Newham recorded the highest number of arson and criminal damage offences in London in September 2026, new Metropolitan Police figures show, with 189 offences in the borough during the month.
Across London, 4,324 offences were recorded under the arson and criminal damage category in September. Westminster followed Newham with 186 offences, and Croydon with 185.
Lambeth and Tower Hamlets also recorded high totals, with 176 offences each, while Brent recorded 152 and Barnet 151.
At the other end of the table, Kingston upon Thames recorded 65 offences, the lowest total among the boroughs shown. Richmond upon Thames had 66, while Sutton and Harrow recorded 84 and 88 respectively.
Rates tell a different story
Westminster had the highest recorded rate, at 0.7 offences per 1,000 people. Several boroughs recorded a rate of 0.6 per 1,000, including Camden, Greenwich, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hillingdon, Kensington and Chelsea, and Tower Hamlets.
Newham, despite having the highest number of offences overall, recorded a rate of 0.5 per 1,000 residents — a reminder that the biggest boroughs by population will often top the raw-count table even when their per-person rate is lower.
These are recorded offences, not convictions: the figures count crimes reported to and recorded by police, and cover a wide category ranging from small-scale vandalism to serious arson attacks.
Longer-term trend is down
Despite the large number of offences recorded in September, the longer-term figures show a decrease. The Metropolitan Police dashboard reports that offences in the category fell by 3.7 per cent over the 12 months ending September 2026, compared with the previous 12 months ending September 2025.
The September snapshot sits alongside other recent crime data for the capital, including September’s hate-crime figures and Hillingdon’s society-crime figures for the same month, which also showed wide differences between boroughs.
