Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.0Bean stands out for anti-social behaviour: 2.5 times the rate of a typical town its size
Overall, Bean grades C for safety: more crime per resident than 71% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Bean
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Bean has the 1,061st lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Sandridge, Burford and Manningtree, higher than Mistley, Heathfield and Pagham. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Bean grades C for safety
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
A fairly firm grade. Built on 216 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Bean against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Against the typical town its size, Bean runs highest on anti-social behaviour (13.5 per 1,000 against 5.3), criminal damage & arson (7.3 per 1,000 against 3.2) and violence & sexual offences (27.6 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 45 | 27.6 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 22 | 13.5 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 12 | 7.3 | 3.2 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 9 | 5.5 | 1.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 3 | 1.8 | 2.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 3 | 1.8 | 1.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 3 | 1.8 | 1.1 |
| Public order | not graded | 2 | 1.2 | 2.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 2 | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 1 | 0.6 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
Bean is 1,061st of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Bean, and others in Kent.
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Plaxtol Kent | 1,137 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 1.2 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Challock Kent | 1,089 | 5.2 | 3.1 | 2.1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 77 | Lympne Kent | 1,074 | 9.3 | 2.5 | 2.2 | A+ |
| 78 | Guston Kent | 1,684 | 7.5 | 4.4 | 3.6 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 1058 | Mistley Essex | 1,827 | 29.4 | 14.2 | 5.5 | C |
| 1059 | Heathfield Devon | 1,496 | 36 | 7.8 | 10.5 | C |
| 1060 | Pagham West Sussex | 1,291 | 30.2 | 13.7 | 21.4 | C |
| 1061 | Bean Kent | 1,633 | 27.6 | 16.5 | 3.3 | C |
| 1062 | Shireoaks Nottinghamshire | 1,774 | 27.8 | 16.4 | 3.8 | C |
| 1063 | New Arley Warwickshire | 1,666 | 30.8 | 13.6 | 4.8 | C |
| 1064 | Beaumaris Gwynedd | 1,120 | 32.7 | 11.9 | 5.7 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 1214 | Ingoldmells Lincolnshire | 1,928 | 259 | 64.7 | 57.2 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
For every 1,000 residents, about 28 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026
And about 15 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 2 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
Violent crime held steady over the year
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent -4% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles +0% (towns its size +0%).
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
No one died in a collision on Bean’s roads in 2021–2025
Collisions police recorded inside Bean’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Police recorded 6 collisions with injuries inside Bean in five years. 2 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Bean is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Bean’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Bean had 2.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Crime in the places around Bean
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bean | 1,633 | 27.6 | 16.5 | C |
| Ebbsfleet Valley | 2,989 | 50.5 | 27.3 | D− |
| Stone | 6,438 | 54.7 | 28.2 | D− |
| Darenth | 2,588 | 28.6 | 19.3 | C− |
| Swanscombe | 15,462 | 36.8 | 21.3 | D |
| South Darenth and Sutton at Hone | 4,091 | 22.3 | 18.5 | C |
| Northfleet | 29,892 | 45 | 20.6 | D |
| Hawley | 1,386 | 18.5 | 9.1 | B |
Bean records more graded crime per resident than 2 of its 7 neighbours. South Darenth and Sutton at Hone, 2.5 miles away, records 22.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Bean’s 27.6.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Bean sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Bean
Is Bean safe?
Police recorded 27.6 violent and sexual offences and 16.5 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Bean’s built-up area). That earns a C for safety: less crime per resident than 29% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Bean is 1,061st from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Bean?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage held steady, shoplifting and theft fell 43% and anti-social behaviour rose 47%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Bean?
Violence & sexual offences: 45 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (12) and vehicle crime (9), with 22 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Bean compare with Dartford?
Dartford records 43.5 violent and sexual offences and 20.8 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Bean’s 27.6 and 16.5, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.