Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Swanley has more burglary, vehicle crime and damage per resident than 85% of UK towns
Measured against the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, 34% of them record more crime per resident. On the record of crimes police recorded inside Swanley’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026, it takes C− for safety: #56 of 87 in Kent. Its police logs show 35.7 violent and sexual offences and 16.8 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents a year. Violent crime barely moved in a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Swanley
More crime than many places its size
Of 317 UK towns of 12,000 to 23,000 people, Swanley has the 220th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Armthorpe, Lewes and New Rossington and Rossington, higher than Maesteg, Heysham and Baildon. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
49% of Swanley’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 10% 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’s behind Swanley’s grade
A firm grade. Built on 2,679 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Swanley against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
49% of Swanley residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
10% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 49% 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.
Swanley’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.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Swanley runs highest on drugs (4.7 per 1,000 against 1.9), robbery (1.2 per 1,000 against 0.5) and vehicle crime (4.5 per 1,000 against 2.8). Public order sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 545 | 31.7 | 30.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 319 | 18.5 | 12.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 169 | 9.8 | 6.1 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 125 | 7.3 | 6.2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 103 | 6 | 4.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 81 | 4.7 | 1.9 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 78 | 4.5 | 2.8 |
| Public order | not graded | 52 | 3 | 5.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 49 | 2.8 | 1.8 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 36 | 2.1 | 2.4 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 20 | 1.2 | 0.7 |
| Robbery | Violent | 20 | 1.2 | 0.5 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 5 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.1 | 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.
Swanley is 220th of 317 UK towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kesgrave Suffolk | 14,947 | 13 | 3.3 | 2.7 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 45 | Herne Kent | 14,874 | 21.7 | 7.6 | 5 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 50 | Longfield, New Ash Green and Hartley Kent | 16,077 | 17.1 | 13.4 | 10.8 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 81 | Hythe Kent | 14,613 | 24.6 | 8.9 | 8.7 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 155 | Minster (Swale) Kent | 16,735 | 29 | 13 | 6.1 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 217 | Maesteg Mid Glamorgan | 18,342 | 36.7 | 15.5 | 17.3 | C− |
| 218 | Heysham Lancashire | 16,593 | 36.7 | 15.6 | 7.3 | C− |
| 219 | Baildon West Yorkshire | 17,056 | 35.8 | 16.5 | 8.2 | C− |
| 220 | Swanley Kent | 17,209 | 35.7 | 16.8 | 16 | C− |
| 221 | Keynsham Somerset | 19,257 | 39.1 | 13.4 | 9.4 | C− |
| 222 | East Ardsley West Yorkshire | 15,238 | 38 | 14.6 | 9 | C− |
| 223 | Leek Staffordshire | 19,388 | 41.7 | 10.9 | 15.6 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 317 | Haverfordwest Dyfed | 12,088 | 91.4 | 28.6 | 32.3 | 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 Swanley, and others in Kent.
Crime in Swanley 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 14 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.
Lowest recorded crime in Swanley Christchurch and Swanley Village, Swanley White Oak and Swanley St Mary's; highest in Swanley St Mary's
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swanley Christchurch and Swanley Village | 6,011 | 24.6 | 11.3 | |
| Swanley White Oak | 6,345 | 33.2 | 17.4 | |
| Swanley St Mary's | 4,853 | 51.8 | 21.6 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Shopping areas | 277 | 37% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 236 | 28% violent |
| Petrol stations | 208 | 62% shoplifting & theft |
| Supermarkets | 120 | 78% shoplifting & theft |
| Police stations | 54 | 35% anti-social behaviour |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 30 | 43% violent |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so Swanley St Mary's records 1.8× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Swanley. 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 Swanley. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Swanley’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Violent crime held steady over the year
“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 +4% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -2% (towns its size -2%), shoplifting and theft +22% (towns its size +1%), anti-social behaviour +16% (towns its size -4%).
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 67% of Swanley’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” (63% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 7% of violent and 4% 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. 1,048 crimes.
Three people died in collisions on Swanley’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 108 collisions with injuries inside Swanley in five years, in which three people died (1 was a pedestrian and 1 was a cyclist). 28 people were killed or seriously injured: 5 on foot and 4 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 Swanley’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Swanley’s own rate (3.5) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Swanley had 32.5 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).
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 Swanley’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Swanley
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swanley | 17,209 | 35.7 | 16.8 | C− |
| Crockenhill | 1,569 | 14 | 18.9 | B− |
| Hextable | 4,100 | 22.4 | 14.3 | C+ |
| Joyden's Wood | 4,912 | 12.5 | 11.7 | B+ |
| Farningham | 1,279 | 14.9 | 16.9 | B− |
| Hawley | 1,386 | 18.5 | 9.1 | B |
| Eynsford | 1,676 | 13.4 | 18.9 | B− |
| South Darenth and Sutton at Hone | 4,091 | 22.3 | 18.5 | C |
Swanley records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Crockenhill, 1.2 miles away, records 14 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Swanley’s 35.7.
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 Swanley 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 Swanley
Is Swanley safe?
Police recorded 35.7 violent and sexual offences and 16.8 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Swanley’s built-up area). That earns a C− for safety: less crime per resident than 19% of UK towns. Among 317 UK towns of 12,000 to 23,000 people, Swanley is 220th from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Swanley?
By council ward, Swanley Christchurch and Swanley Village, Swanley White Oak and Swanley St Mary's record the least violent and household crime per resident: 24.6, 33.2 and 51.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 51.8 in Swanley St Mary's.
Is crime going up in Swanley?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage held steady, shoplifting and theft rose 22% and anti-social behaviour rose 16%. Across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Swanley?
Violence & sexual offences: 545 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (169) and criminal damage & arson (125), with 319 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Swanley compare with Bromley?
Bromley records 25.7 violent and sexual offences and 20.8 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Swanley’s 35.7 and 16.8, 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.