Councillor Hits Out At Romford Crime Levels.

Councillor David Taylor has hit out at the level of crime across his ward and across Romford as a whole.

Today, Councillor David Taylor writes in the Havering Daily:

Police data has revealed that Romford postcodes have the 8th highest level of drug crime in the UK, and an increase of 22% vs last year. 

UK Police Data, compiled by data website Plumplot, has identified that RM postcodes rank 8th highest for drug crime, 3rd highest for vehicle crime, 12th for robbery and 13th for shoplifting. RM postcodes extend from Abridge in the north, to the Thames, and from Mayesbrook Park in the East across to East Tilbury. 

Drug crimes are on a sharp rise across the UK. However, RM postcodes report drug crimes at 68% above the national crime rate. Postcodes such as RM1 1, RM7 7, and RM3 8 are amongst the highest in the RM area. 

The St Edward’s Ward, Romford Town Centre, saw 74 reports of ant-social behaviour and 70 violent and sexual offences in May 2025. 

Despite the high levels of crime, the police were unable to identify a suspect in over 1200 cases in the last 12 months. 

The data is worrying, and says that there will be more unreported crimes going below the radar.

“These statistics are depressing and a worry, they go to show that whilst we may be a ‘low crime’ area overall, we have some worrying trends that need addressing. And with a lot of crime going unreported, things may be substantially worse.

Having RM postcodes be one of the top areas in the country for drug crime, and Romford Town Centre one of the hotspots, should be a wake up call to all of us. The massive increase in reports tells us that we do not have a grip on this. 

Huge levels of shoplifting will be scaring small businesses away and the last thing our highstreet needs is the loss of small businesses.”

Responding to critics who call Cllr Taylor alarmist, Cllr Taylor responded; 

“People who live in Romford know the truth and they are not impressed by leaders who try to tell us that this is a low-crime area. That is a tone-deaf response to people who are genuinely worried about the place they call home. 

I have local women telling me that they are flashed in parks, followed home, and dealing with harassment.

Rather than patronising people, or telling them that they are being mislead, our leadership should focus on stepping up their efforts to make the town safer. 

Residents are constantly telling me about crime in their areas, which they don’t report due to having no hope in the police catching and prosecuting. Instead of telling these people that this is a “low crime area” we should be asking them what they need to feel safe”. 

Councillor Taylor has said that he is planning a safer streets summit for Autumn this year, with details to be finalised over August.

“The council have told me that they won’t attend a summit if I put one on. I expect that they will change their mind. But, if they don’t, we will crack on without them. 

Something needs to be done and residents need to be heard”.

Havering Neighbourhoods Superintendent-Simon Hutchinson, told the Havering Daily:

 “While I can’t comment on crime statistics that include postcode areas we don’t police because they fall into Essex, we don’t recognise these figures in relation to Havering.

 “We have seen overall crime reduce by 7.4 per cent and there have been significant reductions in violent crime, burglary, motor vehicle crime and robbery. These are encouraging signs of progress. 

 “We want to reassure the public that every report matters, if you become a victim of crime please report it.  We take all reports of crime seriously and remain committed to reducing crime and keeping communities safe.”

For Tableau -which is publicly accessible and provides crime data for the whole of London, see link below:

tableau link

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