Westminster recorded a drug offence rate more than eight times higher than five other London boroughs last month, new Metropolitan Police figures reveal — even as recorded drug offences across the capital fell by more than a tenth over the past year.
Data from the Met’s crime dashboard shows 4,324 drug offences were recorded across London during September 2026. Westminster had the highest number by a clear margin, with 445 offences in total — almost twice the 247 recorded in Kensington and Chelsea, which had the second-highest figure.
Croydon recorded 234 offences, followed by Newham with 214, Tower Hamlets with 207 and Brent with 205. Hackney recorded 165, Enfield had 163 and Lambeth recorded 158.
The rate gap is even starker
Westminster also recorded the highest rate of drug offences relative to its population: 1.7 offences per 1,000 people. Kensington and Chelsea followed at 1.6 per 1,000.
By comparison, Bexley, Ealing, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames and Sutton each recorded a rate of just 0.2 per 1,000 people — putting Westminster’s rate at 8.5 times higher than those five boroughs.
Barking and Dagenham and Tower Hamlets each recorded 0.7 offences per 1,000 people, while Brent, Croydon, Hackney, Islington and Newham each recorded 0.6.
The figures reveal a marked difference in recorded drug offences across London, with central boroughs — where nightlife, tourism and transport hubs concentrate — showing far higher rates than outer London.
London-wide picture improves
Despite the high figures in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, the overall number of recorded drug offences fell by 10.6 per cent across London over the 12 months ending September 2026.
The data covers drug offences including possession of drugs, according to the Met’s dashboard. Recorded crime statistics reflect both underlying offending and police enforcement activity, so shifts in the figures can signal changes in either.
Recent enforcement action
The figures come alongside a series of high-profile drug enforcement operations in the capital. On 30 September, officers discovered a concealed stash containing a significant quantity of Class B drugs hidden behind benches in Tower Hamlets.
On 26 September, four members of a gang which plotted to import cocaine in frozen fish deliveries bound for a London market were jailed.
And on 9 October, a snooker club in Kilburn was ordered to remain shut after a drug raid which saw 10 people arrested.
Why Westminster tops the table
Westminster’s position at the top of the drug offence table is no surprise to anyone who knows the borough. It contains the West End, Soho, Oxford Street and some of the capital’s busiest nightlife districts — areas where millions of visitors mix every week and where police maintain a heavy, visible presence.
That presence matters. Recorded drug offence figures are driven as much by enforcement activity as by underlying crime: more stop-and-searches, more patrols and more targeted operations inevitably produce more recorded offences. Westminster’s 445 September offences reflect both the borough’s unique footfall and the intensity of policing there.
Kensington and Chelsea, in second place, shares some of the same characteristics — affluent nightlife zones, major transport interchanges and a significant visitor economy.
At the other end of the scale, the five boroughs recording 0.2 per 1,000 — Bexley, Ealing, Kingston, Richmond and Sutton — are largely residential outer-London areas with far less night-time economy and fewer transport hubs.
Context: London’s crime picture
The drug offence figures add to a mixed picture of crime in the capital. Our recent analysis found Westminster, Lambeth and Southwark also top the capital’s theft league, with Westminster recording 5,498 theft offences at a rate of 21.1 per 1,000 — the highest in London.
Elsewhere, a major warrants operation in Brixton saw four people charged and suspected Class A and B drugs seized earlier this month.
The Met continues to publish borough-level data on its public dashboard, allowing Londoners to compare recorded crime in their area with the rest of the capital.
