On crime, Tooting is an ordinary bit of inner South London, about as safe as the borough it belongs to. Its crime rate is a shade under Wandsworth's. Violence makes up a smaller share of crime here than it does nationally. Anti-social behaviour makes up a bigger one. There's nothing alarming here, and nothing to brag about either.
In the year to May 2026, the Metropolitan Police recorded 8,679 crimes in Tooting, a published rate of about 102 per 1,000 residents. That's about 2% below the Wandsworth average.
Wandsworth as a whole had a rate of about 104 per 1,000 over the same twelve months, so the two figures are close. Neither Tooting nor the rest of the borough has much to feel superior about.
There are about 15,200 people per square kilometre in Tooting. Unemployment is about 3% and about 8% of households are overcrowded. That's a crowded neighbourhood where most people are working. None of those figures explains the crime rate on its own, and none of them should be stretched into a theory. In Tooting your neighbours are always close by, whether you want them to be or not.
By type, violence and sexual offences make up about 29% of Tooting's recorded crime, against about 35% nationally. That category is the biggest almost everywhere, and it includes common assault where nobody was hurt. Anti-social behaviour is about 20%, against 16% nationally. Shoplifting is about 9% against 8%, other theft about 8% against 7%, and public order offences about 6% against 7%, so all three are close to the national pattern. Vehicle crime is about 7% against 5%. Compared with the national mix, Tooting has less violence and more general nuisance.
What happens after a crime is reported depends on the police force, not on Tooting. 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. That covers the whole force in the year to May 2026, not Tooting specifically. About 53% of the force's cases are closed without a suspect being identified. Report a theft here and the most likely outcome, by the Metropolitan Police's own figures, is a crime reference number and no one identified.
Tooting is middling on safety. Its crime rate is close enough to the borough's that it shouldn't decide a move either way.