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Crime

Crime in Epping Forest by area

Every neighbourhood we cover, ranked by crimes per 1,000 residents a year, from police.uk figures for June to August 2026. Highest first. Pick a type of crime to re-rank, or tap a column to sort.

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3,012crimes recordedJune to August 2026
+18%on the 3 months beforemore crime
Moretonlowest rate3.3 per 1,000 a year
65.7middle areacrimes per 1,000 a year

Darker means more crime per resident. Tap an area for its page.

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Most improved: Buckhurst Hill (-1%), Chigwell Row (4%) and Debden Green (5%), compared with the three months before.

Every area, ranked

#Most common
1Waltham AbbeyEN9 · 38,393 residents 127.5▲ 14%violence
2Ivy ChimneysCM16 · 6,875 residents 103.6▲ 25%violence
3EppingCM16 · 13,577 residents 98.7▲ 33%violence
4Chipping OngarCM5 · 7,141 residents 90.7▲ 16%violence
5LoughtonIG10 · 38,444 residents 83.8▲ 6%violence
6ChigwellIG7 · 42,825 residents 81.1▲ 25%violence
7Lower NazeingEN9 · 2,884 residents 76.3▲ 72%violence
8North WealdCM16 · 4,758 residents 70.6▲ 17%violence
9Buckhurst HillIG9 · 43,099 residents 65.7▼ 1%violence
10Debden GreenIG10 · 7,745 residents 64▲ 5%violence
11Chigwell RowIG7 · 10,993 residents 61.1▲ 4%violence
12RoydonCM19 · 2,250 residents 60.4▲ 55%violence
13Lower SheeringCM21 · 7,678 residents 59.4▲ 44%violence
14Theydon BoisCM16 · 4,186 residents 44▼ 2%violence
15CoopersaleCM16 · 3,672 residents 42.5▲ 26%violence
16AbridgeRM4 · 2,051 residents 25.4▲ 8%violence
17MoretonCM5 · 2,390 residents 3.3–anti-social behaviour

Change compares the last three months with the three before. A dash means too few crimes to compare fairly.

Why busy centres look worst

Crimes are counted where they happen, but residents are counted where they live. Town centres and shopping areas have lots of shops, bars and visitors and not many residents, so their rates come out high even though most people there are just passing through.

How we work it out

Each area is a circle round its middle, the same as on its MeBabber page. We count the crimes police.uk records inside the circle over the last three months and turn that into a yearly figure, then divide by the number of people who live inside the circle, from the 2021 Census. Police locations are moved slightly on purpose to protect victims, so treat small differences between neighbouring areas with a pinch of salt.

Sources: data.police.uk and the Office for National Statistics, both under the Open Government Licence. Figures update every month.

Crime in every area

Questions people ask

Which areas of Epping Forest have the lowest crime?

Over June to August 2026, the areas with the fewest crimes per 1,000 residents were Moreton, Abridge, Coopersale, Theydon Bois and Lower Sheering.

Which areas of Epping Forest have the highest crime?

Leaving aside the big shopping and industrial areas, where visitors and workers push the figures up, the highest rates over June to August 2026 were in Waltham Abbey, Ivy Chimneys, Epping, Chipping Ongar and Loughton.

Is crime going up or down in Epping Forest?

Across Epping Forest, 3,012 crimes were recorded over June to August 2026, 18% more than the three months before.

How is crime per 1,000 residents worked out?

We count the crimes police.uk records inside each area, turn the last three months into a yearly figure, and divide by the number of people who live there from the 2021 Census.