Mountains Lodge · Photo: Ian Capper · CC BY-SA 2.0On violent crime, Hildenborough has a lower rate per resident than 90% of UK towns
At 4.2 per 1,000 residents, shoplifting in Hildenborough runs well past the 1.8 of a typical town its size (21 recorded in the 12 months to August 2026). Its Safety Grade is A, on crimes police recorded inside the town’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026: #4 of 87 in Kent. Violence recorded locally dropped 8% in a year. The local count comes to 11.3 violent and sexual offences and 7.5 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 people each year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Hildenborough
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 8% less violent crime per resident in Hildenborough than in the year before; across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
Less crime than most places its size
Of 823 UK towns of 3,000 to 7,000 people, Hildenborough has the 79th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Lydiate, Penyffordd and Romanby, higher than Charvil, Ashingdon and Woodhall Spa. 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. 34% of Hildenborough’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.
The grade: A for Hildenborough
A fairly firm grade. Built on 278 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Hildenborough against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Hildenborough runs highest on shoplifting (4.2 per 1,000 against 1.8), other theft (5.5 per 1,000 against 3.2) and burglary (2.4 per 1,000 against 1.9). Criminal damage & arson and anti-social behaviour sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 53 | 10.7 | 22.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 27 | 5.5 | 3.2 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 21 | 4.2 | 1.8 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 14 | 2.8 | 8.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 12 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 10 | 2 | 4.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| Public order | not graded | 4 | 0.8 | 3.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 4 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 3 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| 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.
A third of Hildenborough residents live in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
66% 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.
Hildenborough’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.
Hildenborough places 79th of 823 towns its size, the least crime first
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 43 | Cuxton Kent | 3,039 | 9.7 | 7.4 | 2.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 48 | Istead Rise Kent | 3,398 | 9.7 | 7.6 | 5.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 76 | Charvil Berkshire | 3,158 | 10.6 | 8.1 | 7.9 | A |
| 77 | Ashingdon Essex | 6,490 | 12 | 6.7 | 2.5 | A |
| 78 | Woodhall Spa Lincolnshire | 4,685 | 12.8 | 5.9 | 3.2 | A |
| 79 | Hildenborough Kent | 4,943 | 11.3 | 7.5 | 7.4 | A |
| 80 | Windlesham Surrey | 3,706 | 10.3 | 8.5 | 3.7 | A |
| 81 | Honeybourne Worcestershire | 3,104 | 13.4 | 5.5 | 5.2 | A |
| 82 | Bramley and Wonersh Surrey | 4,193 | 11.8 | 7.2 | 5.6 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 113 | Iwade Kent | 4,533 | 15.2 | 5.7 | 3.5 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 184 | Joyden's Wood Kent | 4,912 | 12.5 | 11.7 | 3.1 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 823 | 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 Hildenborough, and others in Kent.
Crime in Hildenborough 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 10 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
How crime in Hildenborough has moved
“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 -8% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +3% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft +41% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour -53% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on Hildenborough’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 12 collisions with injuries inside Hildenborough in five years. 3 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 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 Hildenborough is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Hildenborough’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 4 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Hildenborough had 3.
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 Hildenborough’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Hildenborough
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hildenborough | 4,943 | 11.3 | 7.5 | A |
| Tonbridge | 36,136 | 30.1 | 13.8 | C |
| Leigh | 1,104 | 13.3 | 5.4 | A |
| Southborough | 9,632 | 24.6 | 9.8 | B− |
| Hadlow | 3,168 | 19.6 | 8 | B |
| Plaxtol | 1,137 | 3.8 | 3.2 | A+ |
| Five Oak Green | 1,436 | 16.3 | 11.1 | B |
| Ightham | 2,037 | 6.1 | 7 | A+ |
Hildenborough records more graded crime per resident than 2 of its 7 neighbours. Plaxtol, 4.1 miles away, records 3.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Hildenborough’s 11.3.
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 Hildenborough 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 Hildenborough
Is Hildenborough safe?
Police recorded 11.3 violent and sexual offences and 7.5 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Hildenborough’s built-up area). That earns an A for safety: less crime per resident than 85% of UK towns. Among 823 UK towns of 3,000 to 7,000 people, Hildenborough is 79th from the least crime. 34% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Hildenborough?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 8%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage held steady, shoplifting and theft rose 41% and anti-social behaviour fell 53%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Hildenborough?
Violence & sexual offences: 53 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came other theft (27) and shoplifting (21), with 14 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Hildenborough compare with Royal Tunbridge Wells?
Royal Tunbridge Wells records 30.7 violent and sexual offences and 13.1 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Hildenborough’s 11.3 and 7.5, 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.