Every single London borough has seen the number of stalking and harassment reports increase since 2024 according to Met Police data.
The latest figures show cases have increased in every borough since May 2024, with the total number of incidents increasing by more than a quarter from 4185 to 5314 across the boroughs.
Rebecca Goshawk, director of business developement at charity Solace, suggested that greater public awareness and more possibilites to monitor things using technology might be driving the increase in reports.
She said: “We know that violence in all its forms remains a significant and ongoing issue.
“Wider societal issues, such as misogyny and harmful attitudes which sadly remain all too persistent, also continue to underpin these behaviours.”
The boroughs in the graph below were the five areas with the most reported cases over the last 2 years. All had a substantial increase in the amount of cases reported since 2024.
The localities all had over 220 reported stalking and harassment incidents in the month of April 2026 in their borough.
Newham had the highest number of cases in April 2026 with 243 and has seen a 50% increase since 2024.
Goshawk said: “Stalking can really harm people psychologically and often involves patterns of threatening behaviour that escalate over time, leaving survivors feeling constantly unsafe and under surveillance.
“A lot of victims still don’t feel supported in coming to the police to report a crime.
“Barriers can include fear of not being believed, concerns about the situation escalating, lack of understanding about what constitutes stalking, and previous negative experiences with authorities.”
Daryl Richards, victim of one such stalking incident spoke about his experience.
His stalker was convicted but this is not the general trend as the UK has a less than 2% conviction rate nationally.
Richards said: “It had a huge impact on my investment and job, it affects your work life massively as it becomes secondary.
“I also developed an energy drink addiction to stay vigilant and alert. I put my life on hold.”
His case has been well publicised due to the conviction of his stalker but he maintains that he still does not feel safe.
Daryl has benefited massively from the help of charity Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which aims to reduce the risk and abundance of cases of stalking and harassment.
Its Interim Chief Executive Officer Emma Lingley-Clark said: “Serious failings in the protection of victims persist.
“Across the board it continues to be dangerously underestimated, rather than treated with the urgency it demands.
“While it is encouraging to see more victims coming forward to report stalking and harassment across London boroughs, the overall scale of offending remains extremely high.”
While all boroughs are facing the general trend of an increasing number of cases, some areas are seeing a bigger increase than others.
Waltham Forest, for example, had a 59% increase and Harrow saw a 45% growth between 2024 and 2026.
Even the areas with lower number of cases in both years have seen a noticeable increase.
Merton for example had 65 cases in 2024 which grew to 86 in 2026, which is a 32% increase in just under two years.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust estimates that around 1.4 million victims experienced stalking last year across England and Wales.
However less than one in ten estimated cases were recorded by the police, with 135,628 cases recorded nationally.
Lingley-Clark said: “In particular, there remains a lack of understanding and consistent identification as to what behaviours constitute stalking.
“Overall, greater awareness, training and recording by criminal justice partners are needed to ensure victims are recognised and supported.”
Lingley-Clark and Richards agreed if the rising number of cases continues there will be increasing issues for victims.
Speaking to anyone that is a victim of this type of crime, Richards said: “You can start your own process of trying to feel safer by relying on those around you and recording everything.”
“I don’t think my stalker would have gotten the sentence he did without the evidence we collected on our computers/phones.”
Featured image credit: Mika Baumeister, Unsplash
Join the discussion