Putney is safer than the borough around it, and by a clear margin. Recorded crime runs well under the Wandsworth average. Violence makes up a smaller share of it than it does nationally. Nuisance and car crime make up a bigger one. For a district this crowded, that is a good result.
The Metropolitan Police recorded 6,065 crimes in Putney in the year from June 2025 to May 2026, a published rate of about 86 crimes for every 1,000 residents. That rate is roughly 18% below the average for Wandsworth as a whole over the same year. Rates for individual streets vary more than any district average can show, so look up the exact street on the police.uk crime map as well as the district figure.
For the whole of Wandsworth, the published rate over the same year was about 104 crimes per 1,000 residents, against Putney's 86. Anyone choosing between parts of the borough on safety alone has a reason to cross towards the river.
Putney packs in about 12,200 people per square kilometre on average, with unemployment at about 3% and about 7% of households overcrowded at the 2021 census. That is a lot of neighbours within earshot of each other, and the area still records less crime than the borough around it.
By category, violence and sexual offences made up about 27% of Putney's recorded crime, against about 35% across England and Wales. That broad legal grouping includes common assault where nobody was hurt, and it is the largest category almost everywhere. Anti-social behaviour was about 21% here against 16% nationally, vehicle crime about 8% against 5%, and other theft about 8% against 7%. Shoplifting, at about 7% against 8%, and public order offences, at about 6% against 7%, are close to the national pattern. Putney fights less than average and gets complained about more, which is the crime profile of a district where the main threat to a quiet evening is somebody else's evening.
What happens after a report is a separate question, and it is answered by the force. The Metropolitan Police charged a suspect in about 10% of cases in the year to May 2026, against about 12% nationally, which put it 33rd of 42 forces. About 53% of its cases closed with no suspect identified. Those are figures for the whole of London's force, and they say nothing about how often crime happens in Putney itself.
Putney is one of the safer parts of a busy borough, with less violence than the national mix and more low-level nuisance than most buyers would choose. For a crowded district, that is a comfortable position.