Folkestone is less safe than the district around it, and by a clear margin. Crime runs well above the local average. The types of crime look much like any English town's. The local force charges suspects more often than most forces do. The problem is how much crime there is, not what kind.
In the twelve months from June 2025 to May 2026, Folkestone's published crime rate was about 118 per 1,000 residents, roughly 39% above the local-authority average. That covered 6,575 recorded crimes. Both are published figures. The rate is worked out against a statistical population base, so it can't be checked by dividing the crime count by the headcount.
The Folkestone and Hythe average over the same year was about 85 per 1,000, against Folkestone's 118. The district includes Hythe, the Romney Marsh villages and a lot of quiet countryside, and in that company Folkestone is the busy town with the high number. Buyers who compare Folkestone only with the district average will find it looks worse than it would against other towns. Buyers who ignore the comparison altogether will miss a real difference.
Some context on the town. Average population density is about 6,950 people per square kilometre, dense for anywhere on the Kent coast. Unemployment is about 4% and about 4% of households are overcrowded. None of that explains the crime rate. It does tell you that Folkestone is a compact, busy working town, not a quiet seaside retreat.
Of the crime that is recorded, violence and sexual offences make up about 36%, against 35% nationally. It's the largest category almost everywhere and includes common assault without injury, so Folkestone is close to the national share. Anti-social behaviour makes up about 18% against 16% nationally. Shoplifting accounts for about 11% against 8%, and drugs offences about 5% against 4%. Criminal damage and arson make up about 8% against 7%. Other theft is about 6%, slightly below the national 7%. The mix is ordinary. Shoplifting stands out most, which points at the shops more than at the homes.
On what happens after a crime is reported, Kent Police charged a suspect in about 16% of cases over the same twelve months, against about 12% nationally, which puts the force sixth of 42 in England and Wales. About 36% of its cases were closed with no suspect identified. Both are figures for the whole force, not for Folkestone, and they measure what happens after a crime, not how often it happens. They're better than most forces manage, but in about a third of cases nobody is identified.
Safety is one of Folkestone's weaker points. There is a lot of crime for the size of the town, the types are ordinary, and the police resolve more of it than the national average without that changing how much of it there is.