Homerton is about as safe as the rest of Hackney, a little worse on the headline number. The rate is slightly above the borough's. Violence makes up a smaller share of it than it does nationally. Theft from people in the street makes up a far bigger share. The thing to protect here is whatever is in your pocket.
The Metropolitan Police recorded 9,190 crimes in Homerton in the twelve months from June 2025 to May 2026, a published rate of about 164 per 1,000 residents. That's roughly 7% above the average for the London Borough of Hackney. On a figure that size, 7% is the difference between one busy borough and a slightly busier corner of it.
Hackney's own rate over the same year was about 154 per 1,000. Homerton is ten crimes per 1,000 residents higher than its own borough, not ten times worse than anywhere you'd recognise.
The background is dense. Homerton averages about 19,600 people per square kilometre, unemployment was about 5% at the 2021 Census, and about 14% of households were overcrowded. That's a lot of people on a small patch of ground. It describes the neighbourhood the police are recording crime in, and on its own it explains none of the figures.
The mix is where Homerton differs from the rest of the country. Violence and sexual offences, a broad legal category that includes common assault without injury, make up about 26% of recorded crime here, against about 35% across England and Wales. Anti-social behaviour is about 19%, against 16% nationally. Theft from the person is about 9%, against about 2% nationally, and that's the one figure that really stands out. Shoplifting at about 7% against 8%, other theft at about 7% against 7%, and vehicle crime at about 6% against 5% are close to national levels. A good test for any flat you're considering is the walk from Homerton station to its front door after dark, phone in your pocket, so you can see how busy and well lit the route is. Thieves here want what you're carrying, not your house.
What happens after a report depends on the force, not the street. The Metropolitan Police charges a suspect in about 10% of cases, against about 12% nationally, which puts it 33rd of 42 forces in England and Wales. About 53% of its cases are closed with no suspect identified. Those are London-wide figures. They measure what the Met does once a crime has happened, and they say nothing about how likely one is in Homerton.
Homerton is middling for safety: a little above its borough on the headline rate, below the national pattern for violence, and well above it for theft from people in the street.