This shows the number of offences and direction of travel for the major crime types. The majority of offence types have seen an increase in 2023 with the exception of Drug offences, Miscellaneous Crime offences, Possession of Weapons and Sexual Offences which saw a percentage decrease over the year. Like London overall, Bexley has seen an overall rise in offences in 2023. The breakdown of crime types in the pie chart shows the proportion of each crime type with ‘Violence against the Person’, ‘Theft’ and ‘Vehicle offences’ being the top 3 highest volume crime types in both 2022 and 2023.

Pie chart of Total Notifiable Offences - Breakdown by Major Category

This shows the number of Total Notifiable, Burglary, Domestic Abuse (DA) & Non-DA Violence with Injury offences for calendar years 2019 to 2023. In Bexley, during the Covid pandemic, we saw a decrease in Total Notifiable offences which are now returning to pre-Covid levels; a reduction in Burglary offences which remained at a lower level until the end of 2022 when we started to see a rise; an increase in Domestic abuse offences which have returned to pre-Covid levels and a rise in non-DA VWI offences during the start of the Covid pandemic which have now returned to pre-Covid levels.

This shows the number of ‘domestic abuse flagged’ offences and direction of travel for the major crime types. Domestic abuse-flagged offences make up 16% of all Total Notifiable offences in 2022 and 2023. The highest volume crime type for domestic abuse flagged offences was ‘Violence Against the Person’ in both 2022 and 2023, making up over a third (36%) of all VATP offences in both years. The majority of offence types have seen a decrease in 2023 with the exception of Public Order offences, Sexual offences, Theft and Violence against the person offences which saw a percentage increase over the year. Like London overall and across the Metropolitan Police Service, Bexley has seen an overall rise in Domestic abuse offences in 2023.

Please note: The ‘Domestic abuse flagged’ crime offence data is sourced from a different Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) dataset to the Crime offence data presented throughout the rest of the report. Therefore the number of Domestic abuse flagged offences may not match the number of Domestic Abuse offences shown on the ‘Domestic Abuse Breakdown’ section due to the data extract being taken at a different point in time.

This shows the top 10 offences in each Bexley ward and what percentage of crimes those offences represent. Bexleyheath, Erith and Belvedere are the top three wards for offence figures, and this further enforces the decision to have Police led multi-agency Problem Solving Processes (PSPs) in place to help tackle the crime issues collaboratively. Violence Against the Person, Theft and Vehicle Offences regularly feature among the top three crime types in the majority of Bexley wards.

This shows the offences in each Bexley ward and what percentage of crimes those offences represent. Belvedere, Slade Green & Northend and Erith are the top three wards for DA offence figures. Violence Against the Person, Arson and Criminal Damage, Theft, Public Order offences & Sexual offences are the top crime types in the majority of Bexley wards. Domestic Abuse is more prevalent in the North of the Borough.

TNOs are all the recorded offences added together. Like London overall, Bexley has seen a rise in TNOs in 2023 of 5.48%, from 16,006 to 16,883 offences per year. This is a smaller percentage increase compared to London (7.04%). Bexley ranks the 5th safest borough in London for 2023, with a rate of 67.0 TNOs per 1,000 population.

Bexley saw an increase of 11.33%, from 1,421 offences in 2022 to 1,582 offences in 2023 and ranks us 16th in London for offences per 1,000 population. The minor category “Criminal Damage” makes up the largest proportion of offences; 96.21% in 2023 compared to 95.57% in 2022. The low numbers of Arson have slightly decreased from 63 in 2022 to 60 in 2023. It should be noted that many borough’s offence rates are at a similar level.

An increase in Burglary offences in Bexley of 15.7%, from 796 in 2022 to 921 in 2023. Bexley saw a rise of 26.40% for Domestic Burglary and 12.19% for Business and Community Burglary. Despite this overall increase in Burglary offences, Bexley had the lowest Burglary rate in London (per 1,000 population) in 2022 (rate of 3.19) and 2023 (rate of 3.65). In Bexley and across London, there was a significant reduction in Burglary offences during the Covid pandemic. In Bexley, the number of Burglary offences is rising but has not yet reached pre-Covid levels (1,755 in 2019).  Multi-agency interventions that took place in the autumn months helped to minimise any rise in offences for the year. Post-covid work habits with more people working from home have had a lasting effect on keeping the rate of increase in Burglary offences relatively low.

Bexley saw a decrease in Drug offences of 5.26%, from 741 offences in 2022 to 702 offences in 2023. This is a smaller decrease compared to London (13.4%) and saw us move from 6th place in 2022 to 7th place in 2023 compared to other London Boroughs. The minor category “Possession of Drugs” makes up a large proportion of Drug Offences; 73.22% in 2023 compared to 84.01% in 2022. The lower numbers of Drug Trafficking (or possession with intent to supply) have increased from 118 in 2022 to 188 in 2023. Substance misuse is a crosscutting theme across the BCSP priorities and is known to be a driver for many offences especially serious violence. A 10 year drug strategy has been published by the Home Office, and a local Combating Drug Partnership has been set up focusing on the supply, demand and treatment elements of the drugs market and the wider implementation of the strategy.

* The volume of 'possession' offences recorded is heavily influenced by police activities and priorities (e.g. 'Stop and Search'). In such cases, recorded crime figures may indicate police activity in this area rather than levels of criminality.

A decrease in Possession of Weapon offences in Bexley of 21.32%, from 136 in 2022 to 107 in 2023. This is a larger percentage decrease compared to London (2.97%) and saw us move from 11th place in 2022 to 6th place in 2023 compared to other London Boroughs. It should be noted that variation between many borough’s offence rates is small and at a similar level.

* The volume of 'possession' offences recorded is heavily influenced by police activities and priorities (e.g. 'Stop and Search'). In such cases, recorded crime figures may indicate police activity in this area rather than levels of criminality.

An increase in public order offences in Bexley of 9.52%, from 1,187 in 2022 to 1,300 in 2023.  The minor category 'Public Fear Alarm or Distress' makes up a large proportion of Public order Offences; 71.54% in 2023 compared to 70.43% in 2022.  Bexley ranks in 7th place compared to other London Boroughs.

Bexley saw an increase in Robbery offences of 33.71%, from 264 in 2022 to 353 in 2023. A rise of 32.3% for robbery of personal property and 42.2% for Business Property. This overall increase in Robbery offences saw us move from 1st place in 2022 to 3rd place in 2023 compared to other London Boroughs. In Bexley and across London, there was a significant reduction in Robbery offences during the Covid pandemic. In Bexley, the number of Robbery offences is returning to pre-Covid levels (383 in 2019).

A slight decrease in Sexual offences in Bexley of 0.39%, from 511 in 2022 to 509 in 2023. Bexley saw a reduction of 8.38% for Other Sexual offences (from 346 in 2022 to 317 in 2023) and a rise of 16.36% in Rape offences (from 165 in 2022 to 192 in 2023). Bexley has moved up one place from 7th in 2022 (rate of 2.05) to 6th in 2023 (rate of 2.02) compared to other London Boroughs.

An increase in Theft offences in Bexley of 8.18%, from 2,762 in 2022 to 2,988 in 2023. This is a smaller percentage increase compared to London (19.26%). Despite this increase, Bexley had the lowest Theft offence rate in London (per 1000 population) in 2022 (rate of 11.06) and 2023 (rate of 11.86).

A slight increase in Vehicle offences in Bexley of 0.69%, from 2,166 in 2022 to 2,181 in 2023. The minor category ‘Theft from a Motor Vehicle’ makes up the largest proportion of Vehicle offences; 44.20% in 2023 compared to 45.24% in 2022. Followed closely by ‘Theft or Taking of a Motor Vehicle’ making up 42.0% of all Vehicle offences in 2023, compared to 39.75% in 2022. This overall increase in Vehicle offences saw us move from 3rd place in 2022 to 5th place in 2023 compared to other London Boroughs. The Ward with the largest proportion of Vehicle offences is St Mary’s & St James with 22.4% of total crime offences. Vehicle crime is a high-volume offence in Bexley, however, the BCSP are of the opinion that it should be tackled by way of crime reduction similar to that of Burglary.  This raises awareness of what the public can do to help minimise theft of, and from vehicles. Shared social media communications message and information shared at events sits alongside picking up on linked series of thefts swiftly to improve chances of detection. Due to presenting lower threat, risk and harm, vehicle crime will not be a named priority for the BCSP in 2024/25.

An increase in Violence against the person offences in Bexley of 4.33%, from 5,756 in 2022 to 6,005 in 2023. This increase is similar to the rise in Violence against the person offences seen London-wide (4.51%). The minor category ‘Violence without Injury’ makes up the largest proportion of Violence against the person offences; 68.89% in 2023 compared to 67.62% in 2022. The number of ‘Violence with Injury’ offences has remained relatively stable over the past two years and we have seen an increase in Homicides from 1 in 2022 to 4 in 2023. Bexley has moved from 9th place for 2022 (rate of 23.05) to 10th place in 2023 (rate of 23.83) compared to other London Boroughs. We have employed a Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) Coordinator through the Mayor’s Office for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) funding to promote reporting of incidents, delivery of professionals training, challenging perpetrator behaviour and support VAWG victims. Violent Crime is a named BCSP priority. Other external funding from MOPAC enables providers and projects to be commissioned to assist in tackling violent crime across the borough, supporting individuals, families and the wider community. 

An increase in Domestic Abuse Incidents in Bexley of 3.95%, from 4,026 in 2022 to 4,185 in 2023. Domestic Abuse incidents in Bexley have been increasing year on year which may be directly due to awareness and the implementation of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. Bexley ranks in 16^th place for Domestic Abuse Incidents compared to other London Boroughs. This position is unusually high when you consider Bexley tends to sit in the bottom five of the London Boroughs for total notifiable offences. The ward with the highest proportion of Domestic Abuse offences in 2023 was Belvedere. Domestic Abuse is a named BCSP priority.

** These categories are created by using 'flags' and formatting the data in different ways. Therefore, these Incidents and Offences will be counted again in the other crime categories listed above.

Over the past 5 years, the number of high risk MARAC cases discussed and repeat cases have also shown a year-on-year increase from a repeat victim percentage of 10% in 2017 (27 repeats cases out of a total 275 MARAC cases) to 34% in 2023 (223 repeats cases out of a total 665 MARAC cases). This significant rise in MARAC cases has mainly been due to a practitioner training programme which has enabled more cases to be identified and relevant pathways put in place. For 2022 and 2023, we have remained within the SafeLives recommended repeat case threshold of 28 to 40% (year-on-year analysis). In line with Domestic Abuse incidents, the highest proportion of MARAC cases are seen in the North of the Borough.

A decrease in Anti-Social Behaviour calls to the Police in Bexley of 5.55%, from 4,324 in 2022 to 4,084 in 2023. For comparison, there was an increase of 2.22% London-wide. Bexley moved from 5th place in 2022 (rate of 17.31) to 2nd place in 2023 (rate of 16.21). The top three wards with the largest proportion of ASB incidents was Bexleyheath (460), Crayford (425) and Belvedere (380). ASB perpetrators can be referred through to, and managed by, the multi-agency ASB Prevention Panel (ASBPP) and appropriate tools and powers are used to desist their behaviour. ASB is also a named BCSP priority.

A decrease in non-domestic abuse violence with injury offences in Bexley of 3.6%, from 1,250 in 2022 to 1,205 in 2023. In comparison to other London Boroughs, Bexley moved from 9th place in 2022 (rate of 5.00) to 8th in 2023 (rate of 4.78). The largest proportion of offences for the most recent year, were seen in Erith ward with 133 offences. Non DA VWI is the BCSP’s other local volume crime priority and like VATP offences is tackled holistically under the Violent Crime priority umbrella. This also includes tackling the Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) agenda, and consider any additional responsibilities under the new Serious Violence Duty placed on all CSPs.

** These categories are created by using 'flags' and formatting the data in different ways. Therefore, these Incidents and Offences will be counted again in the other crime categories listed above.

An increase in Hate crime offences in Bexley of 12.15%, from 461 in 2022 to 517 in 2023. The majority of hate crimes in Bexley in 2022 and 2023 were motivated by racist and religious reasons. These offence figures are relatively low in number especially when looked at as a percentage of all London offences (Bexley make up 1.91% of all Hate Crimes across London. Compared to other London Boroughs, Bexley has remained in 6th place in 2023 (with a rate of 20.51) and 2022 (with a rate of 18.46). We have employed a Hate Crime & Modern Slavery Officer through MOPAC funding to promote reporting of incidents, delivery of professionals training and support victims of Hate Crime.

Please note: One hate crime offence may be flagged with more than one hate crime category. Therefore the total of the sub-categories cannot be summed and will not equal the total number of hate crimes.

** These categories are created by using 'flags' and formatting the data in different ways. Therefore, these Incidents and Offences will be counted again in the other crime categories listed above.

The London Borough of Bexley is one of the extended areas for the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) Devolved Decision Pilot for Children. This Home Office funding has enabled a NRM Coordinator to sit within the Community Safety Team and manage a local panel that makes the decisions on prospective child victims of Modern Slavery. It is hoped that by building local mechanisms, the quality and timeliness of decisions will improve, as well as improvements and increased connectivity between existing safeguarding processes and the NRM process. A Hate Crime & Modern Slavery Officer is in place to promote reporting of incidents, delivery of professionals training and support victims of Modern Slavery. No published data around Modern Slavery has been included within the JSA.

An increase in Weapon-enabled crime offences in Bexley of 12.72% from 228 in 2022 to 257 in 2023. A smaller percentage increase compared to London (16.4%).The majority of weapon-enabled crime offences in Bexley during 2022 and 2023 were Knife crime offences. Despite this increase in Weapon-enabled Crime, Bexley has remained in 5th place in 2023 (rate of 1.02) and 2022 (rate of 0.91). One of the three minimum standards of the Violence & Vulnerability Reduction Action Plan (VVRAP) is for the BCSP Executive Group Meeting agendas to include Knife, Gun and Serious Violence Performance, community tension monitoring and stop and search as standing items. Therefore these figures are presented quarterly at the BCSP Executive by the BCU Superintendent. One trend seen in 2023 was the increased proportion of knife injury victims being under 25 years old.

Please note: Knife Crime with Injury and Knife Crime with Injury (Personal Robbery) are sub-categories of Knife Crime. Gun Crime Personal Robbery and Gun Crime Lethal Barrelled Discharged are sub-categories of Gun Crime. Victim categories are a count of victims ONLY and not included in the offence figures.

** These categories are created by using 'flags' and formatting the data in different ways. Therefore, these Incidents and Offences will be counted again in the other crime categories listed above.

There was a total of 708 respondents to the 2023 Bexley Community Safety Survey compared to 696 in 2022. In 2023, the average safety score was 6.18 out of 10 (10 being the most safe) compared to 6.24 in 2022. In both the 2022 and 2023 surveys, the number one crime priority for respondents was Burglary followed by Drug related issues and Vehicle crime. In 2023, the number one Anti-social behaviour priority was ASB from groups loitering, followed by Drug Paraphernalia and Dog Fouling. The number one Anti-social behaviour priority in 2022 was Drug Paraphernalia, followed by ASB from groups loitering, and Littering. These concerns mirror our findings from the data in this JSA and help contribute to the CSP priority decision-making process.