Swale has a crime rate of 96.36 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #227 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Swale'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 Swale?

As of April 2026, Swale has an annual crime rate of 96.36 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,269 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 Swale rank nationally for crime?

Swale ranks #227 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 Swale?

The most common crime type in Swale is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 444 incidents in April 2026 — 35.0% 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 Swale local authority area.

April 2026 Source: Kent Police Police

Crime in Swale: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Swale recorded 1,269 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 8.37 per 1,000 residents. This places Swale at #227 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 35.0% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 2.0% compared to the same period last year.

info Crime is above average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring96.36 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,269 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #227 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 2.0% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

1,269

trending_down -0.5% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

96.36per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#227of 331

Ranked by annual rate

Kent

#9rank

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 Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 31 Robbery: 5	31
On or near Prison Map	Violence and sexual offences: 28	28
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 22 Burglary: 2 Bicycle theft: 2	22
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 24	24
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 12 Anti-social behaviour: 8	12
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 14	14
On or near Fox Hill Map	Shoplifting: 11 Drugs: 2 Possession of weapons: 1	11
On or near Station Street Map	Violence and sexual offences: 10 Theft from the person: 1	10
On or near High Street Map	Shoplifting: 10	10
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 10	10

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

1,269 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

444

35.0%

Anti-social Behaviour

293

23.1%

Criminal Damage & Arson

122

9.6%

Shoplifting

115

9.1%

Other Theft

5.5%

Vehicle Crime

3.8%

Public Order

3.4%

Drug Offences

3.4%

Other Crime

2.8%

Burglary

1.7%

Robbery

1.1%

Bicycle Theft

0.7%

Weapons Possession

0.6%

Theft from Person

0.2%

Crime Analysis: Swale

Swale recorded 1,269 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 96.36 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, ranked #227 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Swale (35.0%). Anti-social Behaviour (23.1%) and Criminal Damage & Arson (9.6%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Swale has fallen slightly — by 2.0%. 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

24 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Roman	142	202.3
2	Sheerness	235	149.3
3	Sheppey East	87	120.8
4	Abbey	54	120.3
5	Milton Regis	68	112.2

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	East Downs	10	3.6
shield	Bobbing, Iwade and Lower Halstow	28	4.3
shield	Woodstock	27	4.3
shield	Boughton and Courtenay	23	4.0
shield	Homewood	37	5.0

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_down -0.5%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -2.0%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -2.0%

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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