Photo: David Anstiss · CC BY-SA 2.0Crime per resident in Cliffe Woods runs lower than in 89% of UK towns
The grade is A, built on crimes police recorded inside Cliffe Woods’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026: #2 of 87 in Kent. The yearly rates were 11.2 violent and sexual offences and 6.0 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents. On violence it beats 90% of UK towns, and on burglary, vehicle crime and damage 80%.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Cliffe Woods
Less crime than most places its size
Of 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Cliffe Woods has the 98th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Lytchett Matravers, Navenby and Marldon, higher than Cuxton, Seer Green and Huncote. Towns its size ↓
Many neighbourhoods rank low for crime nationally
The government’s Indices of Deprivation 2025 rank every neighbourhood in England on recorded crime. 51% of Cliffe Woods’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 0% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Cliffe Woods’s A for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 138 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Cliffe Woods against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Most Cliffe Woods residents live in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
51% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 0% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime domain scores the risk of violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage where people live, so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Cliffe Woods’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) in the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (crime domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of England’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
98th of 856: Cliffe Woods among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 30 | Ightham Kent | 2,037 | 6.1 | 7 | 2.8 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 95 | Cuxton Kent | 3,039 | 9.7 | 7.4 | 2.9 | A |
| 96 | Seer Green Buckinghamshire | 2,582 | 8.1 | 8.9 | 1.8 | A |
| 97 | Huncote Leicestershire | 2,168 | 13.8 | 3.2 | 2.8 | A |
| 98 | Cliffe Woods Kent | 2,689 | 11.2 | 6 | 3 | A |
| 99 | Ashington West Sussex | 2,688 | 12 | 5.2 | 4.6 | A |
| 100 | Istead Rise Kent | 3,398 | 9.7 | 7.6 | 5.9 | A |
| 101 | Landkey Devon | 2,001 | 13.3 | 4 | 2.7 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 144 | Culverstone Green Kent | 2,038 | 11.5 | 7.7 | 3.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 337 | Eastry Kent | 2,388 | 19 | 7 | 2.5 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 389 | Hadlow Kent | 3,168 | 19.6 | 8 | 4 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 856 | Eastchurch Kent | 3,381 | 132 | 13.9 | 3.5 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Cliffe Woods, and others in Kent.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Violence & sexual offences and anti-social behaviour sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 28 | 10.4 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 11 | 4.1 | 8.8 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 7 | 2.6 | 2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 6 | 2.2 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 5 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 4 | 1.5 | 4.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 4 | 1.5 | 3.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 3 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 1 | 0.4 | 1.8 |
| Drugs | not graded | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 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.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Crime in Cliffe Woods per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 6 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 3 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
28 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 32 the year before
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
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 -13% (towns its size +1%).
No one died in a collision on Cliffe Woods’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 7 collisions with injuries inside Cliffe Woods in five years. 1 person was killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Cliffe Woods is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Cliffe Woods’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 2 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Cliffe Woods had 1.
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.
Collisions police recorded inside Cliffe Woods’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Cliffe Woods
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cliffe Woods | 2,689 | 11.2 | 6 | A |
| Chattenden | 2,417 | 40.6 | 19.3 | D |
| Cliffe | 2,531 | 22.8 | 10.5 | B− |
| Higham | 2,642 | 19.3 | 12.5 | B− |
| Hoo St Werburgh | 8,758 | 37.4 | 10.9 | C− |
| High Halstow | 1,823 | 13.7 | 4.8 | A |
| Shorne | 1,038 | 11.2 | 15.7 | B |
| Rochester | 67,279 | 44.7 | 16.8 | D |
Cliffe Woods records less graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
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 Cliffe Woods 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 Cliffe Woods
Is Cliffe Woods safe?
Police recorded 11.2 violent and sexual offences and 6 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Cliffe Woods’s built-up area). That earns an A for safety: less crime per resident than 89% of UK towns. Among 856 UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people, Cliffe Woods is 98th from the least crime. 51% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Cliffe Woods?
Police recorded 28 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 32 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Cliffe Woods?
Violence & sexual offences: 28 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came vehicle crime (7) and other theft (6), with 11 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Cliffe Woods compare with Gillingham?
Gillingham records 42.7 violent and sexual offences and 16.7 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Cliffe Woods’s 11.2 and 6, 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.