Is Epping Forest safe?

Epping Forest has a crime rate of 69.5 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #114 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Epping Forest's wards; some neighbourhoods are considerably safer than the city average. See the ward breakdown and hotspot map on this page for a detailed local picture.

What is the crime rate in Epping Forest?

As of April 2026, Epping Forest has an annual crime rate of 69.5 per 1,000 residents, based on 843 recorded offences in the latest reporting period. This figure is sourced from Police.uk open data and normalised using ONS Census 2021 population estimates to allow accurate comparisons between areas.

How does Epping Forest rank nationally for crime?

Epping Forest ranks #114 out of 331 local authorities in England and Wales by annual crime rate per 1,000 residents. A rank of #1 indicates the highest crime rate nationally. Rankings are recalculated each month as new Police.uk data becomes available, covering all recorded crimes across the area.

What is the most common crime in Epping Forest?

The most common crime type in Epping Forest is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 308 incidents in April 2026 — 36.5% of all recorded crime in the area. Data is sourced from Police.uk and covers all crimes recorded by the responsible police force across the Epping Forest local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Essex Police Police

Crime in Epping Forest: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Epping Forest recorded 843 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 6.25 per 1,000 residents. This places Epping Forest at #114 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 36.5% of all offences recorded. Crime is up 2.4% compared to the same period last year.

check_circle Crime is below average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring69.5 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment843 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #114 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 2.4% year-on-year

Data Sources:Police.ukONS Census 2021HM Land Registry Period: April 2026 • Updated monthly

Total Crimes

843

trending_up +2.6% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

69.5per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#114of 331

Ranked by annual rate

Essex

#7rank

Ranked by annual rate

12-Month Crime Trend

Monthly Totals

Interactive Crime Map

District View

Live Points

Crime Incident

Area Boundary

Incident Distribution

Top Locations

Location Reference	Crime Breakdown	Primary Count
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 21 Other theft: 3	21
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 11 Criminal damage and arson: 3	11
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 12	12
On or near Parking Area Map	Vehicle crime: 5 Drugs: 3 Possession of weapons: 1	5
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9	9
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 9	9
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 8	8
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 7	7
On or near Duchess Grove Map	Violence and sexual offences: 6	6
On or near Petrol Station Map	Violence and sexual offences: 5	5

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

843 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

308

36.5%

Anti-social Behaviour

100

11.9%

Criminal Damage & Arson

9.5%

Vehicle Crime

8.9%

Public Order

7.8%

Other Theft

6.9%

Shoplifting

6.3%

Drug Offences

4.7%

Burglary

3.4%

Other Crime

1.8%

Robbery

0.9%

Weapons Possession

0.7%

Bicycle Theft

0.4%

Theft from Person

0.2%

Crime Analysis: Epping Forest

Epping Forest recorded 843 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 69.5 per 1,000 residents — broadly average for England and Wales, ranked #114 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Epping Forest (36.5%). Anti-social Behaviour (11.9%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (9.5%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Epping Forest has risen slightly — by 2.4%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Essex Police through the Police.uk open data platform and cross-referenced with ONS 2021 Census population estimates to produce the per-resident rates above. Data typically appears 1–2 months after the end of the recording period.

Stop & Search

April 2026

1,156

Total Stops

14.8%

Arrest Rate

Neighbourhoods

Outcome

A no further action disposal821

Arrest171

Community resolution155

Summons / charged by post4

Caution (simple or conditional)3

Khat or Cannabis warning2

Gender

Male925

Female156

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

75.6%

White

9.4%

Black

7.7%

Asian

4.6%

Mixed

2.7%

Other

Stop & search data published by Essex Police under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk.

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

32 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Waltham Abbey South West	65	116.6
2	Waltham Abbey High Beach	32	110.1
3	Loughton Broadway	56	105.7
4	Hastingwood, Matching and Sheering Village	32	98.6
5	Epping Hemnall	40	85.0

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Lower Sheering	6	2.8
shield	Moreton and Fyfield	5	2.0
shield	Theydon Bois	19	4.5
shield	Chipping Ongar, Greensted and Marden Ash	22	5.0
shield	Buckhurst Hill East	21	4.4

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +2.6%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +2.4%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.1%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 331 local authorities in England & Wales.

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