Ashford has a crime rate of 74.51 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #135 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Ashford's wards; some neighbourhoods are considerably safer than the city average. See the ward breakdown and hotspot map on this page for a detailed local picture.

What is the crime rate in Ashford?

As of April 2026, Ashford has an annual crime rate of 74.51 per 1,000 residents, based on 837 recorded offences in the latest reporting period. This figure is sourced from Police.uk open data and normalised using ONS Census 2021 population estimates to allow accurate comparisons between areas.

How does Ashford rank nationally for crime?

Ashford ranks #135 out of 331 local authorities in England and Wales by annual crime rate per 1,000 residents. A rank of #1 indicates the highest crime rate nationally. Rankings are recalculated each month as new Police.uk data becomes available, covering all recorded crimes across the area.

What is the most common crime in Ashford?

The most common crime type in Ashford is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 289 incidents in April 2026 — 34.5% of all recorded crime in the area. Data is sourced from Police.uk and covers all crimes recorded by the responsible police force across the Ashford local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Kent Police Police

Crime in Ashford: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Ashford recorded 837 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 6.31 per 1,000 residents. This places Ashford at #135 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 34.5% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 1.5% compared to the same period last year.

check_circle Crime is below average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring74.51 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment837 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #135 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 1.5% year-on-year

Data Sources:Police.ukONS Census 2021HM Land Registry Period: April 2026 • Updated monthly

Total Crimes

837

trending_down -8.1% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

74.51per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#135of 331

Ranked by annual rate

Kent

#4rank

Ranked by annual rate

12-Month Crime Trend

Monthly Totals

Interactive Crime Map

District View

Live Points

Crime Incident

Area Boundary

Incident Distribution

Top Locations

Location Reference	Crime Breakdown	Primary Count
On or near Hospital Map	Violence and sexual offences: 13 Anti-social behaviour: 5 Other theft: 3	13
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 12 Theft from the person: 1	12
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 12	12
On or near Park Street Map	Anti-social behaviour: 6 Violence and sexual offences: 5 Bicycle theft: 1	6
On or near Shopping Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 8 Bicycle theft: 1	8
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 8	8
On or near High Street Map	Anti-social behaviour: 6 Public order: 2	6
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 8	8
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 8	8
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 6	6

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

837 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

289

34.5%

Anti-social Behaviour

184

22.0%

Criminal Damage & Arson

9.4%

Other Theft

9.0%

Shoplifting

7.3%

Burglary

3.5%

Other Crime

3.3%

Public Order

3.2%

Vehicle Crime

2.7%

Drug Offences

2.3%

Weapons Possession

1.0%

Bicycle Theft

0.7%

Theft from Person

0.6%

Robbery

0.5%

Crime Analysis: Ashford

Ashford recorded 837 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 74.51 per 1,000 residents — broadly average for England and Wales, ranked #135 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences makes up the largest share of crime in Ashford at 34.5%. Anti-social Behaviour (22.0%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (9.4%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Ashford has fallen slightly — by 1.5%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Kent Police through the Police.uk open data platform and cross-referenced with ONS 2021 Census population estimates to produce the per-resident rates above. Data typically appears 1–2 months after the end of the recording period.

Stop & Search

April 2026

1,479

Total Stops

17.8%

Arrest Rate

279

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

749

Stolen goods

227

Article for use in theft

190

Offensive weapons

189

Articles for use in criminal damage

Firearms

Evidence of wildlife offences

Goods on which duty has not been paid etc.

Outcome

A no further action disposal869

Community resolution335

Arrest264

Summons / charged by post6

Caution (simple or conditional)4

Penalty Notice for Disorder1

Gender

Male1,190

Female264

Other25

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

75.2%

White

8.5%

Black

6.2%

Asian

5.1%

Other

5.0%

Mixed

Stop & search data published by Kent Police under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk.

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

39 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Victoria	140	187.0
2	Norman	38	118.9
3	Bockhanger	49	109.3
4	Stanhope	25	98.4
5	Beaver	69	88.6

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Downs West	2	0.6
shield	Singleton West	8	2.6
shield	Saxon Shore	5	1.9
shield	Conningbrook & Little Burton Farm	3	0.9
shield	Park Farm South	6	2.2

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -8.1%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -1.5%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -1.1%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 331 local authorities in England & Wales.

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