Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent. · CC BY 2.5What is recorded in Leysdown-on-Sea, and why there is no grade
Violence recorded locally dropped 18% in a year. On crimes police recorded inside Leysdown-on-Sea’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026, it has no Safety Grade. We grade Safety from 1,000 residents, and Leysdown-on-Sea has fewer: at that size a handful of incidents moves the rate a long way. Annual rates stand at 152.9 violent and sexual offences and 52.0 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every thousand residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Leysdown-on-Sea
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 18% less violent crime per resident in Leysdown-on-Sea than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage fell 38% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
100% of Leysdown-on-Sea’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 0% in the lowest-crime 30%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Leysdown-on-Sea runs highest on anti-social behaviour (53.8 per 1,000 against 5.3), other theft (21.5 per 1,000 against 2.5) and violence & sexual offences (132.4 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 123 | 132.4 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 50 | 53.8 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 22 | 23.7 | 3.2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 20 | 21.5 | 2.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 9 | 9.7 | 1.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 9 | 9.7 | 1.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 8 | 8.6 | 1.1 |
| Drugs | not graded | 7 | 7.5 | 0.6 |
| Public order | not graded | 6 | 6.5 | 2.4 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 5 | 5.4 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 3 | 3.2 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 1 | 1.1 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 1.1 | 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.
How crime in Leysdown-on-Sea has moved
“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: violent -18% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -38% (towns its size +0%), shoplifting and theft +10% (towns its size +4%), anti-social behaviour -18% (towns its size -1%).
Police in Leysdown-on-Sea identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 58% of Leysdown-on-Sea’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 13% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (61% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 15% of violent and 5% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 175 crimes.
Crime in Leysdown-on-Sea 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 43 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.
Crime in the places around Leysdown-on-Sea
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leysdown-on-Sea | 929 | 152.9 | 52 | — |
| Warden | 1,817 | 33.9 | 12.3 | C |
| Eastchurch | 3,381 | 132 | 13.9 | D− |
| Minster (Swale) | 16,735 | 29 | 13 | C |
| Whitstable | 32,185 | 27.1 | 13.3 | C |
| Faversham | 20,941 | 36 | 17.6 | C− |
| Halfway Houses | 4,396 | 25.7 | 10.5 | C+ |
| Teynham | 3,128 | 38.7 | 17.1 | C− |
Leysdown-on-Sea records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Warden, 1 miles away, records 33.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Leysdown-on-Sea’s 152.9.
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 Leysdown-on-Sea 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 Leysdown-on-Sea
Is Leysdown-on-Sea safe?
Police recorded 152.9 violent and sexual offences and 52 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Leysdown-on-Sea’s built-up area).
Is crime going up in Leysdown-on-Sea?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 18%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 38%, shoplifting and theft rose 10% and anti-social behaviour fell 18%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Leysdown-on-Sea?
Violence & sexual offences: 123 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (22) and other theft (20), with 50 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Leysdown-on-Sea compare with Canterbury?
Canterbury records 61.9 violent and sexual offences and 23.2 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Leysdown-on-Sea’s 152.9 and 52, 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) · 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.