Crime and Safety in Ashford, Kent
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Ashford is among the top 5 most dangerous major towns in Kent, and is the 31st most dangerous overall out of Kent's 331 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Ashford in 2026 is 87 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Kent's overall crime rate, coming in 26% higher than the Kent rate of 69 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Ashford is the 45th most dangerous major town, and the 833rd most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In January 2026, Ashford was the worst major town in Kent for possession of weapons, with 7 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.14 per 1,000 daytime population. January 2026 was also a bad month for Ashford residents, when it was Kent's most dangerous major town for shoplifting, recording 47 crimes at a rate of 0.91 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Ashford are violence and sexual offences, with 1,900 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 37. This is 2.0% lower than 2025's figure of 1,939 offences and a difference of 0.78 from 2025's crime rate of 38. Ashford's least common crime is theft from the person, with 34 offences recorded in 2026, an increase of 6% from 2025's figure of 32 crimes.
Ashford 2026 Crime Scorecard
Top 5 Most Dangerous
Major Towns, Kent
42% higher, regional crime rate
South East
21% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Ashford is 42% higher than the South East and 21% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Ashford Crime Rate Over Time
| Ashford | |
| South East | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Ashford Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Ashford represent the time frame between January 2016 and April 2026. Each point on the map represents an area where crimes have been recorded locally.
Use Crime Map
Hover over a point to see a breakdown of crime types recorded at that location. You can also filter by individual crime types, or use a combinations of offences to visualise the data you need.
See How Ashford Compares
You can compare Ashford's crime statistics against any other town, village, or city from across the country. Search for a location's name below to see how they stack up.
Introduction to Ashford's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Ashford up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Ashford's 1,101 postcodes using three area sizes for comparison:
- Within a Five-Minute Walk
- Within a Ten-Minute Walk
- Within a Fifteen-Minute Walk
Individual crime risk scores and index figures are for the 12-month period ending April 2026 unless otherwise stated.
CrimeRate Insights
Looking into a specific address in Ashford? CrimeRate Insights reports convert raw numbers into practical insight for any location, from single addresses and postcodes, up to major towns and cities.
Crime rates don’t happen by themselves; they follow people and patterns. Where crowds gather - near pubs and late-night venues, around the station, by supermarkets and forecourts - incidents naturally concentrate.
That doesn’t mean an area is "bad"; it usually means footfall is higher.
Your report explores these factors in a calm, non-judgemental way, putting the numbers in context and helping you spot what’s typical for places like this.
Crime Risk Scores
Ashford • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Ashford has a crime risk score of 590. This is based on analysis of 1,101 nearby areas within Ashford, with "most" referring to roughly two thirds of the nearby locations.
Crime risk scores are on a scale of 1 to 1,000 and consider the severity of the crimes involved, as determined by sentencing guidelines. A score of 1 represents the lowest risk, and 1,000 the highest risk. This approach ensures that - unlike overall crime rate figures - bicycle theft is not given the same importance in Ashford's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Ashford, crime risk scores are typically around 590, while in Kent they are average 475.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 662 (475 for Kent), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 690 (Kent 489).
Trends in Crime Risk
Ashford
Calculated via Seasonal and Trend decomposition using Loess, the Seasonality Adjusted line represents the original data with seasonality subtracted, and the Trend line has been plotted unadjusted. Overall trend direction has been identified using the Mann-Kendall trend test, and rate calculated from the slope of the best-fit line identified from linear regression.
The 10-year trend indicates a decrease of 15% in Ashford's crime risk score. This is potentially a strong signal of how the crime risk is evolving. Cross-referencing with major cultural events and Covid's impact during this time is advised.
Looking at the previous five years, the trend in Ashford's crime risk score is down by 21%. While potentially a good indicator of the overall risk trend, analysis may offer further insight when combined with the checks mentioned above.
Over the last year, Ashford's crime risk score has shown a downward trend of approximately 3.8%, indicating that the risk profile is going down. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Ashford
The CrimeRate Index shows how crime rates compare against the national average.
1.0 equals the average
2.0 is double
3.0 triple
0.5 is half and
0.25 a quarter.
Highest Crime Rates
Ashford • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Excluding other crime and other theft because their geographic location is often not relevant, anti-social behaviour as its definition is too wide, and bicycle theft for its specificity.
Shoplifting offences have a crime rate of 15 reports per 1,000 people in Ashford, which is 2.06 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 755 crime reports logged by Kent Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Kent Police recorded 62 reports of Possession of Weapons in Ashford, resulting in a crime rate of 1.24 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.46.
The crime rate for Drugs is 1.28 times the national average at 3.96 reports per 1,000. This is from 204 crime reports reported to Kent Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Ashford
Excluding other crime and other theft, anti-social behaviour, and bicycle theft, and calculated with the same STL method described in Trends in Crime Risk, using CrimeRate Index figures to identify crime types that are trending above or below the national average, and the analysis timeframe limited to the last three years.
Robbery offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.20 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Robbery CrimeRate Index was 0.44 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 55% over this timeframe.
Drugs offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.00 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 0.57 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 75% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Ashford
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Shoplifting offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.00 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 1.90 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 47% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.10 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 1.42 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 23% over this timeframe.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.57 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Criminal Damage and Arson CrimeRate Index was 1.54 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 1.9% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Ashford • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Ashford | Kent | South East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 840 | 16.33 | 1.16 | 33,285 | 15.94 | 1.13 | 115,500 | 10.87 | 0.77 |
| Bicycle Theft | 67 | 1.32 | 1.81 | 1,031 | 0.49 | 0.67 | 7,315 | 0.68 | 0.93 |
| Burglary | 115 | 2.22 | 0.71 | 4,454 | 2.13 | 0.68 | 23,535 | 2.23 | 0.71 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 396 | 7.70 | 1.23 | 16,208 | 7.75 | 1.23 | 58,501 | 5.50 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 204 | 3.96 | 1.28 | 6,414 | 3.08 | 1.00 | 25,203 | 2.37 | 0.77 |
| Other Crime | 148 | 2.86 | 1.55 | 4,961 | 2.39 | 1.29 | 17,151 | 1.61 | 0.87 |
| Other Theft | 346 | 6.72 | 1.18 | 11,589 | 5.56 | 0.98 | 51,336 | 4.84 | 0.85 |
| Possession of Weapons | 62 | 1.24 | 1.46 | 1,853 | 0.87 | 1.02 | 8,736 | 0.81 | 0.95 |
| Public Order | 272 | 5.28 | 0.91 | 7,424 | 3.57 | 0.62 | 54,745 | 5.15 | 0.89 |
| Robbery | 51 | 1.01 | 0.86 | 1,479 | 0.73 | 0.62 | 7,588 | 0.72 | 0.61 |
| Shoplifting | 755 | 14.67 | 2.06 | 16,401 | 7.86 | 1.10 | 72,983 | 6.88 | 0.96 |
| Theft From the Person | 34 | 0.68 | 0.44 | 763 | 0.37 | 0.24 | 4,668 | 0.45 | 0.29 |
| Vehicle Crime | 147 | 2.85 | 0.66 | 7,243 | 3.48 | 0.81 | 34,099 | 3.22 | 0.75 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 1,900 | 36.91 | 1.21 | 64,584 | 30.92 | 1.02 | 286,815 | 26.98 | 0.89 |
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Total Crime by Year
Ashford | Kent | South East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 4,497 | 87.42 | 1.21 | 144,404 | 69.20 | 0.96 | 652,675 | 61.44 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 4,694 | 91.54 | 1.24 | 153,480 | 74.18 | 1.00 | 670,274 | 63.35 | 0.86 |
| 2024 | 5,173 | 102.22 | 1.36 | 162,626 | 79.53 | 1.05 | 690,903 | 65.86 | 0.87 |
| 2023 | 5,268 | 106.74 | 1.36 | 167,520 | 82.95 | 1.05 | 713,547 | 68.83 | 0.87 |
| 2022 | 5,612 | 116.50 | 1.52 | 176,002 | 88.22 | 1.15 | 704,444 | 68.58 | 0.89 |
| 2021 | 4,614 | 97.34 | 1.42 | 161,638 | 81.59 | 1.19 | 625,484 | 61.36 | 0.89 |
| 2020 | 5,456 | 117.57 | 1.59 | 176,505 | 89.63 | 1.21 | 669,219 | 65.97 | 0.89 |
| 2019 | 6,222 | 135.60 | 1.78 | 185,038 | 94.50 | 1.24 | 666,505 | 65.82 | 0.86 |
| 2018 | 5,829 | 128.66 | 1.81 | 180,609 | 92.70 | 1.30 | 644,142 | 63.85 | 0.90 |
| 2017 | 3,896 | 87.67 | 1.38 | 132,537 | 68.41 | 1.07 | 552,696 | 55.04 | 0.86 |
| 2016 | 970 | 22.00 | 1.16 | 37,766 | 19.54 | 1.02 | 160,273 | 15.99 | 0.84 |
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Ashford Compared to Nearby Major Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Major Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margate | 6,239 | 95.42 | 9% more dangerous |
| Chatham | 8,085 | 94.05 | 8% more dangerous |
| Ashford | 4,497 | 87.42 | - |
| Maidstone | 8,954 | 84.97 | 2.8% safer |
| Gillingham | 9,177 | 79.21 | 9% safer |
| Canterbury | 4,855 | 74.54 | 15% safer |
| Rochester | 2,702 | 66.19 | 24% safer |
| Royal Tunbridge Wells | 3,296 | 55.06 | 37% safer |
Comparing Ashford to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 9% safer |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 5% safer |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 3.8% safer |
| Ashford | 87.42 | - |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 12% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 20% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 20% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 22% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 23% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 23% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 43% more dangerous |
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Offences In and Around Ashford's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Ashford that are named and have had crimes recorded within their boundaries in the 12 months to Apr 2026.
| Name | ASB | Drugs | Public Order | Robbery | VSO | All Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foxglove Green | 2 | 1 | - | - | 7 | 2 |
| Vicarage Field | 19 | 1 | 1 | - | 4 | 0 |
| Musgrove New Allotment | 1 | - | - | - | 4 | 4 |
| Queen Mother's Park | 4 | - | - | - | 7 | 1 |
| Godinton Park | 1 | 1 | - | - | 13 | 2 |
| Bucksford Park | 18 | 3 | - | - | 26 | 17 |
| Cryol Road Allotment | 2 | 2 | - | - | 11 | 7 |
| Canterbury Road Cemetery | 5 | - | 1 | - | 3 | 4 |
| Willesborough Cemetery | 5 | - | 2 | - | 12 | 8 |
| Westrees Allotments | 18 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 31 |
| Repton Allotment | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 | 1 |
| Victoria Park | 20 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 56 | 36 |
| Ashford Town Bowls Club | 25 | 2 | 2 | - | 14 | 6 |
| The Stour Centre | 21 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 27 |
| The Ryan Clements Skate Park | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | 11 | 12 |
| Christchurch Road Allotment | - | 1 | - | - | 5 | 1 |
| William Road Allotment | 2 | 1 | - | - | 10 | 6 |
| Musgrove Farm Allotment | 4 | - | 1 | - | 15 | 11 |
| Beaver Field Allotment | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| Orion Way Allotment | - | 1 | - | - | 9 | 6 |
| South Ashford football club | 13 | - | - | - | 12 | 6 |
| Bowens Field | 22 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 48 | 27 |
| Conningbrook Lakes Country Park | 18 | 1 | - | - | 9 | 15 |
| Lime Row Play Area | 26 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 45 |
Recent Crimes in Ashford
The 20 most recent crime reports in Ashford.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Drummond Grove | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Park Street | |
| April 2026 | Bicycle theft | On or near Park Street | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Gasworks Lane | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Gasworks Lane | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Gasworks Lane | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Grampion Close | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Park Street | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Concorde Mews | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Drummond Grove | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Park Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Orchard Court | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Hospital | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Cressfield | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Cross Stile | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Park Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Park Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Park Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Park Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Drummond Grove |
Methodology & Data Sources
Ashford Crime Report
Data Sources & Processing
Every month, CrimeRate processes crime reports from data.police.uk, the UK's official provider of open crime report data. Each crime report includes anonymised coordinates, most often "snapped" to the middle of the nearest street, or to the nearest major landmark. The reports also include the month and year the crime was reported, as well as the type of crime.
Data releases on data.police.uk happen once a month, with a two-month delay. This means that, for example, crimes reported in Ashford during July 2026 will typically become available in September 2026. The latest release is for Apr 2026 and was released in Jun 2026. To provide current and historical crime statistics, CrimeRate processed 61,669,232 crime reports for the latest release.
Ashford Data Points
For Ashford, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2023 release of their Parishes and Non Civil Parished Areas dataset, using the PARNCP23CD column value E43000287.
Due to the 2021 Census being conducted during a UK-wide Coronavirus lockdown, the daytime population figures released so far cannot be relied on for purposes such as comparing crime rates. Instead, CrimeRate uses Ashford's daytime - or "workday" - population of 44,467 from the ONS 2011 Census for calculations throughout the site.
All geographic boundaries use the full resolution - extent of the realm versions where provided to avoid missing crime reports near coastlines and rivers - the banks of the Thames in particular - that would otherwise not be included when using the clipped to the coastline datasets.
Calculating Crime Rates
CrimeRate locates the UK region, county, and town/city/village locality for each crime report, and calculates the crime rate by taking the sum of all crime reports, dividing it by the locality's daytime / "workday" population, and multiplying the result by 1,000 to get the crime rate per 1,000.
Crime Risk Score Calculations
CrimeRate calculates crime counts for local, nearby, and wider areas for every postcode in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The postcodes locations are deduplicated by a process that ensures distinct points are approximately 50 metres apart. This process removes the bias that would otherwise come from counting the same crimes several times in heavily populated areas.
Using a custom algorithm developed in-house, CrimeRate applies a crime severity weighting to each area's crime counts, based on the type of crime reported. This increases or decreases the crime count, or zeroes it out entirely, depending on the crime type. A separate crime severity rate is then calculated, standardised, and scaled to fit the crime risk score range of 1 to 1,000, with 1 being the lowest score, and 1,000 the highest.
Crime risk scores undergo further analysis per town, city, and village plus other areas including police forces and neighbourhoods. CrimeRate uses percentiles to work out the most common range of crime risk scores in each locality. This includes identifying the high and low bounds where approximately 68% of scores fall, and finding the median (50th percentile) for easy reference.
The crime types with a weight of zero are: Anti-Social Behaviour; Bicycle Theft; Other Crime; Other Theft; and Shoplifting. The highest weights to are assigned to Violence & Sexual Offences, and the lowest to Vehicle Crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crime in Ashford