Hayes is about as safe as the rest of Bromley, which puts it in the middle. Its crime rate is close to the borough average and a little below it. Theft from and of cars is the category that stands out. Violence makes up a smaller share of crime here than it does nationally. The most notable trouble in its history was locals joining Jack Cade's rebellion in 1450.
The Metropolitan Police recorded 5,918 crimes in and around Hayes in the twelve months from June 2025 to May 2026. The published rate for that year was about 87 per 1,000 residents, roughly 2% below the Bromley average. Those figures cover the whole Hayes area, including Bromley Common, Keston and Shortlands, so a single street can differ from them in either direction. Look up the road you are interested in on the police's street-level crime map, which shows where reported crimes were roughly located.
The two figures are close. Bromley as a whole recorded about 89 crimes per 1,000 residents over the same year, against about 87 here. The difference amounts to a couple of crimes per thousand people, so Hayes cannot honestly be called safer than Bromley, and nobody should call it more dangerous either.
The area is fairly built-up for a suburb, with about 5,600 people per square kilometre on average. Unemployment is about 3%, and about 4% of households are overcrowded. Those figures describe a busy, mostly comfortable suburb with steady jobs and enough room in most homes.
In the year to May 2026, violence and sexual offences made up 25% of recorded crime in Hayes, against 35% across England and Wales. That category covers a wide range of offences, including common assault without injury, and it is the largest one almost everywhere, so a share well below the national figure is a good sign. Anti-social behaviour made up 19%, against 16% nationally. Vehicle crime is the clear outlier at 11%, against 5% nationally, so this is a place where cars get broken into or taken. Other theft was 8% against 7%, shoplifting 7% against 8%, and criminal damage and arson 7% against 7%, all close to the national pattern.
What happens after a report is a separate question from how much crime there is. The Metropolitan Police charges a suspect in about 10% of cases, against about 12% nationally, which puts it 33rd out of 42 forces. Across the force, 53% of cases are closed with no suspect identified. Both figures cover the whole of the Metropolitan Police and say nothing about crime levels in Hayes. They do tell you the odds of a stolen car being followed by an arrest.
Hayes is middling on safety, with crime close to the borough average. The one thing that stands out is vehicle crime, so it helps to have somewhere secure to park.