Grove3611107
Kenley Common-21-139
Pollards Hill381--1115
Beckenham Crematorium71111421
Purley Beeches3---13
Shirley Heath5-2-109
Farthing Downs51--89
Bradmore Green12--43
Streatham Common1086151052108
The Lawns2--1917
Mitcham Common11022231194128
Newlands Woods--1-22
Brickfields Meadow192612325
Woodside Green8---88
Heavers Meadow82-1912
South Norwood Lake and Grounds92253313
Bradmore Green--1-31
New Addington Leisure and Community Centre582611921
Norbury Hall Park6661355347
Park Hill197412219
Millers Pond33--12
Milne Park Recreation Ground225234024
Norbury Park226593055
Norwood Park103724360
Westow Park284611724
Lewis Sports and Leisure Centre8---46
Grangewood Park218822833
Canterbury Road Recreation Ground123742420
Trumble Gardens42-22317
Trumble Gardens42-22116
Queen's Road Cemetery4181627057
South Norwood Country Park40141484882
Waddon Ponds Park224963394
Bigginwood Allotments1--168
Spa Hill Allotments3---55
Green Lane Sports Ground132552849
Maberley Road Allotments113611921
Pollards Hill Recreation Ground279212424
Thornton Heath and Norbury Horticultural Society7---34
Roundshaw Park271628986172
Bensham Manor Bowling Club47--48
Wandle Park38171164954
Sir Philip Game Recreation Centre211-1512
Abbots Way Leisure Gardens Limited----23
Ashburton Park1071123225
Ashburton Playing Fields284932816
Parkfields1-211013
The Queen's Gardens1002233716280
Lloyd Park2026-1921
South Croydon Recreation Ground98531625
South Croydon Allotments19-4-2422
Shirley Church Recreation Ground8112810
Village Green221-20
Smitham Allotments1-1-313
Hartley Down Allotments212-810
Rickman Hill Recreation Ground-1--43
Coulsdon Memorial Recreation Ground5---216
Rotherwick Rise Natural Play Space--1151
Grange Park Recreation Ground1682-813
Rotary Field Recreation Ground7-3-17
Purley Bury Bowling Club-----1
Wettern Tree Garden111-26
Sanderstead Recreation Ground613-1519
Kenley Sports Club211-33
Bourne Park Recreation Ground-2--55
Croydon Post Office Social and Athletic Club21--2810
North Down Recreation Ground17---1518
Riddlesdown Common1053235112
Whitehorse Meadow--2--16
Queenhill Road Playspace----52
Coombe Wood111-54
Sanderstead Cricket Ground----41
Heathfield--1137

Recent Crimes in Croydon

The 20 most recent crime reports in Croydon.

 

DateCrime TypeLocationOutcome
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Fernhurst Road
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Fernhurst Road
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Elgin Road
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Fernhurst Road
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Windall Close
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Woodville Road
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Woodville Road
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Jamaica Road
April 2026Anti-social behaviourOn or near Fernhurst Road
April 2026BurglaryOn or near Crystal Terrace
April 2026BurglaryOn or near Fernhurst Road
April 2026DrugsOn or near Whitgift Avenue
April 2026DrugsOn or near Parking Area
April 2026DrugsOn or near Parking Area
April 2026DrugsOn or near Furze Road
April 2026ShopliftingOn or near Supermarket
April 2026Vehicle crimeOn or near Station Approach
April 2026Violence and sexual offencesOn or near Bernel Drive
April 2026Violence and sexual offencesOn or near Farquharson Road
April 2026Violence and sexual offencesOn or near Fernhurst Road

Methodology & Data Sources

Croydon 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 Croydon during July 2026 will typically become available in September 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.

Croydon Data Points

For Croydon, 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 E43000198.

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 Croydon's daytime - or "workday" - population of 310,520 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.

Croydon geographic boundaries light outline
CrimeRate's boundaries for Croydon

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 Croydon

 

What police force serves Croydon?
Croydon's local territorial police force is the Metropolitan Police Service.

How dangerous is Croydon?
Croydon is among the top 20 safest boroughs in London.

What is Croydon's most common crime?
The most common crimes in Croydon are violence and sexual offences.

What is the least common crime in Croydon?
Croydon's least common crime is bicycle theft.