Crime in Kensington and Chelsea
Recorded crime in Kensington and Chelsea is 1.7 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 3%. The biggest share of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
144,518 residents in 101 neighbourhoods. 3% live in busy town or city centres.
- Safety in the UK
- 1/10High crime
- Safety in the world
- 6/10Average crime
- Living
- 9.7/10Excellent
- 5-year change
- −3%fewer crimes
Crime over 5 years
Down 3% in 5 years Recorded crimes in Kensington and Chelsea, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 1.7× the England and Wales average. 145 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 36% of the harm here
- Burglary: 19% of the harm here
- Robbery: 17% of the harm here
Anti-social behaviour: 39 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 | 4.5 |
| Burglary | 10.9 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 32.1 |
| Drugs | 7.5 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.8 |
| Other crime | 1.2 |
| Other theft | 25.0 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 12.3 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 18.7 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 7.1 |
| Public order | 8.9 |
| Bicycle theft | 3.9 |
| Shoplifting | 12.5 |
What crimes are recorded in Kensington and Chelsea
145.8 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Kensington and Chelsea in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Our total for April 2025 to March 2026: 21,801. Home Office recorded crime: 21,075 (3% apart).
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 5.4% 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 | 453 | 3.1 | Down 8% |
| Cars broken into | 1,504 | 10.4 | Down 18% |
| Vehicle tampering | 144 | 1.00 | Down 14% |
| Vandalism to homes | 179 | 1.2 | Down 18% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 93 | 0.64 | Down 15% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 363 | 2.5 | Down 4% |
| Arson | 22 | 0.15 | Down 29% |
| Burglary of homes | 595 | 4.1 | Down 16% |
| Burglary of businesses | 434 | 3.0 | Down 21% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 4 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 47 | 0.33 | Down 24% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 104 | 0.72 | Up 44% |
| Robbery of people | 429 | 3.0 | Down 20% |
| Robbery of businesses | 181 | 1.3 | Up 27% |
| Violence with injury | 1,129 | 7.8 | Down 5% |
| Violence without injury | 2,343 | 16.2 | Up 4% |
| Stalking and harassment | 1,110 | 7.7 | Up 10% |
| Sexual offences | 587 | 4.1 | Down 5% |
| Shoplifting | 3,239 | 22.4 | Up 23% |
| Bicycle theft | 316 | 2.2 | Down 11% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 1,857 | 12.8 | Down 30% |
| Drug dealing | 404 | 2.8 | Up 64% |
| Drug possession | 814 | 5.6 | Up 19% |
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: 13,775 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (16,285 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Kensington and Chelsea.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Policing under the elected mayor: Sadiq Khan (Metropolitan Police) →
How often crimes lead to a charge
In Kensington and Chelsea, 5% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%).
- Charged or summonsed
- Caution or other action
- Suspect found, not prosecuted
- No suspect identified
- Still open
Show as a table
| Type | Crimes | Charged or summonsed | Caution or other action | Suspect found, not prosecuted | No suspect identified | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 5,272 | 7% | 3% | 56% | 25% | 10% |
| Other theft | 3,115 | 1% | 0% | 13% | 80% | 5% |
| Shoplifting | 3,054 | 9% | 2% | 11% | 75% | 3% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 2,559 | 1% | 0% | 7% | 86% | 6% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 2,554 | 2% | 0% | 4% | 91% | 3% |
| Burglary | 1,332 | 6% | 0% | 14% | 75% | 5% |
| Public order | 1,332 | 5% | 1% | 47% | 36% | 11% |
| Drugs | 1,164 | 13% | 39% | 33% | 3% | 13% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 1,132 | 5% | 1% | 25% | 64% | 5% |
| Robbery | 714 | 5% | 0% | 22% | 66% | 8% |
| Bicycle theft | 365 | 1% | 0% | 4% | 92% | 2% |
| Other crime | 194 | 8% | 2% | 43% | 24% | 23% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 131 | 50% | 2% | 24% | 8% | 15% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 7% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Kensington and Chelsea, 2023 to 2025: 587 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 125 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 4 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
4.1 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 21% of them killed or seriously injured someone (Great Britain 26%).
Collisions on public roads that the police recorded where someone was hurt, counted where they happened, so busy through roads and town centres with few residents come out high. Serious and slight use the Department for Transport's adjusted severity, comparable between police forces. Source: Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Postcode districts in Kensington and Chelsea
Monthly report: Crime in London falls over the year to August 2026
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Kensington and Chelsea.
Questions about crime in Kensington and Chelsea
- Is Kensington and Chelsea a safe place to live?
- Kensington and Chelsea scores 1 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in Kensington and Chelsea?
- Down 3% over 5 years, from 20,880 recorded crimes a year to 20,207.
- What is the most common crime in Kensington and Chelsea?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 32 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Kensington and Chelsea?
- In Kensington and Chelsea, 5% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 60% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Kensington and Chelsea?
- Of 1,332 burglaries reported in Kensington and Chelsea between September 2024 and August 2025, 6% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 75% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Kensington and Chelsea?
- In Kensington and Chelsea, the police recorded 453 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 3.1 per 1,000 residents, down 8% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Kensington and Chelsea?
- 635 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Kensington and Chelsea in 2025/26, 4.4 per 1,000 residents, 0.9 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Kensington and Chelsea last year?
- 4 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in Kensington and Chelsea in 2025/26, against 4 the year before.