Yes. Sturry is safe, and noticeably safer than the city next door. Crime runs nearly a third below Canterbury's rate. Unemployment is low. Overcrowding barely registers. The main hazard for most residents is reading a crime map without the numbers beside it.
Police figures for the year to May 2026 put Sturry's crime rate at about 79 per 1,000 residents, from 593 recorded crimes over those twelve months. That's roughly 30% below the Canterbury average. These are the published figures, calculated on the police's own population base, so they won't match a quick sum on a calculator and shouldn't be expected to.
The comparison in plain numbers: about 79 crimes per 1,000 residents in Sturry, against about 113 across the Canterbury district. The district includes a city centre with a nighttime economy and far more shops, and that's where the average gets pulled up. A buyer who sees "Canterbury" in a crime headline and assumes it covers every village in the district is reading the wrong map.
The texture of the place fits the numbers without explaining them. Population density averages about 3,450 people per square kilometre across Sturry's neighbourhoods. Unemployment stands at about 2% and overcrowding at about 3%. It's a settled village of owned homes and working households, which is useful context, not a cause of anything.
The mix is close to the national one in most places. Violence and sexual offences make up about 38% of recorded crime, against about 35% nationally. That's a broad legal grouping that includes common assault without injury, and it's the largest category almost everywhere, so the headline sounds worse than it is. Anti-social behaviour runs below the national share, about 14% against 16%. Shoplifting is the one that stands out, at about 12% against 8% nationally. Other theft sits at about 8% against 7%. Criminal damage and arson are about 7% in both, and vehicle crime about 5% in both. Anyone writing a scary summary of Sturry would have to lead with the shops, which isn't much of a scary summary.
What happens after a report is a separate question from how much crime there is, and it's answered at force level. Kent Police charges a suspect in about 16% of cases, against about 12% nationally, which puts it sixth of 42 forces over the year to May 2026. About 36% of cases close with no suspect identified. That's the honest answer to "will they catch them": better odds than most of the country, and still a long way short of certain.
Safety is one of Sturry's real strengths. The rate sits well under the district's, the mix is ordinary, and people who move here for the quiet generally get it.