Town · Colchester

Crime rates in Mile End

Mile End recorded 1,924 crimes in the 12 months to July 2026. That is 108.0 crimes per 1,000 residents, 19% above the England and Wales average of 91.2. Recorded crime is down 1.5% on the previous 12 months.

108.0 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents, year to July 2026
1,924 offences recorded in the same 12 months
-1.5% change on the previous 12 months
+19% above the England and Wales average

Of the 929 areas in England and Wales with a full year of data, Mile End has the 271st highest recorded crime rate. That is higher than 71% of them.

England & Wales average, 91Mile End, 108
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents. The colours are used throughout this page: the further right, the further above the England and Wales average.

The safest and worst parts of Mile End

Neighbourhoods inside Mile End, by recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to July 2026, shaded against the England and Wales average. Names are the House of Commons Library's, which are chosen to be the ones local people use.

Neighbourhoods in Mile End by recorded crime rate
Neighbourhood Per 1,000 vs England & Wales Offences Year on year
Mile End South 125.2 above average 978 +3.2%
Mile End North, Braiswick & Kingswood Heath 94.6 about average 946 -6.0%

Neighbourhoods here are Middle Layer Super Output Areas of around 7,000 residents. Each figure is an average over the whole neighbourhood, and the ones holding a town centre run high wherever daily visitors outnumber residents. How the figures work explains why these areas are used rather than electoral wards.

Shared by people who know it

What locals say about Mile End

Nobody has answered for Mile End yet, so these are the views of Essex as a whole, from 1 person in the last two years.

Feeling safe

  • How safe does Essex feel, from 1 to 5?1 person rates it 4 out of 5.

Live, work or spend time in Mile End?

Answer a few quick questions about what it is really like. About a minute, anonymous, and you can skip any question.

Answers are anonymous, one per person per question, and count for two years. They describe how a place feels to the people who answered, are never mixed into the crime figures, and update on this page within a day. How local views work.

By type of offence

Recorded offences in the 12 months to July 2026, with the change on the 12 months before.

Recorded crime in Mile End by offence type
Offence Offences Per 1,000 Share Year on year
Violence and sexual offences 852 47.8 44.3% -13.9%
Anti-social behaviour 221 12.4 11.5% +24.9%
Public order 155 8.7 8.1% +4.7%
Criminal damage and arson 155 8.7 8.1% -13.9%
Shoplifting 143 8.0 7.4% +40.2%
Other theft 139 7.8 7.2% +52.8%
Vehicle crime 76 4.3 4.0% -20.0%
Burglary 41 2.3 2.1% +13.9%
Bicycle theft 37 2.1 1.9% +48.0%
Other crime 33 1.9 1.7% +6.5%
Drugs 26 1.5 1.4% -13.3%
Robbery 21 1.2 1.1% +31.3%
Theft from the person 13 0.7 0.7% -27.8%
Possession of weapons 12 0.7 0.6% -20.0%
All recorded crime 1,924 108.0 100% -1.5%

Home Office recorded crime, data.police.uk. Rates use ONS mid-2024 population estimates (17,811 residents). Categories are the Home Office crime types as published; they are not comparable with court or conviction figures.

What happened to those crimes

Police recorded 1,703 offences other than anti-social behaviour in Mile End in the year to July 2026. By the time this data was published, about 33% had been closed with no suspect identified and 41% closed because a prosecution was not possible or not pursued. Around 14% had led to a charge, caution or other formal action, and 11% were still open.

The widest shortfall against the national picture is for shoplifting: 14.0% of cases here ended in a charge or other formal action, against 25.9% across England and Wales.

Police outcomes in Mile End, latest 12 months
Outcome Share Offences
Closed: no suspect identified 567
Closed: prosecution not possible or not pursued 703
Charge, caution or other formal action 240
Still open or no outcome published yet 193

Outcomes describe where each investigation stood when the data was published, so recent offences are naturally still open and the closed shares will edge up as cases conclude. Anti-social behaviour is left out entirely: police record no outcomes for it, and counting it would quietly flatter every percentage here. "Formal action" spans charges, summonses, cautions, penalty notices and community resolutions.

Outcomes by offence in Mile End

The share of cases ending in a charge, caution or other formal action, against the same figure for England and Wales. Offences with fewer than 30 recorded cases here are left out: a percentage of twelve cases moves several points on one decision.

Formal action rate by offence in Mile End, against England and Wales
Offence Cases Charged or dealt with England & Wales Difference
Violence and sexual offences 852 15.1% 10.7% +4.4 pts
Public order 155 14.8% 12.2% +2.6 pts
Criminal damage and arson 155 21.3% 8.3% +13.0 pts
Shoplifting 143 14.0% 25.9% -11.9 pts
Other theft 139 1.4% 2.5% -1.1 pts
Vehicle crime 76 0.0% 2.8% -2.8 pts
Burglary 41 7.3% 5.9% +1.4 pts
Bicycle theft 37 0.0% 2.5% -2.5 pts
Other crime 33 24.2% 17.0% +7.2 pts

"Charged or dealt with" counts every outcome that is a formal action: charged, summonsed, cautioned, penalty notice, community resolution. Anti-social behaviour is excluded from both columns because it carries no outcome by design. A low rate is not necessarily a failing of the force here: some offences are far harder to detect anywhere, which is why every row is shown against the national figure for the same offence rather than against the other rows.

Over time

Recorded crime in Mile End peaked at 2,321 offences in 2020; the latest 12 months, at 1,924, are about 17% below that peak. That works out at roughly 5 a day.

12-month average Each month
801602403200Covid lockdown160ConCon2011201320152017201920212023Jul 2026
Offences recorded each month in Mile End, Dec 2010 to Jul 2026. The coloured strip is the party holding the office that oversees the force; each break in it is an election.
Monthly figures (188 months)
Monthly recorded crime in Mile End
MonthRecorded crimes
Jul 2026 203
Jun 2026 174
May 2026 180
Apr 2026 161
Mar 2026 170
Feb 2026 135
Jan 2026 164
Dec 2025 136
Nov 2025 154
Oct 2025 138
Sep 2025 151
Aug 2025 158
Jul 2025 159
Jun 2025 176
May 2025 191
Apr 2025 152
Mar 2025 195
Feb 2025 149
Jan 2025 143
Dec 2024 121
Nov 2024 179
Oct 2024 202
Sep 2024 157
Aug 2024 130
Jul 2024 175
Jun 2024 154
May 2024 156
Apr 2024 123
Mar 2024 134
Feb 2024 161
Jan 2024 108
Dec 2023 132
Nov 2023 122
Oct 2023 159
Sep 2023 164
Aug 2023 178
Jul 2023 141
Jun 2023 160
May 2023 142
Apr 2023 129
Mar 2023 167
Feb 2023 137
Jan 2023 115
Dec 2022 129
Nov 2022 132
Oct 2022 184
Sep 2022 145
Aug 2022 158
Jul 2022 171
Jun 2022 161
May 2022 159
Apr 2022 161
Mar 2022 148
Feb 2022 138
Jan 2022 139
Dec 2021 130
Nov 2021 139
Oct 2021 138
Sep 2021 164
Aug 2021 156
Jul 2021 216
Jun 2021 205
May 2021 163
Apr 2021 175
Mar 2021 175
Feb 2021 146
Jan 2021 142
Dec 2020 157
Nov 2020 187
Oct 2020 211
Sep 2020 215
Aug 2020 254
Jul 2020 196
Jun 2020 253
May 2020 169
Apr 2020 179
Mar 2020 186
Feb 2020 148
Jan 2020 166
Dec 2019 179
Nov 2019 157
Oct 2019 167
Sep 2019 170
Aug 2019 181
Jul 2019 184
Jun 2019 143
May 2019 157
Apr 2019 172
Mar 2019 169
Feb 2019 155
Jan 2019 177
Dec 2018 139
Nov 2018 152
Oct 2018 144
Sep 2018 128
Aug 2018 124
Jul 2018 118
Jun 2018 125
May 2018 121
Apr 2018 116
Mar 2018 130
Feb 2018 129
Jan 2018 119
Dec 2017 125
Nov 2017 125
Oct 2017 135
Sep 2017 99
Aug 2017 141
Jul 2017 139
Jun 2017 143
May 2017 122
Apr 2017 126
Mar 2017 113
Feb 2017 100
Jan 2017 121
Dec 2016 122
Nov 2016 113
Oct 2016 106
Sep 2016 113
Aug 2016 102
Jul 2016 118
Jun 2016 86
May 2016 107
Apr 2016 118
Mar 2016 109
Feb 2016 87
Jan 2016 80
Dec 2015 87
Nov 2015 95
Oct 2015 86
Sep 2015 79
Aug 2015 103
Jul 2015 113
Jun 2015 102
May 2015 118
Apr 2015 105
Mar 2015 84
Feb 2015 98
Jan 2015 72
Dec 2014 79
Nov 2014 89
Oct 2014 100
Sep 2014 85
Aug 2014 80
Jul 2014 106
Jun 2014 110
May 2014 82
Apr 2014 78
Mar 2014 101
Feb 2014 60
Jan 2014 64
Dec 2013 95
Nov 2013 73
Oct 2013 103
Sep 2013 80
Aug 2013 88
Jul 2013 97
Jun 2013 67
May 2013 92
Apr 2013 70
Mar 2013 64
Feb 2013 88
Jan 2013 67
Dec 2012 69
Nov 2012 92
Oct 2012 79
Sep 2012 64
Aug 2012 91
Jul 2012 55
Jun 2012 103
May 2012 69
Apr 2012 96
Mar 2012 82
Feb 2012 69
Jan 2012 75
Dec 2011 79
Nov 2011 66
Oct 2011 83
Sep 2011 80
Aug 2011 78
Jul 2011 85
Jun 2011 68
May 2011 73
Apr 2011 89
Mar 2011 82
Feb 2011 62
Jan 2011 61
Dec 2010 58

Download every month as CSV, including which months each force filed.

Streets and the crime map

The named streets with the most recorded offences in the year to July 2026, beside every mapped location in Mile End.

These are not the most dangerous streets. The police snap every offence to the nearest point on a fixed list of anonymised map points, so one point collects everything recorded around a cluster of addresses. A street with a station, a row of pubs or a shopping parade on it gathers the crime of everyone passing through. A point has no resident population, so there is no rate here, only a count.

Streets in Mile End with the most recorded crime
Street Relative scale Offences
On or near Charter Way Mile End South 374
On or near De Grey Road Mile End North, Braiswick & Kingswood Heath 57
On or near Chestnut Close Mile End North, Braiswick & Kingswood Heath 50
On or near Boxted Road Mile End North, Braiswick & Kingswood Heath 49
On or near Leech's Lane Mile End North, Braiswick & Kingswood Heath 47
On or near Bradford Drive Mile End South 41
On or near Cavell Avenue Mile End North, Braiswick & Kingswood Heath 28
On or near Rectory Close Mile End South 28
On or near Mccluskeys Street Mile End South 26
On or near Dickenson Road Mile End South 24
On or near Carris Close Mile End North, Braiswick & Kingswood Heath 23
On or near Cordelia Drive Mile End North, Braiswick & Kingswood Heath 23

Compared with nearby areas

Area Relative scale Per 1,000 Offences
Mile End 108.0 1,924
Grays 106.4 3,976
Waltham Abbey 105.6 2,479
Harwich 92.5 2,256
Clacton-on-Sea 124.5 6,920
Melbourne 90.0 1,435
South Ockendon 83.7 1,956
Canvey Island 81.8 3,155
Laindon 79.7 2,429

Against the rest of the country

In the national table, where 1st is the highest recorded crime rate, Mile End was 885th of 902 in January 2011 and is 271st of 929 today. It has moved 614 places towards the top: recorded crime here has risen relative to the rest of the country.

1st23246469692920112026rank
Position in the national table of every area at this level, each month. First place is the highest recorded crime rate, so the line is drawn with first at the top: a line that climbs is a place moving up the table, not down it. A place can move without changing at all, because the rank is relative to everywhere else.

Time of year

Recorded crime here peaks in July, about 26% above its quietest month, January.

avgJFMAMJJASOND
Each calendar month against this area's own average month, across every complete year of data. Indexed rather than counted, so a long-term fall does not flatten the shape of the year underneath it.

Crime in context

What deprivation would predict

Across every English district, deprivation explains much of the difference in recorded crime rates. On that relationship alone, Mile End's level of deprivation would predict a rate of about 70 per 1,000. It records 108.0, about 54% above it.

How tightly packed it is

2,354 people per square kilometre, across 8 km². England and Wales averages about 400 people per square kilometre. Density is the usual explanation for a high position in the national crime table: a rate divides the crime of everyone who passes through by the number who sleep there.

Officers to record it

Essex Police had 3,761 full-time equivalent officers as at 31 March 2026, 1.95 per 1,000 residents, below the England and Wales figure of 2.42. That is 33% above its low point of 2,819 in 2017. Recorded crime partly measures how much policing there is to record it, so a change in officer numbers moves the figures on this page even when nothing else does.

Officer numbers are full-time equivalents from the Home Office police workforce return, counted across the whole force area. Nothing in this section causes anything on this page: a correlation is not a cause.

Who oversees policing in Mile End

Policing in Mile End is overseen by the police and crime commissioner for Essex Police. Roger Hirst (Conservative) won that election in May 2024. Since that election, recorded crime here is up 10.7% (the latest 12 months of data against the 12 months up to the election).

Councils in England and Wales have no policing powers. The police force covering an area is answerable to a directly elected commissioner, or to the combined authority mayor where that office has taken the role on. The coloured strip under the trend chart shows these terms against the crime line.

The change column reports what recorded crime did across each term, because it is the first thing a reader wants from this table. It is what happened, not what the officeholder caused: recorded crime moves with reporting rules, how a force records what is reported, national policy and a pandemic, and those effects are far larger than anything one commissioner does in four years. The terms spanning 2020 and 2021 in particular contain the lockdowns, which cut recorded crime everywhere and handed the following term the rebound.

Elections to the office overseeing policing in Mile End
Election Elected Party Office Crime over the term
May 2024 Roger Hirst Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner +10.7%
May 2021 Roger Hirst Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner -23.6%
May 2016 Roger Hirst Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner +95.0%
November 2012 Nick Alston Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner +22.2%

These are election results, not terms of office: commissioners resign, die and are disqualified mid-term, and by-elections between the scheduled polls are listed here only where one has been held. For who holds the office today, the force's own website is the authority. The last column compares recorded crime in the 12 months ending at the handover (or the latest data) with the 12 months ending at the election itself; where a monthly return is missing, the window slides by up to four months to the nearest complete one. A dash means the term ran under a year or no complete window exists near it.

Questions

Is Mile End safe?

In the year to July 2026, the recorded crime rate in Mile End was 108.0 per 1,000 residents. That is 19% higher than the England and Wales average. A recorded crime rate measures what the police recorded, across a whole town. It says nothing about any particular street, and areas with busy town centres, shopping areas or nightlife record more crime per resident because far more people are present than live there.

Is crime in Mile End going up or down?

In Mile End, the latest 12 months are 1.5% lower than the 12 before. Over the full series, recorded crime here peaked at 2,321 offences in 2020 and the current total is about 17% below it.

What is the most common crime in Mile End?

The most commonly recorded offence in Mile End is violence and sexual offences, with 852 offences in the 12 months to July 2026 (44% of all recorded crime). The next most common is anti-social behaviour, with 221.

Where does this come from?

Police recorded crime open data, published at data.police.uk by the Home Office under the Open Government Licence. It covers offences the police recorded, which is not the same as offences committed: crimes that are never reported never appear. Rates use ONS mid-2024 population estimates. How the figures work sets out the calculation, the reporting lag and every known gap.

Figures cover the 12 months to July 2026, the most recent month any force has published; police data arrives roughly two months in arrears.