The most notorious gangsters in London's history are the Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie, who controlled the East End in the 1950s and 60s, alongside their brutal rivals, the Richardson Gang. Other feared figures include "Mad" Frankie Fraser, Billy Hill, and the 1920s racecourse boss Charles Sabini.
The area with the roughest reputation in London is Westminster, recording the highest crime rate of 432 crimes per 1,000 people in the year ending December 2024—though this is likely skewed by massive daytime footfall from tourists, which inflates the crime-per-resident ratio.
Another well-known London crime family is the Clerkenwell crime syndicate in Islington, also known as the 'Adams family'. They are allegedly one of the most powerful in the United Kingdom. Media reports have credited them with wealth of up to £200 million.
East London has Hackney, Tower Hamlets, and Newham. It tops the city for crime. Violence strikes about 30 times per 1,000 people. Theft and rude acts thrive in busy places like Stratford.
The Krays: London's Most Notorious Twins | Real Crime
Where to avoid in London at night?
That said, across recent years (patterns visible in Met and ONS dashboards) the highest volumes of theft and street-theft reports tend to be concentrated in central shopping and nightlife boroughs — notably Westminster (West End, Oxford Street, Leicester Square), Camden (markets, busy streets), Lambeth (parts of ...
The poorest parts of London are concentrated in boroughs like Tower Hamlets, Hackney, and Newham, especially regarding income deprivation for children and older people, with pockets of poverty also in Brent, Barking & Dagenham, and parts of Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea. These areas face high rates of poverty, with some wards like Northumberland Park (Haringey) and Stonebridge (Brent) being among the most deprived.
Ronald Kray (24 October 1933 – 17 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 1933 – 1 October 2000) were English identical twin brothers from Haggerston who were heavily involved in organised crime from the late 1950s until their arrest in 1968.
Gang-related organised crime in the United Kingdom is concentrated around the cities of London, Manchester and Liverpool and regionally across the West Midlands region, south coast and northern England, according to the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar (/ɪbrəˈhiːm/, Hindi pronunciation: [d̪aːˈuːd̪ ɪbɾaːˈɦiːm kaːskəɾ]; born 26 December 1955) is an Indian mob boss, drug lord and narcoterrorist. He heads the organised crime syndicate D-Company, which he founded in Mumbai in the 1970s.
Who is the most notorious female gangster in the UK?
The story of Linda Calvey, the most notorious female gangster in British history. Livvy Haydock explores the life of Linda Calvey in a new series of the award-winning podcast, Gangster 🎧 After her husband was shot dead by police during a robbery, Linda stepped further into his world.
First, we found the Kray twins, Ronald and Reginald in the 1939 Register. They were six-years-old living on Hackney Road in Bethnal Green: The Kray family in the 1939 Register. The Kray twins' grandfather, 'Mad Jimmy' Kray had already set a solid precedent for ruling the East End through terror and intimidation.
The least happy borough in London, according to Rightmove's data, was Barking and Dagenham. Coming in dead-last place out of the capital's 33 boroughs, the east London area ranked 220th nationally.
The most deprived neighbourhood in England according to the IMD25 is to the east of the Jaywick & St Osyth area of Clacton-on-Sea in Tendring (Tendring 018a).
While inner boroughs like Westminster have historically recorded the highest rates of rough sleeping, there has been a noticeable shift. Street homelessness is increasing in outer boroughs, particularly in West London, where Ealing has reported some of the highest rates of rough sleeping.
Plan your route and think about what to take with you, especially if you're going somewhere you haven't been before. Keep to busy, well-lit streets, walkways and paths which are more likely to be covered by CCTV. Only take licensed taxis or minicabs booked by phone or a mobile phone app.
In May 1968, Ronnie and Reggie Kray, along with 15 associates known as their “Firm,” were arrested and charged with a range of offenses including murder, conspiracy, and extortion. In March 1969, the Kray twins were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
