Walworth is less safe than the rest of its borough, and the gap is clear. Recorded crime runs well above the Southwark average. Most of it is theft and nuisance on busy streets. Serious violence makes up a smaller share of crime here than it does nationally. This is a busy part of inner London, and the crime figures look like it.
The Metropolitan Police recorded 8,735 crimes in Walworth in the year to May 2026, a published rate of about 203 for every 1,000 residents. That is roughly 29% above the average for the borough. Twelve months of figures is enough that one bad week doesn't skew the total.
Across the London Borough of Southwark the published rate is about 158 crimes per 1,000 residents. Walworth is part of that borough average, which means the rest of Southwark is doing a little better than 158 and Walworth is one of the places pulling the figure up.
Walworth is a crowded place. It averages about 23,400 residents per square kilometre, unemployment is about 5% and about 16% of households are overcrowded. That describes what the streets are like. It doesn't explain any particular crime, and none of those figures should be read as the cause of one.
The mix of crime matters more than the total here. Anti-social behaviour is the largest category, at about 22% of recorded crime against about 16% nationally. Violence and sexual offences come next at about 20%. Nationally that category is about 35%, and it covers everything from serious assault down to common assault without injury, so Walworth's share is well below the usual. Theft from the person is about 13% of crime here against under 2% nationally, which makes it the biggest outlier in the list. Other theft is about 8% against 7%. Shoplifting is about 8%, level with the national figure. Drug offences are about 6% against 4%. If you are thinking of buying here, walk from the flat to Elephant & Castle station after dark on a weekday. That will tell you more about the walk you would make every day than any of these percentages.
What happens after a crime is reported is a separate question from how much crime there is. 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. About 53% of its cases close with no suspect identified. Those figures cover the whole Metropolitan Police area, and charging decisions are made at that level. Use them to judge how likely an arrest is if something does happen, not how safe Walworth is.
On safety Walworth comes in below average. Crime is noticeably higher than in the rest of the borough, though more of it is theft and nuisance and less of it is violence than the national pattern.