Crime in Merton
Recorded crime in Merton is 0.8 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 6%. The biggest share of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
218,539 residents in 126 neighbourhoods.
- Safety
- 5/10Average crime
- Living
- 9.2/10Excellent
- 5-year change
- −6%fewer crimes
Crime over 5 years
Down 6% in 5 years Recorded crimes in Merton, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 0.8× the England and Wales average. 62 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 48% of the harm here
- Burglary: 18% of the harm here
- Robbery: 14% of the harm here
Anti-social behaviour: 19 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crime by type
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, most serious first, not counting anti-social behaviour.
| Type | Per 1,000 a year |
|---|---|
| Robbery | 1.8 |
| Burglary | 5.0 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 20.2 |
| Drugs | 2.7 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.4 |
| Other crime | 0.9 |
| Other theft | 6.6 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 1.5 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 7.8 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 4.8 |
| Public order | 4.5 |
| Bicycle theft | 1.5 |
| Shoplifting | 4.8 |
What crimes are recorded in Merton
Crimes recorded by the police, April 2025 to March 2026. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
Metropolitan Police did not assign 5.5% of the crimes it recorded in 2025/26 to a council area, so these figures are lower than the true count.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 587 | 2.7 | Down 8% |
| Cars broken into | 501 | 2.3 | Down 26% |
| Vehicle tampering | 161 | 0.74 | Down 24% |
| Vandalism to homes | 205 | 0.94 | Down 19% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 48 | 0.22 | Down 41% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 304 | 1.4 | Up 8% |
| Arson | 29 | 0.13 | Down 29% |
| Burglary of homes | 442 | 2.0 | Down 14% |
| Burglary of businesses | 167 | 0.76 | Down 3% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 3 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 47 | 0.22 | Up 38% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 73 | 0.33 | Up 24% |
| Robbery of people | 200 | 0.92 | Down 17% |
| Robbery of businesses | 158 | 0.72 | Up 10% |
| Violence with injury | 1,134 | 5.2 | Up 3% |
| Violence without injury | 2,041 | 9.3 | Up 6% |
| Stalking and harassment | 1,097 | 5.0 | Up 24% |
| Sexual offences | 541 | 2.5 | Up 24% |
| Shoplifting | 1,258 | 5.8 | Down 34% |
| Bicycle theft | 212 | 0.97 | Up 6% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 295 | 1.3 | Down 22% |
| Drug dealing | 296 | 1.4 | About the same |
| Drug possession | 435 | 2.0 | Up 18% |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare. These are council-area figures: police.uk street-level data, used for the map and the Safety score, only has the broad categories, and no source publishes murders or stabbings by street.
Metropolitan Police area: 13,806 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (16,285 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Merton.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Postcode districts in Merton
Questions about crime in Merton
- Is Merton a safe place to live?
- Merton scores 5 out of 10 for safety (average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in Merton?
- Down 6% over 5 years, from 13,710 recorded crimes a year to 12,855.
- What is the most common crime in Merton?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 20 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How many cars are stolen in Merton?
- In Merton, the police recorded 587 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 2.7 per 1,000 residents, down 8% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Merton?
- 557 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Merton in 2025/26, 2.5 per 1,000 residents, 0.5 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Merton last year?
- 3 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Merton in 2025/26, against 0 the year before.