Walthamstow is about as safe as the rest of its borough, and slightly worse. Its crime rate is a little above the Waltham Forest average. Violence makes up a smaller share of reports than it does nationally. Theft and anti-social behaviour make up more. For most residents, the problem is losing a phone, not being hurt.
Police published a rate of about 114 crimes per 1,000 residents for Walthamstow over the twelve months from June 2025 to May 2026, roughly 6% above the local-authority average. That year's total was 14,817 recorded crimes. The rate is the police's published figure, worked out on the population of their own statistical areas, so don't expect to reproduce it from a headcount.
For the whole of Waltham Forest over the same year, the published rate was about 107 crimes per 1,000 residents. That puts 114 for Walthamstow alongside 107 for the borough around it. The gap is real, but small.
The setting matters. Walthamstow averages about 15,200 people per square kilometre, about 5% of residents are unemployed, and about 15% of households count as overcrowded. That is a busy, built-up part of London, with markets, buses and front doors close together. None of those figures explains a single crime. They describe the kind of place the rate belongs to.
The breakdown by type matters more than the total. Violence and sexual offences, a broad legal category that includes common assault without injury, make up about 24% of Walthamstow's recorded crime, against about 35% nationally. Anti-social behaviour is about 24% here against 16% nationally. Vehicle crime is about 8% against 5%, and other theft about 8% against 7%, so close to the national share. Theft from the person, things taken from someone's pocket or hand, is about 6% here against 2% nationally. Drug offences are about 5% against 4%. Europe's longest street market runs down the High Street, and with that many people in one place, keeping a phone in an inside pocket makes sense. The police's street-level crime map shows what has been reported around a particular house. Look at it for the actual street, because the High Street and a residential road a few minutes away will look quite different.
The Metropolitan Police Service charges a suspect in about 10% of cases, against about 12% nationally, which ranks it 33rd of 42 forces. In about 53% of its cases, the investigation closes with no suspect identified. Both figures cover the whole force, not Walthamstow. They measure what happens after a report, not how likely a crime is. If you're hoping a stolen phone comes back, the force's record doesn't offer much encouragement.
Walthamstow is middling on safety: a shade above its borough, with more theft and nuisance than violence.