Crime and Safety in Kensington and Chelsea
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Kensington and Chelsea is the second most dangerous borough in London. The overall crime rate in Kensington and Chelsea in 2026 is 120 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to London's overall crime rate, coming in 45% higher than the London rate of 82 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Kensington and Chelsea is the third most dangerous city, and the 362nd most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In January 2026, Kensington and Chelsea had the worst crime rate in London for burglary, with 117 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.64 per 1,000 daytime population. January 2026 was also a bad month for Kensington and Chelsea residents, when it was London's most dangerous area for shoplifting, recording 259 crimes at a rate of 1.4 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Kensington and Chelsea are violence and sexual offences, with 5,201 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 28. This is 0.23% lower than 2025's figure of 5,213 offences and a difference of 0.11 from 2025's crime rate of 29. Kensington and Chelsea's least common crimes are possession of weapons, with 126 offences recorded in 2026, the same as 2025's figure of 126 crimes.
Kensington and Chelsea 2026 Crime Scorecard
Second Most Dangerous
Boroughs, London
50% higher, regional crime rate
London
66% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Kensington and Chelsea is 50% higher than London and 66% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Kensington and Chelsea Crime Rate Over Time
| Kensington and Chelsea | |
| London | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Kensington and Chelsea Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Kensington and Chelsea 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 Kensington and Chelsea Compares
You can compare Kensington and Chelsea'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 Kensington and Chelsea's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Kensington and Chelsea up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Kensington and Chelsea's 4,342 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 Kensington and Chelsea? 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
Kensington and Chelsea • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Kensington and Chelsea has a crime risk score of 676. This is based on analysis of 4,342 nearby areas within Kensington and Chelsea, 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 Kensington and Chelsea's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Kensington and Chelsea, crime risk scores are typically around 676, while in London they are average 534.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 744 (613 for London), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 777 (London 663).
Trends in Crime Risk
Kensington and Chelsea
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 Kensington and Chelsea'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 Kensington and Chelsea's crime risk score is up 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, Kensington and Chelsea's crime risk score has shown a downward trend of approximately 6%, indicating that the risk profile is going down. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Kensington and Chelsea
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
Kensington and Chelsea • 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.
Theft From the Person offences have a crime rate of 11 reports per 1,000 people in Kensington and Chelsea, which is 6.87 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 1,943 crime reports logged by Metropolitan Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Metropolitan Police recorded 595 reports of Robbery in Kensington and Chelsea, resulting in a crime rate of 3.27 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 2.77.
The crime rate for Vehicle Crime is 2.75 times the national average at 12 reports per 1,000. This is from 2,156 crime reports reported to Metropolitan Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Kensington and Chelsea
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.
Shoplifting offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 2.18 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 an increase of 54% over this timeframe.
Public Order offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.52 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.92 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 65% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.88 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 0.81 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 9% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Kensington and Chelsea
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Theft From the Person offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 5.17 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Theft From the Person CrimeRate Index was 7.46 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 31% over this timeframe.
Burglary offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.92 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Burglary CrimeRate Index was 2.37 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 19% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Kensington and Chelsea • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Kensington and Chelsea | London | Metropolitan Police | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 4,985 | 27.30 | 1.93 | 235,985 | 21.68 | 1.53 | 236,187 | 21.58 | 1.53 |
| Bicycle Theft | 350 | 1.91 | 2.62 | 13,695 | 1.26 | 1.73 | 13,744 | 1.26 | 1.73 |
| Burglary | 1,221 | 6.68 | 2.13 | 47,359 | 4.34 | 1.39 | 47,451 | 4.33 | 1.38 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 1,036 | 5.67 | 0.90 | 54,098 | 4.99 | 0.79 | 54,220 | 4.97 | 0.79 |
| Drugs | 1,196 | 6.57 | 2.13 | 53,167 | 4.87 | 1.58 | 53,280 | 4.85 | 1.57 |
| Other Crime | 174 | 0.96 | 0.52 | 13,008 | 1.19 | 0.64 | 13,028 | 1.19 | 0.64 |
| Other Theft | 2,988 | 16.36 | 2.88 | 97,452 | 8.97 | 1.58 | 97,779 | 8.95 | 1.57 |
| Possession of Weapons | 126 | 0.68 | 0.80 | 6,443 | 0.60 | 0.71 | 6,461 | 0.60 | 0.71 |
| Public Order | 1,349 | 7.38 | 1.27 | 60,049 | 5.52 | 0.95 | 60,156 | 5.49 | 0.95 |
| Robbery | 595 | 3.27 | 2.77 | 30,804 | 2.83 | 2.40 | 30,857 | 2.83 | 2.40 |
| Shoplifting | 3,501 | 19.17 | 2.69 | 87,976 | 8.09 | 1.13 | 88,269 | 8.08 | 1.13 |
| Theft From the Person | 1,943 | 10.65 | 6.87 | 77,160 | 7.11 | 4.59 | 77,344 | 7.08 | 4.57 |
| Vehicle Crime | 2,156 | 11.82 | 2.75 | 81,755 | 7.50 | 1.74 | 81,900 | 7.50 | 1.74 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 5,201 | 28.48 | 0.94 | 273,434 | 25.12 | 0.83 | 273,897 | 25.04 | 0.82 |
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Total Crime by Year
Kensington and Chelsea | London | Metropolitan Police | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 21,836 | 119.60 | 1.66 | 896,400 | 82.39 | 1.14 | 898,386 | 82.17 | 1.14 |
| 2025 | 22,275 | 123.15 | 1.66 | 896,961 | 83.23 | 1.12 | 898,787 | 82.94 | 1.12 |
| 2024 | 23,287 | 127.36 | 1.69 | 900,986 | 84.38 | 1.12 | 902,681 | 84.12 | 1.12 |
| 2023 | 20,691 | 111.82 | 1.42 | 835,471 | 78.98 | 1.00 | 837,244 | 78.79 | 1.00 |
| 2022 | 19,521 | 105.46 | 1.37 | 795,646 | 75.77 | 0.99 | 797,303 | 75.56 | 0.98 |
| 2021 | 16,163 | 86.78 | 1.27 | 727,983 | 69.09 | 1.01 | 729,401 | 68.83 | 1.00 |
| 2020 | 21,939 | 116.50 | 1.57 | 819,467 | 77.66 | 1.05 | 821,362 | 77.41 | 1.04 |
| 2019 | 21,724 | 114.07 | 1.50 | 849,310 | 80.70 | 1.06 | 851,175 | 80.59 | 1.06 |
| 2018 | 21,262 | 110.85 | 1.56 | 810,063 | 77.08 | 1.08 | 811,738 | 76.91 | 1.08 |
| 2017 | 20,067 | 103.34 | 1.62 | 758,160 | 72.41 | 1.13 | 759,755 | 72.22 | 1.13 |
| 2016 | 5,907 | 30.29 | 1.59 | 234,565 | 22.42 | 1.18 | 235,003 | 22.39 | 1.17 |
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Crime in Kensington and Chelsea's Neighbourhoods
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Neighbourhood | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 3,224 | 113.06 | 5% safer |
| Earl's Court | 2,154 | 129.17 | 8% more dangerous |
| Holland Park | 866 | 72.04 | 40% safer |
| Kensal Town | 622 | 95.66 | 20% safer |
| Kensington Palace Gardens | 848 | 89.17 | 25% safer |
| Knightsbridge | 2,676 | 169.15 | 41% more dangerous |
| North Kensington | 2,174 | 110.01 | 8% safer |
| Notting Hill | 5,803 | 174.42 | 46% more dangerous |
| South Kensington | 2,348 | 78.59 | 34% safer |
| West Brompton | 1,072 | 81.83 | 32% safer |
Kensington and Chelsea Compared to Other London Boroughs
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Borough | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington and Chelsea | 21,836 | 119.60 | - |
| Lambeth | 37,842 | 103.24 | 14% safer |
| Newham | 40,892 | 100.22 | 16% safer |
| Camden | 39,579 | 97.84 | 18% safer |
| Hackney | 31,315 | 97.19 | 19% safer |
| Haringey | 28,040 | 95.10 | 20% safer |
| Lewisham | 29,090 | 92.69 | 22% safer |
| Islington | 31,591 | 90.89 | 24% safer |
| Greenwich | 27,583 | 87.11 | 27% safer |
| Brent | 32,653 | 86.45 | 28% safer |
| Enfield | 29,378 | 85.76 | 28% safer |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 20,786 | 84.88 | 29% safer |
Comparing Kensington and Chelsea to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 33% safer |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 31% safer |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 30% safer |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 18% safer |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 13% safer |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 12% safer |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 11% safer |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 10% safer |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 10% safer |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 119.60 | - |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 4.5% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
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You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Offences In and Around Kensington and Chelsea's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Kensington and Chelsea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meanwhile Gardens | 48 | 21 | 20 | 9 | 54 | 81 |
| Redcliff Square Gardens | 14 | 1 | - | - | 8 | 16 |
| Dovehouse Green | 44 | - | 9 | 2 | 11 | 57 |
| Burton Court | 3 | - | 1 | - | 9 | 37 |
| Kensington Memorial Park | 18 | 5 | 7 | - | 120 | 44 |
| Kensington Gardens | 109 | 42 | 52 | 30 | 159 | 460 |
| Holland Park | 75 | 1 | 22 | 10 | 52 | 129 |
| St Luke's Gardens | 20 | - | 12 | 13 | 41 | 131 |
| Brompton Cemetery | 78 | 26 | 50 | 6 | 112 | 122 |
| Chelsea Physic Garden | 14 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 27 |
| Chelsea Embankment Gardens | 15 | 3 | 4 | - | 10 | 33 |
| Alec Clifton-Taylor Memorial Garden | 28 | 9 | 22 | 5 | 34 | 148 |
| St Mary Abbots Garden | 28 | 9 | 22 | 5 | 34 | 148 |
| Abbots Gardens | - | - | 1 | - | 5 | 11 |
| Western Synagogue Cemetery | 18 | 1 | 2 | - | 4 | 37 |
| St Luke's Gardens | 44 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 31 | 46 |
| Brompton Park | 5 | - | 2 | - | 10 | 10 |
| Westfield Park | 44 | 19 | 11 | 3 | 60 | 92 |
| Roper's Gardens | 19 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 28 |
| Cremorne Gardens | 11 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 36 |
| Ranelagh Gardens | 39 | 17 | 10 | 4 | 24 | 59 |
| Kensal Green Cemetery | 28 | 79 | 31 | 12 | 101 | 159 |
| Little Wormwood Scrubs | 22 | 8 | 9 | - | 53 | 55 |
| West London Bowling Club | 73 | 6 | 5 | - | 9 | 12 |
| The Boathouse Centre | 10 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 28 | 53 |
| Adventure Play Area | 9 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 23 | 30 |
| Westway Sports Centre | 21 | 4 | 14 | 3 | 34 | 48 |
| Avondale Park | 57 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 51 | 52 |
| Ladbroke Square Gardens | 12 | 25 | 1 | - | 17 | 26 |
| Kensington Leisure Centre | 17 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 34 | 38 |
Recent Crimes in Kensington and Chelsea
The 20 most recent crime reports in Kensington and Chelsea.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Cromwell Road | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Further/Higher Educational Building | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Apollo Place | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Further/Higher Educational Building | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Redfield Mews | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Further/Higher Educational Building | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Abbotsbury Road | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Langton Street | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Denyer Street | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Petersham Lane | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Campden Hill Gardens | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Campden Hill Gardens | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Further/Higher Educational Building | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Talbot Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Exmoor Street |
Methodology & Data Sources
Kensington and Chelsea 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 Kensington and Chelsea 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.
Kensington and Chelsea Data Points
For Kensington and Chelsea, 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 E43000210.
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 Kensington and Chelsea's daytime - or "workday" - population of 193,568 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 Kensington and Chelsea