Photo: DS Pugh · CC BY-SA 2.0Burglary, vehicle crime and damage per resident is higher in Sevenoaks than in 80% of UK towns
At 9.6 per 1,000 residents, shoplifting in Sevenoaks runs well past the 6.1 of a typical town its size (255 recorded in the 12 months to August 2026). Its letter overall is B− (#26 of 87 in Kent): close to the middle of UK towns, from crimes police recorded inside its built-up area through September 2023 to August 2026. Even so, recorded violence fell 10% in a year. Typical years here bring 19.1 violent and sexual offences plus 14.8 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Sevenoaks
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 10% less violent crime per resident in Sevenoaks than in the year before; across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage fell 27% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
Less crime than most places its size
Of 229 UK towns of 19,000 to 36,000 people, Sevenoaks has the 44th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Hitchin, Omagh and Burgess Hill, higher than Rayleigh, Penwortham and Ash and Ash Vale. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Sevenoaks’s grade
A firm grade. Built on 2,621 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Sevenoaks 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, Sevenoaks runs highest on shoplifting (9.6 per 1,000 against 6.1), vehicle crime (3.9 per 1,000 against 2.8) and other theft (5.6 per 1,000 against 4.4). Violence & sexual offences and public order sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 403 | 15.2 | 30.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 274 | 10.3 | 12.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 255 | 9.6 | 6.1 |
| Other theft | not graded | 148 | 5.6 | 4.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 137 | 5.2 | 6.2 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 104 | 3.9 | 2.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 59 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 50 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Public order | not graded | 38 | 1.4 | 5.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 38 | 1.4 | 1.8 |
| Robbery | Violent | 10 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 10 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 9 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 8 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
“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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
How Sevenoaks’s neighbourhoods rank in England
31% 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.
Sevenoaks’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.
44th of 229: Sevenoaks among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heswall Merseyside | 29,082 | 14.3 | 5.5 | 3.8 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 41 | Rayleigh Essex | 32,383 | 23.4 | 9.8 | 9.3 | B− |
| 42 | Penwortham Lancashire | 20,489 | 24.8 | 8.8 | 6.7 | B− |
| 43 | Ash and Ash Vale Surrey | 24,284 | 21.7 | 11.9 | 6.1 | B− |
| 44 | Sevenoaks Kent | 26,474 | 19.1 | 14.8 | 17.1 | B− |
| 45 | Lancing and Sompting West Sussex | 27,924 | 25.6 | 9.1 | 15.5 | B− |
| 46 | Biggleswade Bedfordshire | 21,945 | 23.8 | 11 | 13.9 | B− |
| 47 | East Grinstead West Sussex | 26,350 | 23.2 | 11.6 | 10.8 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 74 | Larkfield Kent | 26,147 | 25.2 | 13.9 | 9.5 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 87 | Whitstable Kent | 32,185 | 27.1 | 13.3 | 19.4 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 101 | Broadstairs Kent | 25,780 | 31.6 | 13.5 | 15.1 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 106 | Deal Kent | 28,992 | 34 | 12.8 | 8.1 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 229 | Great Yarmouth Norfolk | 28,979 | 105 | 32.9 | 33.7 | 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 Sevenoaks, and others in Kent.
How crime in Sevenoaks has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling six-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 -10% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -27% (towns its size -2%), shoplifting and theft +6% (towns its size +1%), anti-social behaviour +13% (towns its size -4%).
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 66% of Sevenoaks’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 15% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (62% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 5% 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. 1,022 crimes.
Lowest recorded crime in Brasted, Chevening and Sundridge, Dunton Green and Riverhead and Sevenoaks Kippington; highest in Sevenoaks Town and St John's
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brasted, Chevening and Sundridge | 2,926 | 13.8 | 8.7 | |
| Dunton Green and Riverhead | 2,626 | 12.7 | 12.6 | |
| Sevenoaks Kippington | 4,956 | 16.1 | 11.1 | |
| Sevenoaks Eastern | 3,919 | 19 | 14.3 | |
| Sevenoaks Northern | 4,591 | 23.2 | 12.3 | |
| Sevenoaks Town and St John's | 7,039 | 21.8 | 19.5 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Car parks | 627 | 33% shoplifting & theft |
| Supermarkets | 420 | 68% shoplifting & theft |
| Hospitals | 189 | 41% shoplifting & theft |
| Petrol stations | 173 | 57% shoplifting & theft |
| Shopping areas | 54 | 28% shoplifting & theft |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 51 | 45% violent |
| Parks and open spaces | 38 | 58% violent |
| Police stations | 23 | 30% drugs, public order & other |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at an anonymous map point; some are named for the kind of place (a supermarket, a car park), and each row adds up every place of that kind in Sevenoaks. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Sevenoaks’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Crime in Sevenoaks 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 11 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 16 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Two people died in collisions on Sevenoaks’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 174 collisions with injuries inside Sevenoaks in five years, in which two people died (2 were pedestrians). 41 people were killed or seriously injured: 14 on foot and 5 on a bicycle.
That is about what is typical for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: at their median rate (0.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Sevenoaks’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Sevenoaks’s own rate (1.5) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Sevenoaks had 31.0 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people (23.8). 34% of them were on foot, against 30% across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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 Sevenoaks’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Sevenoaks
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sevenoaks | 26,474 | 19.1 | 14.8 | B− |
| Dunton Green | 3,241 | 18.2 | 11.8 | B |
| Seal | 1,616 | 15.1 | 9.3 | B+ |
| Otford and Kemsing | 7,332 | 12.6 | 11.9 | B+ |
| Sundridge | 1,190 | 23.8 | 17.1 | C |
| Ightham | 2,037 | 6.1 | 7 | A+ |
| Westerham | 3,390 | 28.9 | 20.1 | C− |
| Plaxtol | 1,137 | 3.8 | 3.2 | A+ |
Sevenoaks records more graded crime per resident than 5 of its 7 neighbours; only Sundridge and Westerham record more. Dunton Green, 1.1 miles away, records 18.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Sevenoaks’s 19.1.
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
- Big public sites inside the boundary. police.uk counted 189 at or near a hospital over three years. They count in Sevenoaks’s rate, as they would for any town that has them.
- 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 Sevenoaks 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 Sevenoaks
Is Sevenoaks safe?
Police recorded 19.1 violent and sexual offences and 14.8 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Sevenoaks’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 46% of UK towns. Among 229 UK towns of 19,000 to 36,000 people, Sevenoaks is 44th from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Sevenoaks?
By council ward, Brasted, Chevening and Sundridge, Dunton Green and Riverhead and Sevenoaks Kippington record the least violent and household crime per resident: 13.8, 12.7 and 16.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 21.8 in Sevenoaks Town and St John's.
Is crime going up in Sevenoaks?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 10%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 27%, shoplifting and theft rose 6% and anti-social behaviour rose 13%. Across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Sevenoaks?
Violence & sexual offences: 403 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (255) and other theft (148), with 274 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Sevenoaks 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 Sevenoaks’s 19.1 and 14.8, 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.