Medway has a crime rate of 98.21 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #233 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Medway'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 Medway?

As of April 2026, Medway has an annual crime rate of 98.21 per 1,000 residents, based on 2,553 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 Medway rank nationally for crime?

Medway ranks #233 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 Medway?

The most common crime type in Medway is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 878 incidents in April 2026 — 34.4% 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 Medway local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Kent Police Police

Crime in Medway: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Medway recorded 2,553 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 9.13 per 1,000 residents. This places Medway at #233 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 34.4% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 5.4% compared to the same period last year.

warning Crime is significantly above the UK average for this area.

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Key Statistics

monitoring98.21 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment2,553 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #233 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 5.4% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

2,553

trending_down -5.3% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

98.21per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#233of 331

Top 25% Riskiest UK

National Population

279,773

Estimated population

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 Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 50 Shoplifting: 31	50
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 52	52
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 31 Violence and sexual offences: 10 Robbery: 2	31
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 30	30
On or near Petrol Station Map	Shoplifting: 23	23
On or near Barnfield Map	Anti-social behaviour: 22	22
On or near Petrol Station Map	Other theft: 17	17
On or near Hospital Map	Violence and sexual offences: 14 Other theft: 3	14
On or near Wharf Road Map	Criminal damage and arson: 11 Drugs: 5	11
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 15	15

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

2,553 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

878

34.4%

Anti-social Behaviour

541

21.2%

Shoplifting

233

9.1%

Criminal Damage & Arson

224

8.8%

Other Theft

168

6.6%

Public Order

120

4.7%

Vehicle Crime

3.6%

Other Crime

3.3%

Drug Offences

3.0%

Burglary

2.5%

Robbery

1.2%

Weapons Possession

1.1%

Theft from Person

0.4%

Bicycle Theft

0.2%

Crime Analysis: Medway

Medway recorded 2,553 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 98.21 per 1,000 residents — one of the higher-crime areas in England and Wales, placing it in the top quarter nationally (#233 of 331 local authorities).

Violence & Sexual Offences makes up the largest share of crime in Medway at 34.4%. Anti-social Behaviour (21.2%) and Shoplifting (9.1%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Medway has fallen noticeably — by 5.4%. 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

22 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	River	308	165.9
2	Gillingham North	218	142.0
3	Gillingham South	231	136.3
4	Chatham Central	239	134.9
5	Luton and Wayfield	185	134.4

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Hempstead and Wigmore	40	4.9
shield	Rainham South	60	4.4
shield	Rainham Central	49	4.0
shield	Cuxton and Halling	35	5.3
shield	Strood Rural	102	6.0

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -5.3%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -5.4%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -1.2%

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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