Church of St Peter · Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0Per resident, Ightham records less crime than 96% of UK towns
On crimes police recorded inside Ightham’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026, it grades A+ for safety. For every 1,000 residents, 6.1 violent and sexual offences and 7.0 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage were logged a year. It has less violent crime than 99% of UK towns, and less burglary, vehicle crime and damage than 71%.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Ightham
Less crime than most places its size
Of 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Ightham has the 133rd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Tarvin, Compton and Chawley, higher than Oxspring, Middle Barton and Chew Magna. 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. 100% of Ightham’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 Ightham’s A+ for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 80 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Ightham against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Of 1,764 towns its size, Ightham is 133rd from the least graded crime
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 93 | Lympne Kent | 1,074 | 9.3 | 2.5 | 2.2 | A+ |
| 94 | Guston Kent | 1,684 | 7.5 | 4.4 | 3.6 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 130 | Oxspring South Yorkshire | 1,196 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 2.5 | A+ |
| 131 | Middle Barton Oxfordshire | 1,762 | 8.3 | 4.5 | 1.7 | A+ |
| 132 | Chew Magna Somerset | 1,249 | 8 | 5.1 | 14.7 | A+ |
| 133 | Ightham Kent | 2,037 | 6.1 | 7 | 2.8 | A+ |
| 134 | Newbuildings Derry City and Strabane | 2,837 | 8.7 | 4.5 | 2.8 | A+ |
| 135 | Pannal North Yorkshire | 2,530 | 9.1 | 4.1 | 5.1 | A+ |
| 136 | Stebbing Essex | 1,061 | 7.9 | 5.3 | 1.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 1764 | 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.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Ightham, and others in Kent.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Violence & sexual offences sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 14 | 6.9 | 16.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 6 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 5 | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 5 | 2.5 | 1.5 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 4 | 2 | 3.2 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 4 | 2 | 5.3 |
| Other crime | not graded | 3 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| Public order | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 2.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 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.
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.
Crime in Ightham 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 7 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.
15 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 10 the year before
“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).
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: homes and vehicles -36% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on Ightham’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 23 collisions with injuries inside Ightham in five years. 7 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 Ightham is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Ightham’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; Ightham had 7.
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 Ightham’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Ightham
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ightham | 2,037 | 6.1 | 7 | A+ |
| Borough Green | 4,712 | 19.9 | 13.6 | B− |
| Plaxtol | 1,137 | 3.8 | 3.2 | A+ |
| Wrotham | 1,961 | 22.1 | 21.4 | C |
| Seal | 1,616 | 15.1 | 9.3 | B+ |
| Otford and Kemsing | 7,332 | 12.6 | 11.9 | B+ |
| Sevenoaks | 26,474 | 19.1 | 14.8 | B− |
| Hadlow | 3,168 | 19.6 | 8 | B |
Ightham records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. Plaxtol, 1.9 miles away, records 3.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Ightham’s 6.1.
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 Ightham 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 Ightham
Is Ightham safe?
Police recorded 6.1 violent and sexual offences and 7 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Ightham’s built-up area). That earns an A+ for safety: less crime per resident than 96% of UK towns. Among 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Ightham is 133rd from the least crime. 100% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Ightham?
Police recorded 15 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 10 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Ightham?
Violence & sexual offences: 14 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came other theft (6) and burglary (5), with 4 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Ightham compare with Tonbridge?
Tonbridge records 30.1 violent and sexual offences and 13.8 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Ightham’s 6.1 and 7, 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.