Crime in Canterbury
Recorded crime in Canterbury is 1.5 times the Canterbury council average and 1.6 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 9%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
Within 3 km of the centre of Canterbury: about 57,551 residents in 37 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 2/10High crime
- Living
- 7.9/10Good
- 5-year change
- −9%fewer crimes
- vs the council
- 1.5×the Canterbury council average
Neighbourhoods by Safety
Within 3 km of the centre of Canterbury.
Crime over 5 years
Down 9% in 5 years Recorded crimes within 3 km of Canterbury, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 1.5× the Canterbury council average (1.6× the England and Wales average). 134 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 66% of the harm here
- Burglary: 11% of the harm here
- Robbery: 7% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 66% of the harm here. It is a broad police category: most of these crimes are assaults without injury, harassment and threats, often indoors between people who know each other, and only a small part are sexual or serious violent offences. Police data does not say which, so each one is weighted at the England and Wales average for the category, which can overstate a quiet residential area.
Anti-social behaviour: 29 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
How often crimes lead to a charge in CT1
In CT1, the postcode district at the centre of Canterbury, 10% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%).
- Charged or summonsed
- Caution or other action
- Suspect found, not prosecuted
- No suspect identified
- Still open
Show as a table
| Type | Crimes | Charged or summonsed | Caution or other action | Suspect found, not prosecuted | No suspect identified | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 2,397 | 7% | 8% | 63% | 19% | 3% |
| Shoplifting | 1,386 | 16% | 9% | 15% | 57% | 3% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 542 | 9% | 8% | 35% | 46% | 1% |
| Other theft | 446 | 3% | 2% | 19% | 72% | 4% |
| Public order | 346 | 13% | 8% | 43% | 32% | 4% |
| Drugs | 327 | 19% | 44% | 25% | 9% | 2% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 206 | 6% | 0% | 17% | 76% | 1% |
| Burglary | 135 | 10% | 2% | 36% | 51% | 1% |
| Other crime | 134 | 14% | 8% | 49% | 25% | 4% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 88 | 25% | 19% | 45% | 5% | 6% |
| Robbery | 84 | 15% | 1% | 36% | 48% | 0% |
| Bicycle theft | 77 | 0% | 3% | 5% | 90% | 3% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 55 | 4% | 0% | 11% | 84% | 2% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 3% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Canterbury, 2023 to 2025: 285 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 73 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 13 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
1.8 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 26% of them killed or seriously injured someone (Great Britain 26%).
Collisions on public roads that the police recorded where someone was hurt, counted where they happened, so busy through roads and town centres with few residents come out high. Serious and slight use the Department for Transport's adjusted severity, comparable between police forces. Source: Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Crime by type
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, most serious first, not counting anti-social behaviour.
| Type | Per 1,000 a year |
|---|---|
| Robbery | 1.7 |
| Burglary | 5.7 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 55.1 |
| Drugs | 4.6 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 1.3 |
| Other crime | 2.9 |
| Other theft | 11.3 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 1.4 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 5.8 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 15.2 |
| Public order | 9.9 |
| Bicycle theft | 2.8 |
| Shoplifting | 16.2 |
Postcode districts in Canterbury
Nearby towns
Council: Canterbury
Questions about crime in Canterbury
- Is Canterbury a safe place to live?
- Canterbury scores 2 out of 10 for safety (high crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crime severity is 1.5 times the Canterbury council average.
- Is crime going up or down in Canterbury?
- Down 9% over 5 years, from 8,285 recorded crimes a year to 7,528.
- What is the most common crime in Canterbury?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 55 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How does crime in Canterbury compare with Canterbury council?
- Crime severity in Canterbury is 1.5 times the Canterbury council average.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Canterbury?
- In CT1, the postcode district at the centre of Canterbury, 10% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 38% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Canterbury?
- Of 135 burglaries reported in CT1, the postcode district at the centre of Canterbury between September 2024 and August 2025, 10% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 51% were closed with no suspect identified.