Petts Wood is about averagely safe. Its crime rate is a bit higher than the rest of Bromley's. Violence makes up a smaller share of crime here than it does nationally. Vehicle crime makes up a much bigger one. Petts Wood is an ordinary suburb where the cars draw more than their share of trouble.
The Metropolitan Police recorded 6,424 crimes across the BR5 district in the year from June 2025 to May 2026, which takes in St Mary Cray and St Paul's Cray along with Petts Wood. The published rate is about 101 crimes per 1,000 people, around 14% above the Bromley average.
Bromley as a whole ran at about 89 crimes per 1,000 people over the same period, so this district comes out somewhat above the borough figure. Bromley is a large, mostly suburban borough, and being above its average puts the area above a fairly low bar.
There are about 5,460 people per square kilometre on average, which is dense for a place full of semis, though it feels more spacious on the streets than that number suggests. Unemployment was about 3% and about 6% of households were overcrowded. Those figures describe an area of commuters, a shopping parade, stations and bus routes, with people coming and going all day. None of them explain the crime figures on their own.
The mix of offences matters more than the headline rate. Violence and sexual offences, the broad legal category that includes common assault without injury, made up about 25% of crime here, against about 35% nationally. Anti-social behaviour was about 19% against 16%. Vehicle crime was about 12%, more than twice its 5% share nationally. Shoplifting was about 10% against 8%. Criminal damage and arson, at about 7%, matched the national share, and public order offences were about 6% against 7%. Check where the car will be kept at night, because a house with a driveway or garage gives you an option that a street-parking terrace doesn't. Across the district, thieves are more interested in cars than in people.
Arrests are a separate question from how safe the area is. Across all of London, the Metropolitan Police charges someone in about 10% of cases, against about 12% nationally, which puts it 33rd of 42 forces. About 53% of its cases close with no suspect identified. Those are figures for the whole force, set across all of London and the year to May 2026, and say nothing specific about Petts Wood's own streets. If your car is broken into, the odds are that nobody is ever caught.
Petts Wood is middling on safety. Personal violence is lower than average, and a buyer who can park off the street avoids most of the area's main problem.