Stratford has more recorded crime than the rest of Newham, and much of it follows the crowds through the station and the shops. Crime runs at more than half as high again as the borough rate. Theft from the person makes up a tenth of it. Violence makes up a smaller share here than it does nationally. You're more likely to lose your phone here than to get hurt.
The Metropolitan Police recorded about 17,280 crimes in Stratford in the year from June 2025 to May 2026, a published rate of about 228 per 1,000 residents. That is roughly 56% above the average for Newham. The rate is worked out against a statistical-area population, so it won't match dividing the crime count by the number of residents.
Newham's own rate over the same year was about 146 crimes per 1,000 residents, against Stratford's 228. Newham is a busy inner-London borough, so Stratford's figure stands out even next to it.
The setting helps explain the numbers. Stratford averages about 21,700 residents per square kilometre, about 5% of working-age residents were unemployed at the 2021 Census, and about 19% of households were overcrowded. On top of the residents, the station and the shopping centres bring in large crowds every day, and visitors aren't counted in the population figure the rate is worked out from. Places with that many people passing through usually record more crime per resident than places where people mostly stay home.
The mix of crimes shows where the risk lies. Anti-social behaviour makes up about 21% of recorded crime in Stratford, against 16% across England and Wales. Violence and sexual offences come to 19% here against 35% nationally, a much smaller share, even though the category covers everything from serious assault to common assault without injury. Shoplifting is 13% against 8%, theft from the person 10% against barely 2%, other theft 9% against 7% and vehicle crime 6% against 5%. Theft has a long history here. After Henry VIII dissolved Stratford Langthorne Abbey in 1538, local landowners carted off its stone for their own buildings. To get a feel for a particular flat, walk from the station to the front door at the time you would normally come home. Living near the busiest crossings is a different experience from living in the streets behind them.
What happens after a report is a separate question from how much crime there is. Across its whole force area, the Metropolitan Police charges a suspect in about 10% of cases, against about 12% nationally, which puts it 33rd of 42 forces on that measure over the year to May 2026. About 53% of the force's cases are closed with no suspect identified. These are London-wide figures, not Stratford's own record, and they say more about whether you'll get your phone back than whether you'll lose it.
On safety Stratford comes out poorly. Much of the crime is theft, but it adds up to a lot more than the rest of Newham records, and the force that investigates it charges fewer suspects than most.