Crime and Safety in Waltham Forest
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Waltham Forest is among the top 20 most dangerous boroughs in London. The overall crime rate in Waltham Forest in 2026 is 80 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares favourably to London's overall crime rate, coming in 2.8% lower than the London rate of 82 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Waltham Forest is the 29th most dangerous city, and the 775th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In June 2024, Waltham Forest had the worst crime rate in London for drugs, with 106 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.37 per 1,000 daytime population. October 2024 was also a bad month for Waltham Forest residents, when it was London's most dangerous area for criminal damage and arson, recording 186 crimes at a rate of 0.65 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Waltham Forest are violence and sexual offences, with 7,075 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 25. This is 3.6% higher than 2025's figure of 6,826 offences and a difference of 0.84 from 2025's crime rate of 24. Waltham Forest's least common crimes are possession of weapons, with 166 offences recorded in 2026, an increase of 12% from 2025's figure of 148 crimes.
Waltham Forest 2026 Crime Scorecard
Top 20 Most Dangerous
Boroughs, London
0.29% higher, regional crime rate
London
11% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Waltham Forest is 0.29% higher than London and 11% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Waltham Forest Crime Rate Over Time
| Waltham Forest | |
| London | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Waltham Forest Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Waltham Forest 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 Waltham Forest Compares
You can compare Waltham Forest'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 Waltham Forest's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Waltham Forest up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Waltham Forest's 3,829 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 Waltham Forest? 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
Waltham Forest • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Waltham Forest has a crime risk score of 550. This is based on analysis of 3,829 nearby areas within Waltham Forest, 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 Waltham Forest's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Waltham Forest, crime risk scores are typically around 550, while in London they are average 534.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 642 (613 for London), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 703 (London 663).
Trends in Crime Risk
Waltham Forest
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.
The 10-year trend indicates a decrease of 21% in Waltham Forest'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 Waltham Forest's crime risk score is up by 4.4%. 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, Waltham Forest's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 1.4%, 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
Waltham Forest
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
Waltham Forest • 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 5.07 reports per 1,000 people in Waltham Forest, which is 3.27 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 1,463 crime reports logged by Metropolitan Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Metropolitan Police recorded 771 reports of Robbery in Waltham Forest, resulting in a crime rate of 2.66 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 2.25.
The crime rate for Vehicle Crime is 2.05 times the national average at 8.81 reports per 1,000. This is from 2,538 crime reports reported to Metropolitan Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Waltham Forest
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.
Public Order offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.79 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.66 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 20% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.80 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 0.73 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 10% over this timeframe.
Shoplifting offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.74 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 0.82 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 10% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Waltham Forest
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Vehicle Crime offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 2.29 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 20% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Waltham Forest • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Waltham Forest | London | Metropolitan Police | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 6,907 | 23.97 | 1.70 | 235,985 | 21.68 | 1.53 | 236,187 | 21.58 | 1.53 |
| Bicycle Theft | 369 | 1.29 | 1.77 | 13,695 | 1.26 | 1.73 | 13,744 | 1.26 | 1.73 |
| Burglary | 1,300 | 4.52 | 1.44 | 47,359 | 4.34 | 1.39 | 47,451 | 4.33 | 1.38 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 1,546 | 5.36 | 0.85 | 54,098 | 4.99 | 0.79 | 54,220 | 4.97 | 0.79 |
| Drugs | 1,702 | 5.91 | 1.91 | 53,167 | 4.87 | 1.58 | 53,280 | 4.85 | 1.57 |
| Other Crime | 296 | 1.04 | 0.56 | 13,008 | 1.19 | 0.64 | 13,028 | 1.19 | 0.64 |
| Other Theft | 2,251 | 7.81 | 1.37 | 97,452 | 8.97 | 1.58 | 97,779 | 8.95 | 1.57 |
| Possession of Weapons | 166 | 0.58 | 0.68 | 6,443 | 0.60 | 0.71 | 6,461 | 0.60 | 0.71 |
| Public Order | 1,492 | 5.18 | 0.89 | 60,049 | 5.52 | 0.95 | 60,156 | 5.49 | 0.95 |
| Robbery | 771 | 2.66 | 2.25 | 30,804 | 2.83 | 2.40 | 30,857 | 2.83 | 2.40 |
| Shoplifting | 2,107 | 7.32 | 1.03 | 87,976 | 8.09 | 1.13 | 88,269 | 8.08 | 1.13 |
| Theft From the Person | 1,463 | 5.07 | 3.27 | 77,160 | 7.11 | 4.59 | 77,344 | 7.08 | 4.57 |
| Vehicle Crime | 2,538 | 8.81 | 2.05 | 81,755 | 7.50 | 1.74 | 81,900 | 7.50 | 1.74 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 7,075 | 24.56 | 0.81 | 273,434 | 25.12 | 0.83 | 273,897 | 25.04 | 0.82 |
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Total Crime by Year
Waltham Forest | London | Metropolitan Police | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 23,076 | 80.11 | 1.11 | 896,400 | 82.39 | 1.14 | 898,386 | 82.17 | 1.14 |
| 2025 | 24,426 | 85.19 | 1.15 | 896,961 | 83.23 | 1.12 | 898,787 | 82.94 | 1.12 |
| 2024 | 23,463 | 82.18 | 1.09 | 900,986 | 84.38 | 1.12 | 902,681 | 84.12 | 1.12 |
| 2023 | 21,848 | 77.02 | 0.97 | 835,471 | 78.98 | 1.00 | 837,244 | 78.79 | 1.00 |
| 2022 | 22,045 | 77.73 | 1.01 | 795,646 | 75.77 | 0.99 | 797,303 | 75.56 | 0.98 |
| 2021 | 22,213 | 77.99 | 1.14 | 727,983 | 69.09 | 1.01 | 729,401 | 68.83 | 1.00 |
| 2020 | 22,767 | 79.55 | 1.07 | 819,467 | 77.66 | 1.05 | 821,362 | 77.41 | 1.04 |
| 2019 | 23,584 | 82.43 | 1.08 | 849,310 | 80.70 | 1.06 | 851,175 | 80.59 | 1.06 |
| 2018 | 22,533 | 79.09 | 1.11 | 810,063 | 77.08 | 1.08 | 811,738 | 76.91 | 1.08 |
| 2017 | 21,248 | 74.90 | 1.17 | 758,160 | 72.41 | 1.13 | 759,755 | 72.22 | 1.13 |
| 2016 | 6,903 | 24.37 | 1.28 | 234,565 | 22.42 | 1.18 | 235,003 | 22.39 | 1.17 |
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Crime in Waltham Forest's Neighbourhoods
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Neighbourhood | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leyton | 3,107 | 75.63 | 6% safer |
Waltham Forest Compared to Other London Boroughs
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Borough | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster | 75,198 | 125.02 | 56% more dangerous |
| Camden | 39,579 | 97.84 | 22% more dangerous |
| Haringey | 28,040 | 95.10 | 19% more dangerous |
| Lewisham | 29,090 | 92.69 | 16% more dangerous |
| Southwark | 39,255 | 91.28 | 14% more dangerous |
| Greenwich | 27,583 | 87.11 | 9% more dangerous |
| Brent | 32,653 | 86.45 | 8% more dangerous |
| Enfield | 29,378 | 85.76 | 7% more dangerous |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 20,786 | 84.88 | 6% more dangerous |
| Barking and Dagenham | 19,666 | 81.12 | 1.3% more dangerous |
| Hillingdon | 31,089 | 80.61 | 0.62% more dangerous |
| Waltham Forest | 23,076 | 80.11 | - |
| Ealing | 32,448 | 77.95 | 2.7% safer |
| Hounslow | 26,744 | 77.29 | 3.5% safer |
| Croydon | 33,841 | 75.52 | 6% safer |
Comparing Waltham Forest to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 0.70% safer |
| Waltham Forest | 80.11 | - |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 3.2% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 5.0% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 22% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 31% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 31% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 33% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 34% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 34% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 56% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
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Offences In and Around Waltham Forest's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Waltham Forest 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Paddock Community Nature Park | 22 | - | 1 | - | 10 | 11 |
| Cathall Green | 7 | 1 | 5 | - | 13 | 20 |
| Waltham Forest Feel Good Centre | 26 | 26 | 10 | 8 | 25 | 91 |
| The Green | 10 | 5 | 7 | - | 48 | 14 |
| Harrow Green | 17 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 26 |
| Knotts Green | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 12 |
| Wanstead Flats | 147 | 22 | 26 | 18 | 160 | 239 |
| Walthamstow Borough Bowls Club | 13 | 2 | - | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| Wellness Works | - | 1 | 4 | - | 8 | 3 |
| Hackney Marshes Centre | 43 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 63 | 68 |
| Sidmouth Park | 19 | 2 | 4 | - | 17 | 13 |
| St Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery | 20 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 46 | 43 |
| Markfield Recreation Ground | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 25 |
| Lloyd Park | 98 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 68 |
| Springfield Park | 74 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 51 | 53 |
| Queen's Road Cemetery | 10 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 21 |
| Thomas Gamuel Park | 21 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 18 |
| Mansfield Park | 10 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 18 |
| Chase Lane Park | 2 | 1 | - | - | 7 | 11 |
| Sinnott Road Allotment Site | 6 | 1 | - | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| Bateman Road Allotment Site | 7 | 1 | 1 | - | 24 | 6 |
| Salisbury Hall Playing Fields | 4 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 71 |
| Hoxton Manor Allotments | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 26 |
| Playground Folly Lane Park | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 3 | 6 |
| The George White Sports Ground | 11 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 23 |
| Trencherfield Allotment Site | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 20 | 25 |
| Higham Hill Allotment Site | 25 | 7 | 3 | - | 37 | 50 |
| Aveling Park Bowls Club | 13 | 2 | - | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Stoneydown Park | 11 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 45 |
| Douglas Eyre Sports Centre | 32 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 27 | 88 |
| Coppermill Park | 15 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 7 |
| Honeybone Allotment Site | 15 | - | 2 | - | 12 | 18 |
| St James's Park | 15 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 16 |
| Kelmscott Leisure Centre | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 21 |
| Low Hall Farm Allotments | 9 | 8 | - | 1 | 7 | 15 |
| Markhouse Common Allotments | 42 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 16 |
| Friendship Gardens | 60 | 10 | 23 | 7 | 66 | 60 |
| Hawkwood Allotments | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 8 | 15 |
| Ridgeway Park | 19 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 26 | 28 |
| Pimp Hall Allotment Site | 2 | - | 2 | - | 4 | 4 |
| Chingford Cricket Club | 6 | - | - | - | 7 | 7 |
| Chingford Mount Cemetery | 18 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 31 | 60 |
| Suffield Hatch Allotments | 6 | 1 | 6 | - | 18 | 9 |
| Simmons Lane Allotments | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 |
| Pimp Hall Park | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 |
| Larkswood Playing Fields | 11 | 3 | 1 | - | 12 | 16 |
| War Memorial Recreation Ground | 29 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 26 |
| Beechwood Allotments | 5 | - | 1 | - | 2 | 9 |
| Jubilee Sports Ground | 5 | - | - | - | 4 | 13 |
| The Highams Park | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 | 10 |
| Rolls Sports Ground | 16 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 33 |
| Parmiters Sports Ground | 1 | - | 3 | - | 4 | 6 |
| Cavendish Sports Ground | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Brookfield Allotment Site | 4 | - | 2 | - | 1 | 5 |
| Hollywood Way Allotment Site | 2 | - | - | - | 4 | 2 |
| Peter May Sports Centre | 15 | 1 | - | 1 | 52 | 25 |
| Wadham Lodge Sports Ground | 19 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 34 |
| Chestnuts Sports Ground | 4 | 5 | 1 | - | 5 | 11 |
| Hale End Road Allotment Site | 14 | 10 | 2 | - | 12 | 34 |
| Bisterne Avenue Park | 5 | - | 1 | - | 6 | 12 |
| Wingfield Park | 34 | 13 | 5 | - | 17 | 24 |
| Abbotts Park | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 16 |
| King's Passage Allotment Site | 1 | - | - | - | 5 | 5 |
| Oliver Road Allotment Site | 36 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 19 |
| Hackney Marsh | - | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Lee Valley Ice Centre | 8 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 33 |
| Millfields | 60 | 14 | 17 | 27 | 54 | 81 |
| Seymour Road Allotment Site | 12 | 2 | 1 | - | 12 | 15 |
| Leyton Jubilee Park | 11 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 18 |
| Drysdale Park | 2 | 2 | - | - | 4 | 8 |
| Leyton Manor Park | 13 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 27 | 18 |
| Skeltons Lane Park | 18 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 13 |
| The Henry Reynolds' Garden | - | - | - | - | 2 | 6 |
| Coronation Gardens | 54 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 40 | 75 |
| Auckland Road Allotment Site | 17 | - | 1 | - | 11 | 10 |
| Ruckholt Close Allotment Site | 17 | 1 | 1 | - | 13 | 21 |
| Linear Park | 5 | 3 | 1 | - | 7 | 19 |
| Cathall Leisure Centre | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 25 |
| Langthorne Park | 45 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 29 | 41 |
| Browning Road Allotment Site | 43 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 30 | 37 |
| Cann Hall Park | - | - | 1 | - | 6 | 4 |
| Downsell Road Allotments | 18 | 1 | - | - | 10 | 8 |
| East London Boxing Academy | 21 | - | 3 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
| Jubilee Gardens | 16 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 25 |
| West Ham Jewish Cemetery | 43 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 42 | 43 |
| West Ham Cemetery | 55 | 26 | 5 | 4 | 74 | 87 |
| Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 21 |
| Lee Valley Velopark | 31 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 55 |
| Ive Farm | 10 | 2 | - | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park | 67 | 25 | 8 | 16 | 35 | 108 |
| Mount Avenue Allotments | 7 | 1 | 1 | - | 5 | 3 |
| Drapers Field | 23 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 30 |
| Greenway Avenue Community Garden | 9 | - | 1 | - | 7 | 13 |
Recent Crimes in Waltham Forest
The 20 most recent crime reports in Waltham Forest.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Cornwell Gardens | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Marmion Close | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Manor Road | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Hainault Road | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Manor Road | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Preston Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Hainault Road | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Marmion Close | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Buxton Drive | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Keatley Green | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Badlis Road | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Lavender Close | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Tennyson Road | |
| April 2026 | Robbery | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Fulbourne Road | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Templeton Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near West Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Manor Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Celebration Way |
Methodology & Data Sources
Waltham Forest 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 Waltham Forest 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.
Waltham Forest Data Points
For Waltham Forest, 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 E43000221.
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 Waltham Forest's daytime - or "workday" - population of 216,400 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 Waltham Forest