Crime and Safety in Gillingham, Kent
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Gillingham is among the top 5 safest major towns in Kent, and is the 40th most dangerous overall out of Kent's 331 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Gillingham in 2026 is 79 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Kent's overall crime rate, coming in 14% higher than the Kent rate of 69 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Gillingham is the 50th most dangerous major town, and the 945th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In April 2026, Gillingham was the worst major town in Kent for public order, with 53 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.46 per 1,000 daytime population. January 2025 was also a bad month for Gillingham residents, when it was Kent's most dangerous major town for burglary, recording 35 crimes at a rate of 0.30 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Gillingham are violence and sexual offences, with 4,144 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 36. This is 2.8% lower than 2025's figure of 4,263 offences and a difference of 1.08 from 2025's crime rate of 37. Gillingham's least common crime is theft from the person, with 54 offences recorded in 2026, the same as 2025's figure of 54 crimes.
Gillingham 2026 Crime Scorecard
Top 5 Safest
Major Towns, Kent
29% higher, regional crime rate
South East
10% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Gillingham is 29% higher than the South East and 10% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Gillingham Crime Rate Over Time
| Gillingham | |
| South East | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Gillingham Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Gillingham 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 Gillingham Compares
You can compare Gillingham'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 Gillingham's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Gillingham up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Gillingham's 2,218 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 Gillingham? 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
Gillingham • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Gillingham has a crime risk score of 482. This is based on analysis of 2,218 nearby areas within Gillingham, 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 Gillingham's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Gillingham, crime risk scores are typically around 482, while in Kent they are average 475.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 565 (475 for Kent), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 600 (Kent 489).
Trends in Crime Risk
Gillingham
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 18% in Gillingham'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 Gillingham's crime risk score is down by 27%. 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, Gillingham's crime risk score has shown a downward trend of approximately 11%, 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
Gillingham
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
Gillingham • 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.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences have a crime rate of 9.20 reports per 1,000 people in Gillingham, which is 1.46 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 1,067 crime reports logged by Kent Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Kent Police recorded 450 reports of Drugs in Gillingham, resulting in a crime rate of 3.88 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.26.
The crime rate for Possession of Weapons is 1.20 times the national average at 1.02 reports per 1,000. This is from 117 crime reports reported to Kent Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Gillingham
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.
Drugs offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.96 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 0.71 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 35% over this timeframe.
Vehicle Crime offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.80 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Vehicle Crime CrimeRate Index was 0.73 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 10% over this timeframe.
Robbery offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.90 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Robbery CrimeRate Index was 1.11 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 19% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Gillingham
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.06 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 1.51 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 30% over this timeframe.
Public Order offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.96 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.80 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 20% over this timeframe.
Burglary offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.63 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Burglary CrimeRate Index was 0.83 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 24% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Gillingham • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Gillingham | Kent | South East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 1,936 | 16.70 | 1.18 | 33,285 | 15.94 | 1.13 | 115,500 | 10.87 | 0.77 |
| Bicycle Theft | 122 | 1.05 | 1.44 | 1,031 | 0.49 | 0.67 | 7,315 | 0.68 | 0.93 |
| Burglary | 246 | 2.13 | 0.68 | 4,454 | 2.13 | 0.68 | 23,535 | 2.23 | 0.71 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 1,067 | 9.20 | 1.46 | 16,208 | 7.75 | 1.23 | 58,501 | 5.50 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 450 | 3.88 | 1.26 | 6,414 | 3.08 | 1.00 | 25,203 | 2.37 | 0.77 |
| Other Crime | 289 | 2.49 | 1.35 | 4,961 | 2.39 | 1.29 | 17,151 | 1.61 | 0.87 |
| Other Theft | 734 | 6.35 | 1.12 | 11,589 | 5.56 | 0.98 | 51,336 | 4.84 | 0.85 |
| Possession of Weapons | 117 | 1.02 | 1.20 | 1,853 | 0.87 | 1.02 | 8,736 | 0.81 | 0.95 |
| Public Order | 605 | 5.22 | 0.90 | 7,424 | 3.57 | 0.62 | 54,745 | 5.15 | 0.89 |
| Robbery | 114 | 0.98 | 0.83 | 1,479 | 0.73 | 0.62 | 7,588 | 0.72 | 0.61 |
| Shoplifting | 744 | 6.42 | 0.90 | 16,401 | 7.86 | 1.10 | 72,983 | 6.88 | 0.96 |
| Theft From the Person | 54 | 0.46 | 0.30 | 763 | 0.37 | 0.24 | 4,668 | 0.45 | 0.29 |
| Vehicle Crime | 491 | 4.24 | 0.99 | 7,243 | 3.48 | 0.81 | 34,099 | 3.22 | 0.75 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 4,144 | 35.77 | 1.18 | 64,584 | 30.92 | 1.02 | 286,815 | 26.98 | 0.89 |
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Total Crime by Year
Gillingham | Kent | South East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 9,177 | 79.21 | 1.10 | 144,404 | 69.20 | 0.96 | 652,675 | 61.44 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 9,523 | 82.59 | 1.12 | 153,480 | 74.18 | 1.00 | 670,274 | 63.35 | 0.86 |
| 2024 | 10,157 | 89.38 | 1.18 | 162,626 | 79.53 | 1.05 | 690,903 | 65.86 | 0.87 |
| 2023 | 10,897 | 97.63 | 1.24 | 167,520 | 82.95 | 1.05 | 713,547 | 68.83 | 0.87 |
| 2022 | 11,917 | 108.13 | 1.41 | 176,002 | 88.22 | 1.15 | 704,444 | 68.58 | 0.89 |
| 2021 | 10,791 | 97.34 | 1.42 | 161,638 | 81.59 | 1.19 | 625,484 | 61.36 | 0.89 |
| 2020 | 11,504 | 104.28 | 1.41 | 176,505 | 89.63 | 1.21 | 669,219 | 65.97 | 0.89 |
| 2019 | 11,399 | 103.05 | 1.35 | 185,038 | 94.50 | 1.24 | 666,505 | 65.82 | 0.86 |
| 2018 | 11,667 | 104.93 | 1.48 | 180,609 | 92.70 | 1.30 | 644,142 | 63.85 | 0.90 |
| 2017 | 8,302 | 74.88 | 1.17 | 132,537 | 68.41 | 1.07 | 552,696 | 55.04 | 0.86 |
| 2016 | 2,550 | 23.06 | 1.21 | 37,766 | 19.54 | 1.02 | 160,273 | 15.99 | 0.84 |
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Gillingham Compared to Nearby Major Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Major Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margate | 6,239 | 95.42 | 20% more dangerous |
| Chatham | 8,085 | 94.05 | 19% more dangerous |
| Ashford | 4,497 | 87.42 | 10% more dangerous |
| Maidstone | 8,954 | 84.97 | 7% more dangerous |
| Gillingham | 9,177 | 79.21 | - |
| Canterbury | 4,855 | 74.54 | 6% safer |
| Rochester | 2,702 | 66.19 | 16% safer |
| Royal Tunbridge Wells | 3,296 | 55.06 | 30% safer |
Comparing Gillingham to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Gillingham | 79.21 | - |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 0.43% more dangerous |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 4.4% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 6% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 24% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 32% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 33% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 34% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 35% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 36% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 58% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
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You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Offences In and Around Gillingham's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Gillingham 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hempstead Allotment | 13 | - | - | 1 | 2 | 18 |
| Chatham Garrison Sports Ground | 26 | 4 | 8 | - | 41 | 34 |
| Lower Lines Park | 15 | 4 | 4 | - | 35 | 28 |
| Kings Frith Playing Fields | 3 | - | - | - | 15 | 2 |
| Cherry Tree Orchard | 11 | 3 | 3 | - | 9 | 10 |
| The Strand | 32 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 16 |
| Tadpoles Play Park | - | 8 | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Jumpers Rebound Centre | 12 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 27 | 21 |
| Medway Park Sports Centre | 12 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 43 | 35 |
| Selbourne Road Allotments | 1 | - | - | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Officers' Recreation Ground | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Balmoral Gardens | 51 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 57 | 30 |
| Gillingham Park | 30 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 76 | 44 |
| Woodlands Road Cemetery | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 | 10 |
| Woodlands Road Allotment | 9 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 42 | 29 |
| Third Avenue Allotment | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 | 3 |
| Rookery Fields Recreation Ground | 19 | 2 | 2 | - | 21 | 25 |
| Eastcourt Lane Featherby Road Allotment | - | - | - | - | 5 | 2 |
| Allington Road Allotment | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| Kingsnorth Road Allotment | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Thornham Road Allotment | - | - | 1 | - | 6 | 2 |
| Vinall Park | 6 | - | - | - | 6 | 3 |
| Bloors Lane Allotment | - | - | - | - | 1 | 7 |
| Seaview Road Allotment | 4 | - | 1 | - | 3 | 3 |
| Cozenton Park | 58 | 2 | 2 | - | 10 | 19 |
| Ryetop Playing Field | 2 | 1 | - | - | 7 | 5 |
| Wigmore Park | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | 0 |
| Berengrove Park | 2 | - | 2 | - | 2 | 3 |
| Prince Arthur Park | 4 | - | 1 | - | 12 | 14 |
| Black Lion Mill Road Allotment | 4 | - | 1 | - | 12 | 14 |
| Grange Road Cemetery | 32 | - | 2 | 1 | 28 | 16 |
| Rainham Park | 27 | 1 | 2 | - | 12 | 18 |
| Countryside | 5 | - | 1 | - | 7 | 5 |
Recent Crimes in Gillingham
The 20 most recent crime reports in Gillingham.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Speedwell Close | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Singapore Drive | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Henley Close | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Leslie Road | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Henley Close | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Speedwell Close | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Canterbury Street | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Sports/Recreation Area | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near St Albans Close | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Leslie Road | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Bayeux Gardens | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Tangmere Close | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near St Albans Close | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near St Albans Close | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Middle Street | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Acorn Road | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Camden Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Estuary Reach | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Middle Street | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Sports/Recreation Area |
Methodology & Data Sources
Gillingham 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 Gillingham 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.
Gillingham Data Points
For Gillingham, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2022 release of their Built Up Areas dataset, using the BUA22CD column value E63005204.
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 Gillingham's daytime - or "workday" - population of 84,046 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 Gillingham