Crime in the Kent Police area: statistics, rates and trends

175,741 crimes were recorded in the Kent Police area in the 12 months to August 2026, 91.0 per 1,000 residents. That is close to the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and down 2% on the year before.

Crime map

Circle size: crimes in each districtSeptember 2025 to August 2026. Source: data.police.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0

Violence and sexual offences (61,632), anti-social behaviour (35,749) and shoplifting (16,312) made up 65% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 21st of the 41 police force areas covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lower half.

Measurethe Kent Police areaEnglandEngland and Wales
Crimes, the 12 months to August 2026175,7415,311,1065,618,064
Crimes per 1,000 residents91.096.796.7
Change on previous 12 months-2%-1%-1%
Population1,931,68454,941,05758,127,638

The year to August 2026 had the least recorded crime in the Kent Police area of any year here (175,741 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it fell 22%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

PeriodCrimesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000
Year to August 2026175,74191.096.7
Year to August 2025179,89693.197.2
Year to August 2024186,82296.797.9
Year to August 2023193,515100.2n/a
Year to August 2022204,753106.0102.0
Year to August 2021209,873108.6101.4
Year to August 2020218,839113.3102.7
Year to August 2019207,176107.3101.7
Year to August 2018224,386116.2100.8

Month by month

MonthCrimes
August 202616,611
July 202616,649
June 202614,838
May 202615,122
April 202614,634
March 202615,211
February 202613,140
January 202613,746
December 202514,412
November 202514,027
October 202514,101
September 202513,250

No category with at least 20 crimes was notably above the England and Wales rate, and theft from the person (78% below) and public order (48% below) were well below it. On the year before, robbery rose from 1,136 to 1,475 and anti-social behaviour rose from 28,688 to 35,749, while theft from the person fell from 864 to 706 and public order fell from 8,077 to 6,727.

Crime typeCrimesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000Change on year
Violence and sexual offences61,63231.934.2-10%
Anti-social behaviour35,74918.515.4+25%
Shoplifting16,3128.48.5-3%
Criminal damage and arson15,7408.16.7-5%
Other theft12,0996.36.4+2%
Vehicle crime7,3933.85.0-7%
Public order6,7273.56.7-17%
Drugs5,8623.03.3-9%
Other crime4,9592.62.1-8%
Burglary4,2542.23.6-15%
Possession of weapons1,8070.91.0+3%
Robbery1,4750.81.4+30%
Bicycle theft1,0260.50.8+3%
Theft from the person7060.41.7-18%

What each category covers: crime categories.

154,163 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in the Kent Police area in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 79.8 per 1,000 residents, close to the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 5% on the year ending March 2025 (162,051), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 43 territorial police force areas of England and Wales, the Kent Police area had the 16th highest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 41 force areas with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).

Offences recorded in the Kent Police area, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 29,169 offences (19% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving (1.5 times the national rate), miscellaneous crimes against society (1.4 times the national rate) and criminal damage (1.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.23 times), robbery of personal property (0.43 times) and non-residential burglary (0.58 times).

The largest rises on the year were in possession of drugs (+17%). The largest falls were in theft from the person (−21%) and residential burglary (−20%). Robbery of business property and shoplifting are not compared with the year ending March 2025: from April 2025 the Home Office Counting Rules were clarified so that a theft from a shop in which violence is used or threatened against staff or anyone else is recorded as robbery of business property rather than shoplifting (ONS).

OffenceOffencesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000Index (E&W = 1.00)Change on 2024/25
Violence without injury29,16915.113.21.14−7%
Stalking and harassment18,8659.810.10.97−6%
Shoplifting16,9588.88.11.08–
Criminal damage16,6978.66.81.26−2%
Violence with injury15,3107.98.10.97−4%
Other theft offences11,8426.16.50.94−6%
Public order offences7,8994.17.00.59−11%
Vehicle offences7,3893.85.00.76−19%
Miscellaneous crimes against society5,5912.92.11.38−1%
Other sexual offences4,8152.52.31.09+2%
Possession of drugs4,3122.22.50.89+17%
Residential burglary3,4001.82.50.71−20%
Trafficking of drugs2,8291.51.21.24+6%
Possession of weapons1,9190.991.001.00+9%
Rape1,8540.961.20.79−8%
Non-residential burglary1,2530.651.10.58−17%
Bicycle theft1,0580.550.850.64−0%
Theft from the person8020.421.80.23−21%
Robbery of personal property7590.390.910.43−15%
Robbery of business property7320.380.470.80–
Arson5950.310.380.81+9%
Death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving1010.050.031.50−8%
Homicide140.010.010.90−7%

Recorded crime in the Kent Police area since the year ending March 2013

The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2013 to 2026. The Kent Police area's rate was above the England and Wales rate in 7 of those 14 years and below it in 7. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).

Year ending MarchOffencesPer 1,000England and Wales per 1,000
2026154,16379.883.2
2025162,05183.984.5
2024166,11486.086.2
2023175,13690.789.2
2022180,82693.685.4
2021167,10286.574.1
2020190,68798.784.7
2019200,452103.884.1
2018176,08391.278.2
2017128,39866.569.1
2016112,67058.362.3
2015110,28757.157.1
2014108,87056.455.9
201398,38550.956.7

No district figures are shown for the Kent Police area for the year ending March 2026: 44.5% of the crimes recorded in the area that year were not assigned to a district.

Source: Home Office police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables (released 23 July 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Financial years, excluding fraud; how they differ from the street-level figures: methodology.

3 of the 8 nearest police force areas have a higher crime rate than the Kent Police area; the highest is the City of London Police area (639.5 per 1,000) and the lowest the Suffolk Police area (61.9).

Police force areaCrimesPer 1,000Rate vs the Kent Police area
Essex165,54485.8-6%
City of London9,663639.5+603%
Metropolitan Police1,117,214123.1+35%
Sussex163,29892.8+2%
Surrey87,79470.3-23%
Hertfordshire106,43086.1-5%
Suffolk48,65561.9-32%
Bedfordshire60,03680.1-12%

Of the 13 areas within the Kent Police area, Thanet had the highest crime rate (115.6 per 1,000) and Sevenoaks the lowest (62.7).

AreaTypePopulationCrimesPer 1,000
ThanetDistrict142,69116,491115.6
CanterburyDistrict162,10017,480107.8
DartfordDistrict125,01113,370107.0
MedwayDistrict292,65529,963102.4
SwaleDistrict158,37915,70499.2
GraveshamDistrict110,67110,26592.8
DoverDistrict119,76810,50687.7
MaidstoneDistrict187,76716,35687.1
Folkestone and HytheDistrict112,4119,64585.8
AshfordDistrict140,93610,89577.3
Tonbridge and MallingDistrict136,8539,28167.8
Tunbridge WellsDistrict119,6948,08667.6
SevenoaksDistrict122,7487,69962.7

Of the 139,992 crimes in the Kent Police area with a recorded outcome, 36% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 6.5% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 35,749 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

OutcomeCrimesShareEngland and Wales
Investigation complete; no suspect identified51,06236.5%35.3%
Unable to prosecute suspect50,71336.2%34.5%
Under investigation10,7887.7%11.5%
Awaiting court outcome9,1266.5%5.2%
Local resolution5,0703.6%3.1%
Court result unavailable4,1393.0%2.5%
Status update unavailable3,7242.7%4.7%
Action to be taken by another organisation3,1532.3%1.3%
Offender given a caution1,2570.9%0.6%
Further action is not in the public interest5310.4%0.3%
Further investigation is not in the public interest3000.2%0.5%
Formal action is not in the public interest1130.1%0.3%

The Kent Police area has an estimated population of 1,931,684 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer households without a car (18%, against 23%) and less social housing (14%, against 17%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up the Kent Police area average decile 5.4 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.

Measurethe Kent Police areaEngland and Wales
Aged 0 to 1519.4%18.3%
Aged 65 and over19.9%18.9%
Residents 16+ in work57.4%57.2%
Residents 16+ unemployed3.2%3.4%
Residents 16+ retired23.1%21.6%
Residents 16+ who are students6.4%7.9%
Residents 16+ with Level 4 qualifications or above (degree, HND and similar)29.8%33.8%
Residents 16+ with no qualifications18.2%18.2%
Households with no car or van17.7%23.3%
Homes owned outright or with a mortgage67.3%62.5%
Social rented homes13.6%17.1%
Private rented homes19.1%20.3%
Average deprivation decile (1 = most deprived, 10 = least)5.45.5 (England)
Residents in the most deprived 10% of areas6.9%10.1% (England)

Is the Kent Police area a safe place to live?

The Kent Police area recorded 91.0 crimes per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to August 2026, close to the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and ranks 21st of the 41 police force areas on this site by crime rate (1 = highest).

What is the most common crime in the Kent Police area?

Violence and sexual offences was the most common category, with 61,632 reports in the 12 months to August 2026, followed by anti-social behaviour (35,749).

Is crime in the Kent Police area going up or down?

Recorded crime in the Kent Police area was down 2% on the year before: 175,741 crimes in the 12 months to August 2026 against 179,896 in the previous 12 months.

What is the population of the Kent Police area?

About 1,931,684 people (ONS mid-2024 estimate), 20% of them aged 65 or over (England and Wales: 19%).

How many crimes did the police record in the Kent Police area in the year ending March 2026?

154,163 crimes, excluding fraud, in the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics: 79.8 per 1,000 residents, against 83.2 across England and Wales. In the year ending March 2025 the figure was 162,051.

Which offences are more common in the Kent Police area than across England and Wales?

Relative to the national rate, the most over-represented categories in the year ending March 2026 were death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving (101 offences, 1.5 times the England and Wales rate), miscellaneous crimes against society (5,591 offences, 1.4 times the England and Wales rate) and criminal damage (16,697 offences, 1.3 times the England and Wales rate).

Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.

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<a href="https://policestatistics.co.uk/police-forces/kent">https://policestatistics.co.uk/police-forces/kent</a>