Almost 1,900 hate crime offences were recorded across London in a single month, new Metropolitan Police figures show, with Westminster recording both the highest number of offences and the highest rate of any borough.
A total of 1,868 hate crime offences were recorded across the capital in September 2026, according to the figures. Westminster topped the borough table with 120 offences — considerably more than any other borough — and also had the highest recorded rate, at 0.5 offences per 1,000 people.
It is important to be clear about what the headline number means. The 1,868 figure is the total for London as a whole during September, not the total for any one borough. Westminster’s 120 offences, while the highest borough figure, account for a small share of the city-wide total — a reminder that hate crime reports were spread across the capital rather than concentrated in one place.
Which boroughs recorded the most offences
Camden recorded the second-highest total, with 90 offences, followed by Tower Hamlets with 88. Lambeth recorded 79 offences, Hackney 76, Islington 75 and Newham 74, while Barnet, Brent and Croydon each recorded 72 offences.
| Borough | Offences recorded, September 2026 | Rate per 1,000 people |
|---|---|---|
| Westminster | 120 | 0.5 |
| Camden | 90 | 0.4 |
| Tower Hamlets | 88 | 0.3 |
| Lambeth | 79 | — |
| Hackney | 76 | 0.3 |
| Islington | 75 | 0.3 |
| Newham | 74 | — |
| Barnet | 72 | — |
| Brent | 72 | — |
| Croydon | 72 | — |
Rates are shown only where the figures give them; a dash means the borough’s rate was not stated in the published table.
Totals and rates tell different stories
Comparing boroughs by raw totals alone can mislead, because boroughs differ greatly in size and in how many people pass through them each day. The rate per 1,000 people adjusts for population, and on that measure Westminster again stands out, at 0.5 offences per 1,000 people — the highest shown in the borough table.
Camden recorded a rate of 0.4 per 1,000, while Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets each had a rate of 0.3. Many boroughs recorded rates of 0.2 per 1,000 people, including Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark. Harrow and Merton had the lowest displayed rate, at 0.1 per 1,000 people.
Westminster’s position at the top of both lists is consistent with its character as a borough that draws huge numbers of visitors, workers and protesters as well as residents — though the figures themselves do not explain why offences were recorded there, and a high recorded total does not by itself show where victims live.
What counts as a hate crime
The Metropolitan Police defines a hate crime as: “Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by prejudice based on a person’s race; religion; sexual orientation; disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender.”
That definition matters for reading the figures. An offence is recorded as a hate crime when it is perceived to have been motivated by prejudice — the figures count recorded offences, not convictions, and a recorded offence is not the same as a proven case in court.
A year of high-profile cases
The September figures arrive after a series of hate crimes that have made headlines across the capital this year. On 23 March, police investigated an antisemitic hate crime after an apparent arson attack on four ambulances belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance service in London.
In April, racist abuse towards an A&E nurse in east London was broadcast as part of a documentary series on life in UK casualty units. And on 10 September, three teenage boys were verbally and physically assaulted on board a bus in an incident being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.
This month, Transport for London is offering free training sessions to help passengers safely intervene when witnessing hate crime, after recorded offences on the capital’s transport network increased by 36 per cent.
The September borough figures give Londoners a clearer picture of where reports are being made — but they also show how widespread the problem is. With offences recorded in every part of the city, from Westminster’s 120 down to the lowest borough rates, the data underlines that hate crime is not confined to one area or one community.
Related reading: police have arrested a man over the Woolwich shooting, named two men they want to speak to over a Bethnal Green rape inquiry, and secured a manslaughter conviction over a pensioner’s death in Balham.
