Yes, Rotherhithe is one of the safer corners of Southwark. Its crime rate is about a quarter below the borough's. Violence makes up a smaller share of its crime than it does nationally. Phone and bag theft makes up a bigger one. Keep hold of your belongings and the rest takes care of itself.
The Metropolitan Police's published figures give Rotherhithe about 118 recorded crimes per 1,000 people in the year from June 2025 to May 2026, roughly 25% below the Southwark average. That was about 8,800 recorded crimes over the twelve months. For a district this busy and this close to central London, it is a low figure.
Southwark as a whole recorded about 158 crimes per 1,000 people over the same year. Put next to that, Rotherhithe's 118 shows a district noticeably calmer than the rest of its borough, with Bermondsey on one side and Deptford on the other.
That figure comes from a very crowded place. Rotherhithe holds about 18,400 people per square kilometre on average, about 11% of households are overcrowded, and about 5% of residents were unemployed at the last census. That is what inner London looks like: lots of flats, lots of people and lots of footfall along the river. Given all that, a crime rate below the borough's is the more notable fact.
The mix of crime is where Rotherhithe differs from the national pattern. Violence and sexual offences, a broad legal category that includes common assault where nobody is hurt, account for about 24% of recorded crime here, against about 35% across England and Wales. Anti-social behaviour is about 22%, against 16% nationally. Theft from the person is the one that stands out, at 12% here against about 2% nationally. Other theft (8% against 7%) and vehicle crime (5% against 5%) are close to the national shares, and public order is a little lower at 5% against 7%. The danger here is mostly to what you carry, much less to you. Type a specific street into police.uk's crime map and you will see where the recorded incidents actually cluster, which a district-wide rate cannot show.
What happens after a crime is reported is a separate question, and the answer comes from the force as a whole. The Metropolitan Police charges a suspect in about 10% of cases, against about 12% nationally, which puts it 33rd of 42 forces. Across the force, about 53% of cases are closed with no suspect identified. Those figures cover all of London, so they say how likely a thief is to be caught and nothing about how likely you are to meet one in Rotherhithe. Report the stolen phone anyway, and do not expect it back.
Safety is one of Rotherhithe's real strengths. Crime here runs well below the rest of Southwark, and most of it targets property, so a good grip on your phone and a black cab from Salter Road after a late night will cover most of the risk.