Is SW7 a safe place to live?

SW7 scores 1 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every postcode district in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 1.5 times the Kensington and Chelsea average.

Is crime going up or down in SW7?

About the same as 5 years ago: 3,381 recorded crimes a year then, 3,354 now.

What is the most common crime in SW7?

The most common recorded crime is other theft, about 52 per 1,000 residents a year. The most harm, weighted by how serious each crime is, comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences).

How does crime in SW7 compare with Kensington and Chelsea?

Crime severity in SW7 is 1.5 times the Kensington and Chelsea average.

How many burglaries are solved in SW7?

Of 177 burglaries reported in SW7 between September 2024 and August 2025, 6% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 72% were closed with no suspect identified.

SW7Postcode district

SW7 crime rate and crime map

Recorded crime in SW7 is 1.5 times the Kensington and Chelsea average and 2.6 times the England and Wales average. It is about the same as 5 years ago. The biggest share of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.

Kensington and Chelsea. 16,015 residents in 15 neighbourhoods.

Safety in the UK: 1/10High crime
Safety in the world: 4/10Above average crime
Living: 9.5/10Excellent
5-year change: −1%fewer crimes
vs the council: 1.5×the Kensington and Chelsea average

Open on the map

Safety and Living

Safety

What it measures. How serious the crime recorded here is, not how much of it there is. Each recorded crime is weighted by the typical sentence for that kind of offence (the Office for National Statistics Crime Severity Score), so a robbery counts about 76 times a shoplifting offence. The total per resident is ranked against every neighbourhood. 10 means among the safest tenth.

Data. Street-level crime from data.police.uk, September 2016 to August 2026. Weights: ONS Crime Severity Score, year ending March 2025.

Anti-social behaviour is not a crime and has no weight, so it is left out of the score. It is shown on its own line.
The weights come from sentences in 2015-2019 and one weight covers a whole police.uk category: violence includes both minor assaults and rape, and the data does not say which. A town with more serious cases than the national mix is under-scored.
Some forces have missing months (Greater Manchester published nothing after June 2019). We use the months that exist and say so on the page.
A neighbourhood's score is blended with the neighbourhoods around it, because police.uk records each crime at an approximate location, often the middle of a street that sits on a boundary. Three quarters is its own rate, one quarter the average of the neighbourhoods it touches, weighted by residents. Crimes recorded on a map point within 30 m of a neighbourhood boundary are shared equally between the neighbourhoods on each side, because the point usually sits on the boundary road itself. Where the map shows a neighbourhood's score, its own score is shown as well when it differs.
Busy city and town centres are not scored: few people live there and many visit, so crime per resident would mislead.
It counts crimes that were reported and recorded, not every crime. In Scotland there is no Safety score yet; Living covers it.
On the map you can filter by crime type. The filter changes the crime figures, the Safety score and the map colours, and compares with the national figure for the same types.
Crime Rates Map is a guide, not advice. Visit the area before you decide.

Read the full method

Crime severity: 1.5× the Kensington and Chelsea average (2.6× the England and Wales average)

Crime only, by how serious it is. Compared with every postcode district. Higher is safer.

Living

Based on schools, transport, health, supermarkets, weighted by importance. Crime is not part of it. Higher is better.

Neighbourhoods by Safety

Tested: 79% of scores were within 1 point of what happened next. How we test

1 = least safe, 10 = safest. Grey: no score. Select a neighbourhood to open it on the map.

3 neighbourhoods have no population figure, so they are not scored.

Crime over 5 years

About the same as 5 years ago Recorded crimes in SW7, anti-social behaviour left out.

What is recorded

Crime severity: 1.5× the Kensington and Chelsea average (2.6× the England and Wales average). 223 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.

Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 27% of the harm here
Robbery: 22% of the harm here
Burglary: 16% of the harm here

Anti-social behaviour: 45 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.

Shops, transport, schools and health

Distances are straight-line, not walking routes. Scores use fixed distance bands, so they do not depend on other districts. Higher is better.

Supermarkets

Excellent accessScore 9 out of 10

Typical distance to a large supermarket: 580 m.
Waitrose Gloucester Road (Waitrose), 590 m from the district centre
Sainsburys Cromwell Rd (Sainsburys), 1.1 km from the district centre
Whole Foods Market Kensington High St (Whole Foods Market), 1.5 km from the district centre

Transport

Excellent accessScore 10 out of 10

Typical number of bus stops within 400 m: 8.
Nearest railway station: West Brompton Rail Station, 2.2 km from the district centre
Nearest tram or metro stop: Gloucester Road, 510 m from the district centre

Schools

Excellent schools nearbyScore 9 out of 10

Primary schools within 2 km

Oratory Roman Catholic Primary School: Outstanding (graded inspection, 2023), 200 m away
Servite RC Primary School: Strong standard (report card, 2026), 480 m away
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School: Outstanding (graded inspection, 2024), 760 m away
Christ Church CofE Primary School: Outstanding (graded inspection, 2024), 1.0 km away
St James & St John Church of England Primary School: Strong standard (report card, 2026), 1.4 km away

Secondary schools within 2 km

St. Thomas More Language College: Good (graded inspection of the predecessor school, 2022), 760 m away
Chelsea Academy: Good (graded inspection, 2023), 1.1 km away
The London Oratory School: Outstanding (graded inspection, 2022), 1.5 km away
Saint John Bosco College: Good (ungraded inspection, 2022), 1.7 km away
Holland Park School: Strong standard (report card, 2026), 1.8 km away

Health

Excellent accessScore 10 out of 10

Nearest GP surgery: STANHOPE MEWS SURGERY, 430 m from the district centre, CQC rating: Good, rated 2018
Nearest hospital with A&E: Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, 1.4 km from the district centre

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	8.5
Burglary	13.7
Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences)	35.9
Drugs	12.7
Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons)	1.0
Other crime	1.5
Other theft	52.4
Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching)	29.6
Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into)	31.0
Criminal damage and arson (vandalism)	7.8
Public order	11.2
Bicycle theft	6.5
Shoplifting	11.2

How often crimes lead to a charge

In SW7, 4% 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
Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching)	835	1%	0%	5%	88%	6%
Other theft	753	1%	0%	10%	82%	6%
Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences)	687	7%	2%	48%	30%	13%
Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into)	585	0%	0%	4%	93%	3%
Shoplifting	275	11%	8%	18%	61%	2%
Public order	205	6%	0%	37%	37%	20%
Burglary	177	6%	0%	16%	72%	6%
Robbery	166	2%	0%	16%	73%	8%
Criminal damage and arson (vandalism)	156	5%	1%	15%	73%	6%
Drugs	131	10%	56%	23%	3%	8%
Bicycle theft	100	0%	0%	3%	93%	4%

Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 8% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.

Trend over the years

Crime severity per resident (sentence-days of the crimes recorded each year). Hatched bars are years with fewer than twelve months of data for most residents.

Last 12 months: 35.7 against a 10-year average of 39.2, 9% lower.

Questions about crime in SW7

Is SW7 a safe place to live?: SW7 scores 1 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every postcode district in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 1.5 times the Kensington and Chelsea average.
Is crime going up or down in SW7?: About the same as 5 years ago: 3,381 recorded crimes a year then, 3,354 now.
What is the most common crime in SW7?: The most common recorded crime is other theft, about 52 per 1,000 residents a year. The most harm, weighted by how serious each crime is, comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences).
How does crime in SW7 compare with Kensington and Chelsea?: Crime severity in SW7 is 1.5 times the Kensington and Chelsea average.
How often does crime lead to a charge in SW7?: In SW7, 4% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 69% were closed without a suspect being identified.
How many burglaries are solved in SW7?: Of 177 burglaries reported in SW7 between September 2024 and August 2025, 6% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 72% were closed with no suspect identified.

Nearest town

City of Westminster

Council: Kensington and Chelsea

Town-centre neighbourhoods

Few people live in these areas but many shop, work and go out there, so crime per resident looks far higher than the risk to someone living there. They have no Safety score, because compared with residential areas the number would mislead; their crime figures are still shown.

Kensington and Chelsea 012B: 610 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year, mostly shop and street theft.
Kensington and Chelsea 014A: 402 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year, mostly shop and street theft.
Westminster 019G: 608 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year, mostly shop and street theft.