Crime in Dartford district: statistics, rates and trends
13,370 crimes were recorded in Dartford district in the 12 months to August 2026, 107.0 per 1,000 residents. That is close to the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and down 2% on the year before.
Table of Contents
- Crime map
- Crime in Dartford district at a glance
- Crime trends in Dartford district
- Types of crime in Dartford district
- Dartford district compared with nearby districts
- Areas within Dartford district
- Streets with the most crime in Dartford district
- What happened after crimes were reported in Dartford district
- Demographics of Dartford district
- Fly-tipping in Dartford
- Questions about crime in Dartford district
- About this data
Crime map
Violence and sexual offences (3,994), shoplifting (2,687) and anti-social behaviour (2,093) made up 66% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 82nd of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.
| Measure | Dartford district | Kent | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crimes, the 12 months to August 2026 | 13,370 | 145,778 | 5,618,064 |
| Crimes per 1,000 residents | 107.0 | 88.9 | 96.7 |
| Change on previous 12 months | -2% | -2% | -1% |
| Population | 125,011 | 1,639,029 | 58,127,638 |
Recorded crime in Dartford district peaked in the year to August 2018 (14,922 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2024 (13,264). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 10%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.
| Period | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year to August 2026 | 13,370 | 107.0 | 96.7 |
| Year to August 2025 | 13,700 | 109.6 | 97.2 |
| Year to August 2024 | 13,264 | 106.1 | 97.9 |
| Year to August 2023 | 13,659 | 109.3 | n/a |
| Year to August 2022 | 14,631 | 117.0 | 102.0 |
| Year to August 2021 | 14,383 | 115.1 | 101.4 |
| Year to August 2020 | 14,487 | 115.9 | 102.7 |
| Year to August 2019 | 13,749 | 110.0 | 101.7 |
| Year to August 2018 | 14,922 | 119.4 | 100.8 |
Month by month
| Month | Crimes |
|---|---|
| August 2026 | 1,099 |
| July 2026 | 1,147 |
| June 2026 | 1,087 |
| May 2026 | 1,156 |
| April 2026 | 1,190 |
| March 2026 | 1,215 |
| February 2026 | 1,101 |
| January 2026 | 1,045 |
| December 2025 | 1,169 |
| November 2025 | 996 |
| October 2025 | 1,117 |
| September 2025 | 1,048 |
Compared with England and Wales, Dartford district recorded notably more shoplifting (2.5 times the national rate), other crime (41% above the national rate) and criminal damage and arson (26% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (58% below) and bicycle theft (57% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 90 to 126 and shoplifting rose from 2,209 to 2,687, while burglary fell from 381 to 274 and drugs fell from 530 to 416.
| Crime type | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 | Change on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 3,994 | 31.9 | 34.2 | -14% |
| Shoplifting | 2,687 | 21.5 | 8.5 | +22% |
| Anti-social behaviour | 2,093 | 16.7 | 15.4 | +19% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 1,065 | 8.5 | 6.7 | -11% |
| Other theft | 842 | 6.7 | 6.4 | +6% |
| Vehicle crime | 756 | 6.0 | 5.0 | -13% |
| Public order | 475 | 3.8 | 6.7 | -17% |
| Drugs | 416 | 3.3 | 3.3 | -22% |
| Other crime | 373 | 3.0 | 2.1 | +7% |
| Burglary | 274 | 2.2 | 3.6 | -28% |
| Possession of weapons | 137 | 1.1 | 1.0 | +19% |
| Robbery | 126 | 1.0 | 1.4 | +40% |
| Theft from the person | 88 | 0.7 | 1.7 | -18% |
| Bicycle theft | 44 | 0.4 | 0.8 | -10% |
What each category covers: crime categories.
1 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Dartford district; the highest is Greenwich district (113.2 per 1,000) and the lowest Sevenoaks district (62.7).
Of the 28 areas within Dartford district, Stone Castle had the highest crime rate (335.2 per 1,000) and Joyden's Wood the lowest (32.2), 10 times apart.
| Area | Type | Population | Crimes | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Castle | Neighbourhood | 7,889 | 2,644 | 335.2 |
| Town | Neighbourhood | 5,977 | 1,455 | 243.4 |
| Darenth | Town | 2,728 | 427 | 156.5 |
| Stone House | Neighbourhood | 8,152 | 1,176 | 144.3 |
| Bean & Village Park | Neighbourhood | 3,040 | 410 | 134.9 |
| Swanscombe | Neighbourhood | 8,254 | 990 | 119.9 |
| Burnham | Neighbourhood | 5,357 | 634 | 118.3 |
| Temple Hill | Neighbourhood | 9,907 | 1,126 | 113.7 |
| Princes | Neighbourhood | 7,008 | 704 | 100.5 |
| Dartford | Town | 72,486 | 7,106 | 98.0 |
| Swanscombe | Town | 15,948 | 1,476 | 92.6 |
| Longfield, New Barn & Southfleet | Neighbourhood | 6,931 | 580 | 83.7 |
| Newtown | Neighbourhood | 5,745 | 479 | 83.4 |
| Bean | Town | 1,637 | 129 | 78.8 |
| Stone (Dartford) | Town | 5,383 | 381 | 70.8 |
| Greenhithe & Knockhall | Neighbourhood | 7,694 | 486 | 63.2 |
| South Darenth and Sutton at Hone | Town | 4,416 | 276 | 62.5 |
| Maypole & Leyton Cross | Neighbourhood | 4,164 | 258 | 62.0 |
| Brent | Neighbourhood | 5,784 | 339 | 58.6 |
| Hawley (Dartford) | Town | 1,794 | 104 | 58.0 |
| Heath | Neighbourhood | 6,332 | 333 | 52.6 |
| Ebbsfleet Valley | Town | 7,421 | 378 | 50.9 |
| Ebbsfleet | Neighbourhood | 7,421 | 378 | 50.9 |
| Wilmington, Sutton-at-Hone & Hawley | Neighbourhood | 7,006 | 355 | 50.7 |
| Southfleet | Town | 1,796 | 76 | 42.3 |
| West Hill | Neighbourhood | 7,540 | 311 | 41.2 |
| Bridge | Neighbourhood | 3,728 | 145 | 38.9 |
| Joyden's Wood | Town | 4,354 | 140 | 32.2 |
The 10 locations below account for 35% of the crime recorded in Dartford district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Shopping Area” (2,145).
| Location | Crimes |
|---|---|
| On or near Shopping Area | 2,145 |
| On or near Supermarket | 874 |
| On or near Parking Area | 514 |
| On or near Laurence Rise | 264 |
| On or near Petrol Station | 184 |
| On or near The Oaks | 157 |
| On or near William Mundy Way | 140 |
| On or near Moore Close | 127 |
| On or near Nightclub | 118 |
| On or near Cadogan Avenue | 109 |
Of the 11,277 crimes in Dartford district with a recorded outcome, 40% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 7.1% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 2,093 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.
| Outcome | Crimes | Share | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investigation complete; no suspect identified | 4,473 | 39.7% | 35.3% |
| Unable to prosecute suspect | 3,396 | 30.1% | 34.5% |
| Awaiting court outcome | 803 | 7.1% | 5.2% |
| Under investigation | 772 | 6.8% | 11.5% |
| Local resolution | 741 | 6.6% | 3.1% |
| Status update unavailable | 368 | 3.3% | 4.7% |
| Court result unavailable | 310 | 2.7% | 2.5% |
| Action to be taken by another organisation | 215 | 1.9% | 1.3% |
| Offender given a caution | 109 | 1.0% | 0.6% |
| Further action is not in the public interest | 46 | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Further investigation is not in the public interest | 30 | 0.3% | 0.5% |
| Formal action is not in the public interest | 13 | 0.1% | 0.3% |
Dartford district has an estimated population of 125,011 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has a younger population (13%, against 19%), fewer households without a car (17%, against 23%) and fewer students (5.9%, against 7.9%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Dartford district average decile 6.0 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.
| Measure | Dartford district | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0 to 15 | 22.8% | 18.3% |
| Aged 65 and over | 13.4% | 18.9% |
| Residents 16+ in work | 64.9% | 57.2% |
| Residents 16+ unemployed | 3.3% | 3.4% |
| Residents 16+ retired | 17.0% | 21.6% |
| Residents 16+ who are students | 5.9% | 7.9% |
| Residents 16+ with Level 4 qualifications or above (degree, HND and similar) | 32.4% | 33.8% |
| Residents 16+ with no qualifications | 16.2% | 18.2% |
| Households with no car or van | 16.9% | 23.3% |
| Homes owned outright or with a mortgage | 67.9% | 62.5% |
| Social rented homes | 13.8% | 17.1% |
| Private rented homes | 18.1% | 20.3% |
| Average deprivation decile (1 = most deprived, 10 = least) | 6.0 | 5.5 (England) |
| Residents in the most deprived 10% of areas | 1.1% | 10.1% (England) |
1,694 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Dartford in 2024/25 (13.6 per 1,000 residents, against 21.1 across the councils in England that count all incidents), according to the council's return to Defra. Fly-tipping is not in the police figures on this page: fly-tipping in Dartford has the council's figures by place, type of waste and size, and its enforcement actions and fines.
Is Dartford district a safe place to live?
Dartford district recorded 107.0 crimes per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to August 2026, close to the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and ranks 82nd of the 302 districts on this site by crime rate (1 = highest). The categories most above the national rate were shoplifting and other crime.
What is the most common crime in Dartford district?
Violence and sexual offences was the most common category, with 3,994 reports in the 12 months to August 2026, followed by shoplifting (2,687).
Is crime in Dartford district going up or down?
Recorded crime in Dartford district was down 2% on the year before: 13,370 crimes in the 12 months to August 2026 against 13,700 in the previous 12 months.
What is the population of Dartford district?
About 125,011 people (ONS mid-2024 estimate), 13% of them aged 65 or over (England and Wales: 19%).
Which police force covers Dartford district?
Dartford district is policed by Kent.
Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.