Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0For its size, Newington has more crime per resident than 87% of UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people
The yearly rates were 40.4 violent and sexual offences and 14.9 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents. It has more violent crime than 85% of UK towns, and more burglary, vehicle crime and damage than 80%. Measured on crimes police recorded inside Newington’s built-up area between September 2023 and August 2026, it earns a Safety Grade of C−: #62 of 87 in Kent.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
Inside Newington’s C− for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 442 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Newington against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
How Newington’s neighbourhoods rank in England
0% 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.
Newington’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.
How Newington compares with UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000
| # | 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 |
| … | ||||||
| 98 | Cliffe Woods Kent | 2,689 | 11.2 | 6 | 3 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 100 | Istead Rise Kent | 3,398 | 9.7 | 7.6 | 5.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 781 | Tuxford Nottinghamshire | 2,810 | 36.3 | 17.9 | 5.7 | C− |
| 782 | Whalley Lancashire | 3,411 | 39.9 | 14.7 | 5.5 | C− |
| 783 | Seghill Northumberland | 2,799 | 41 | 13.9 | 3 | C− |
| 784 | Newington Kent | 2,691 | 40.4 | 14.9 | 6.1 | C− |
| 785 | Hartshill Warwickshire | 2,826 | 36.9 | 18.4 | 5.9 | C− |
| 786 | Porthmadog Gwynedd | 2,579 | 42.7 | 12.7 | 26.8 | C− |
| 787 | Gamesley Derbyshire | 3,124 | 39.6 | 15.8 | 6.1 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 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 Newington, and others in Kent.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Newington runs highest on anti-social behaviour (21.9 per 1,000 against 8.8), criminal damage & arson (9.3 per 1,000 against 4.5) and vehicle crime (3.7 per 1,000 against 2).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 106 | 39.4 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 59 | 21.9 | 8.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 25 | 9.3 | 4.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 15 | 5.6 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 10 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 10 | 3.7 | 2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 9 | 3.3 | 1.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 5 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Drugs | not graded | 2 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 1.8 |
| 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.
Crime in Newington 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 15 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 6 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Police in Newington identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 61% of Newington’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 4% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (67% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 21% of violent and 8% 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. 158 crimes.
Violent crime held steady over the year
“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 +1% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +38% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft -29% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour +146% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on Newington’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 22 collisions with injuries inside Newington 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 Newington is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Newington’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; Newington 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 Newington’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Newington
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newington | 2,691 | 40.4 | 14.9 | C− |
| Lower Halstow | 1,210 | 10.5 | 7.2 | A |
| Upchurch | 1,727 | 17.8 | 5 | A− |
| Iwade | 4,533 | 15.2 | 5.7 | A− |
| Sittingbourne | 54,385 | 41.3 | 17.5 | D |
| Gillingham | 108,485 | 42.7 | 16.7 | D |
| Queenborough | 3,915 | 49.7 | 23.4 | D |
| Chatham | 76,956 | 54 | 20.6 | D |
Newington records more graded crime per resident than 3 of its 7 neighbours. Lower Halstow, 1.5 miles away, records 10.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Newington’s 40.4.
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 Newington 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 Newington
Is Newington safe?
Police recorded 40.4 violent and sexual offences and 14.9 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Newington’s built-up area). That earns a C− for safety: less crime per resident than 16% of UK towns. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Newington has less crime per resident than 13%.
Is crime going up in Newington?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 38%, shoplifting and theft fell 29% and anti-social behaviour rose 146%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Newington?
Violence & sexual offences: 106 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (25) and other theft (15), with 59 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Newington 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 Newington’s 40.4 and 14.9, 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.