Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Kingston upon Thames records theft from the person at 3.6 times the rate of a typical town its size
Violent crime was up 19% in a year. By contrast, it has less crime per resident than 94% of the UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, 207 in all. Recorded violent and sexual offences ran at 24.7 per 1,000 residents a year, and burglary, vehicle crime and damage at 14.0.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Kingston upon Thames
One ward carries much of the rate
Kingston Town ward, where 53% of Kingston upon Thames’s shoplifting and theft is recorded, recorded 3,053 of Kingston upon Thames’s 12,253 violent and sexual offences in three years: 98.9 per 1,000 of its own residents a year. Across the rest of Kingston upon Thames the figure is 19.6. Where in Kingston upon Thames ↓
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 19% more violent crime per resident in Kingston upon Thames than in the year before; across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage fell 13% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
Less crime than most places its size
Of 40 UK towns and cities of 116,000 to 225,000 people, Kingston upon Thames has the 2nd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Swindon, Warrington and Kingswood and Fishponds, higher than Richmond upon Thames. 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. 14% of Kingston upon Thames’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 5% 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 Kingston upon Thames’s C+ for safety
A firm grade. Built on 19,200 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Kingston upon Thames against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Lowest recorded crime in Tudor, Coombe Vale and Green Lane & St James; highest in Kingston Town
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tudor | 6,943 | 9.6 | 7.8 | |
| Coombe Vale | 10,453 | 11.5 | 9 | |
| Green Lane & St James | 7,050 | 13.1 | 8.2 | |
| Motspur Park & Old Malden East | 6,609 | 12.2 | 9.6 | |
| King George's & Sunray | 5,607 | 11 | 11.3 | |
| Berrylands | 6,108 | 10.5 | 14.3 | |
| Kingston Gate | 10,827 | 15.9 | 11.5 | |
| Old Malden | 6,697 | 17.9 | 10.8 | |
| Chessington South & Malden Rushett | 8,482 | 21.8 | 12.6 | |
| Surbiton Hill | 10,637 | 20.3 | 14.3 | |
| St Mark's & Seething Wells | 11,804 | 22.1 | 12.7 | |
| Hook & Chessington North | 11,114 | 19.2 | 15.8 | |
| Canbury Gardens | 8,264 | 22.8 | 12.3 | |
| Alexandra | 6,067 | 18 | 17.4 | |
| Coombe Hill | 7,420 | 26.7 | 12.6 | |
| Norbiton | 11,187 | 28.3 | 13 | |
| New Malden Village | 9,586 | 25 | 16.9 | |
| Tolworth | 11,190 | 31.7 | 17.3 | |
| Kingston Town | 10,288 | 98.9 | 29.8 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Shopping areas | 2,746 | 74% shoplifting & theft |
| Supermarkets | 2,344 | 45% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 2,008 | 33% violent |
| Nightclubs | 1,325 | 32% shoplifting & theft |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 410 | 28% drugs, public order & other |
| College and university buildings | 286 | 34% shoplifting & theft |
| Petrol stations | 252 | 36% shoplifting & theft |
| Bus and coach stations | 127 | 34% violent |
| Conference and exhibition centres | 106 | 38% anti-social behaviour |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live, so Kingston Town records 5× the violent crime per resident of the rest of Kingston upon Thames. 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 Kingston upon Thames. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Kingston upon Thames’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Kingston upon Thames runs highest on theft from the person (2.4 per 1,000 against 0.7), bicycle theft (1.6 per 1,000 against 0.9) and vehicle crime (5.9 per 1,000 against 4.9). Other crime and criminal damage & arson sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 4,264 | 25.6 | 38.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 3,311 | 19.9 | 17.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 1,597 | 9.6 | 10.3 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 982 | 5.9 | 4.9 |
| Other theft | not graded | 952 | 5.7 | 6.6 |
| Public order | not graded | 890 | 5.4 | 7.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 724 | 4.4 | 3.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 540 | 3.2 | 7.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 504 | 3 | 3.4 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 394 | 2.4 | 0.7 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 268 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| Robbery | Violent | 241 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 175 | 1.1 | 2.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 97 | 0.6 | 1.1 |
“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 and cities of 50,000 or more.
Of 40 towns its size, Kingston upon Thames is 2nd from the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond upon Thames London | 192,888 | 18.8 | 17.9 | 15.9 | C+ |
| 2 | Kingston upon Thames London | 166,333 | 24.7 | 14 | 20.6 | C+ |
| 3 | Merton London | 214,931 | 24.2 | 14.8 | 16.1 | C+ |
| 4 | Poole Dorset | 141,009 | 26.2 | 14.4 | 12.5 | C |
| 5 | Sutton London | 208,858 | 27.1 | 14.6 | 13.3 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Barking and Dagenham London | 218,236 | 40.5 | 20 | 17.5 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 23 | Hammersmith and Fulham London | 182,187 | 39.2 | 23.5 | 36.9 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 29 | Islington London | 216,309 | 44.1 | 24.3 | 54.8 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 31 | Kensington and Chelsea London | 143,348 | 39.4 | 32 | 59.7 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 40 | Westminster London | 203,571 | 81.4 | 42.3 | 254.6 | 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 Kingston upon Thames, and others in London.
How crime in Kingston upon Thames has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling three-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year. In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent +19% (towns its size +2%), homes and vehicles -13% (towns its size -5%), shoplifting and theft -4% (towns its size -3%), anti-social behaviour +1% (towns its size -2%).
Police in Kingston upon Thames identify a suspect less often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 83% of Kingston upon Thames’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 41% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (40% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 6% 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. 6,358 crimes.
1 in 7 Kingston upon Thames residents lives in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
46% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 5% 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.
Kingston upon Thames’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.
Crime in Kingston upon Thames 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 12 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 19 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Five people died in collisions on Kingston upon Thames’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 1,397 collisions with injuries inside Kingston upon Thames in five years, in which five people died (3 were pedestrians). 285 people were killed or seriously injured: 84 on foot and 88 on a bicycle.
That is about what is typical for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: at their median rate (1.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Kingston upon Thames’s size would see about 9 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Kingston upon Thames’s own rate (0.6) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Kingston upon Thames had 34.3 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more (30.3). 29% of them were on foot, against 31% across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more.
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 Kingston upon Thames’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Kingston upon Thames
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston upon Thames | 166,333 | 24.7 | 14 | C+ |
| West Molesey | 47,144 | 19.1 | 10.5 | B |
| Worcester Park and Stoneleigh | 15,851 | 13.1 | 9.6 | A− |
| Ewell | 27,509 | 22.4 | 16.2 | C+ |
| Esher | 9,484 | 20 | 12.3 | B− |
| Richmond upon Thames | 192,888 | 18.8 | 17.9 | C+ |
| Merton | 214,931 | 24.2 | 14.8 | C+ |
| Epsom | 35,857 | 34.7 | 17.2 | C− |
Kingston upon Thames records more graded crime per resident than 5 of its 7 neighbours; only Merton and Epsom record more. West Molesey, 2.5 miles away, records 19.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Kingston upon Thames’s 24.7.
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 Kingston upon Thames 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 Kingston upon Thames
Is Kingston upon Thames safe?
Police recorded 24.7 violent and sexual offences and 14 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Kingston upon Thames’s built-up area). That earns a C+ for safety: less crime per resident than 37% of UK towns. Among 40 UK towns of 116,000 to 225,000 people, Kingston upon Thames is 2nd from the least crime. 14% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
What are the safest areas of Kingston upon Thames?
By council ward, Tudor, Coombe Vale and Green Lane & St James record the least violent and household crime per resident: 9.6, 11.5 and 13.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 98.9 in Kingston Town.
Is crime going up in Kingston upon Thames?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 19%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 13%, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour held steady. Across UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, violent crime held steady.
Is Kingston upon Thames town centre safe at night?
police.uk placed 1,325 crimes and reports at or near nightclubs in three years, 31% of them violent, and Kingston Town ward records 98.9 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 of its residents a year. Over the last two years, violent crime peaked in July and was lowest in September.
What is the most common crime in Kingston upon Thames?
Violence & sexual offences: 4,264 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (1,597) and vehicle crime (982), with 3,311 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Kingston upon Thames compare with Wandsworth?
Wandsworth records 27.7 violent and sexual offences and 18.9 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Kingston upon Thames’s 24.7 and 14, 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.