Crap Towns / Barking and Dagenham / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Barking and Dagenham?

There were 2.2 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Barking and Dagenham from April 2023 to March 2026, 61% lower than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were bins and rubbish set on fire, at 1.0. In 2025/26 it was 3.3, up from 1.5 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	1.5	5.2
2024/25	1.8	5.4
2025/26	3.3	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Bins and rubbish set on fire	1.0	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	0.6	1.7
Other outdoor fires	0.6	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Purfleet-on-Thames	11.5 km	11.6
Aveley	9.4 km	11.5
Chigwell	8.8 km	3.0
Havering	6.4 km	2.6
Barking and Dagenham	–	2.2
Newham	6.9 km	1.6
Bexley	9.3 km	1.5
Greenwich	9.4 km	1.3
Buckhurst Hill	11.3 km	0.9
Redbridge	6.1 km	0.8
Waltham Forest	11.5 km	0.7
The typical town	–	5.7