Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Farningham records other theft at 9.7 times the rate of a typical town its size
Other theft runs at 24.2 per 1,000 residents in Farningham, against 2.5 in a typical town its size: police recorded 31 in the 12 months to August 2026. Overall, it grades B− for safety.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Farningham
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Farningham has the 861st lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Shillingstone, Nanpean and Ullesthorpe, higher than Trevor, Littlebourne and Ulceby. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Farningham grades B− for safety
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
A fairly firm grade. Built on 122 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Farningham 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, Farningham runs highest on other theft (24.2 per 1,000 against 2.5), vehicle crime (10.2 per 1,000 against 1.5) and anti-social behaviour (10.2 per 1,000 against 5.3).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other theft | not graded | 31 | 24.2 | 2.5 |
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 19 | 14.9 | 16.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 13 | 10.2 | 1.5 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 13 | 10.2 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 6 | 4.7 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Drugs | not graded | 2 | 1.6 | 0.6 |
| Public order | not graded | 1 | 0.8 | 2.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other crime | not graded | 0 | 0 | 1.1 |
| 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.
Farningham is 861st 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 Farningham, 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 858 | Trevor Clwyd | 1,397 | 21.7 | 10 | 1.4 | B− |
| 859 | Littlebourne Kent | 1,596 | 23.8 | 7.9 | 2.9 | B− |
| 860 | Ulceby Lincolnshire | 1,667 | 21.4 | 10.4 | 5.4 | B− |
| 861 | Farningham Kent | 1,279 | 14.9 | 16.9 | 20.3 | B− |
| 862 | Outlane West Yorkshire | 1,172 | 19.3 | 12.5 | 4 | B− |
| 863 | Grampound Road Cornwall | 1,160 | 26 | 6 | 0.6 | B− |
| 864 | West Horndon Essex | 1,648 | 11.6 | 20.5 | 3.5 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 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 15 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026
And about 16 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 24 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.
19 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 19 the year before
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: shoplifting and theft +24% (towns its size +4%).
“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).
One person died in collisions on Farningham’s roads in 2021–2025
Collisions police recorded inside Farningham’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Police recorded 13 collisions with injuries inside Farningham in five years, in which one person died. 6 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, so with numbers this small a single collision changes the picture; Farningham’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Farningham’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; Farningham had 6.
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 Farningham
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farningham | 1,279 | 14.9 | 16.9 | B− |
| Eynsford | 1,676 | 13.4 | 18.9 | B− |
| Horton Kirby | 1,247 | 16.3 | 18.2 | B− |
| South Darenth and Sutton at Hone | 4,091 | 22.3 | 18.5 | C |
| West Kingsdown | 4,306 | 17.7 | 10.9 | B |
| Crockenhill | 1,569 | 14 | 18.9 | B− |
| Swanley | 17,209 | 35.7 | 16.8 | C− |
| Hextable | 4,100 | 22.4 | 14.3 | C+ |
Farningham records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. West Kingsdown, 2.6 miles away, records 17.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Farningham’s 14.9.
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 Farningham 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 Farningham
Is Farningham safe?
Police recorded 14.9 violent and sexual offences and 16.9 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Farningham’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 52% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Farningham is 861st from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Farningham?
Police recorded 19 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 19 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Farningham?
Other theft: 31 in the 12 months to August 2026. Next came violence & sexual offences (19) and vehicle crime (13), with 13 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Farningham 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 Farningham’s 14.9 and 16.9, 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.