Kentish Town is one of the trendiest places in London, but is it safe? What is the crime history like, and will you be able to spend time here feeling protected? We have all the information you need to put your mind at ease.
How safe is Kentish Town?
Sadly, you’re never completely protected from crime, wherever you live. But we’ve investigated the latest stats and police information to give you the low-down on whether, as London areas go, Kentish Town is safe.
The Met police report of the top crimes from September (latest stats) were 20 harassment cases, 14 miscellaneous thefts and 12 violent crimes, making it a relatively low-crime area.
They have highlighted the areas between Dartmouth Park, Hilldrop Estate, Chalk Farm and Market Estate as being the highest crime areas.
Kentish Town is generally considered a safe place to live, with a low crime rate and less tourists than Camden. Plenty of people live around travel hotspots to assist with a feeling of safety.
Top tips to avoid harassment
As it is the top reported crime according to the Met Police, they have put together some useful pieces of advice designed to help you protect yourself online and on social media:
Online:
• restrict your social media posts to your friends and not public
• check privacy settings on social networking sites and limit the amount of information you supply
• Google yourself frequently to check your digital footprint
• don’t use the same password for everything
• be aware of geolocation and tagging on social networking sites and ensure that it’s disabled on your smartphone
• keep your antivirus software up to date
• report stalking to website administrators
• if you believe that your smartphone or computer has been hacked or compromised, stop using it immediately and take it to your mobile phone provider or computer repair experts for advice.
Answering the phone
• don’t answer the phone with your address or phone number
• if the caller is not known to you, avoid answering questions about yourself, no matter how genuine they sound
• if you have an answering machine, it’s advisable not to include your name or number in the outgoing message
• the message should never tell people that you are out or away; try to give the impression that you are only temporarily unable to answer: eg ‘Sorry, I can’t get to the phone right now, so please leave your name and number and I’ll get right back to you.’
• if you’re listed in any directories, you might want to give your initials and surname rather than your full name
• never show anger or fear over the phone: just remain calm, confident and if necessary, assertive.
What you can do if you’ve been a victim?
You can report the crimes of stalking, harassment or indecent exposure to the police online or by calling us them on 101.
Is Kentish Town safe at night?
The area is extremely well connected for travel and is well-built up with plenty of residential areas and shops and restaurants.
Its transport links are one of the factors that makes it so popular with professionals. The London Underground’s Northern Line links through Kentish Town station (and takes just 11 minutes into Leicester Square). The same station links through National Rail services to St Pancras, Farringdon, Surrey and Luton. Two London Overground stations are nearby; Gospel Oak and Kentish Town West, and numerous London Bus routes run through the area.
This is a very safe place to visit and stay. Unlike the busy Camden Town just south of it, you won’t find tourists in the area at all times of the day and night. There are plenty of residents in the area and around travel hotspots. Crime is low here, and if you do feel uncomfortable alone in the evenings or at night, there’s plenty of transport options both public and private to get you around.
Crime in Kentish Town compared to neighbouring areas
According to the ilivehere crime stats for Camden/Kentish Town, there were 1,235 street level crimes reported to the police in August 2021 (the latest stats at the time of writing). And top of that list were incidents on anti-social behaviour, with 328 incidents.
The site has also taken a look at the latest crime stats for neighbouring areas and broken them down into a useful table so we can compare how safe it is to nearby places.
They’ve taken the ten nearest places to Kentish town and ranked them by the number of crime incidents in each. This should allow you to see if Kentish Town has more crime than other surrounding areas.
| Location | Crime Incidents |
|---|---|
| Regent’s Park (1.24 miles) | 2182 |
| Barnsbury (1.24 miles) | 2064 |
| Camden Town (0.62 miles) | 1671 |
| Lower Holloway (1.39 miles) | 1457 |
| Tufnell Park (0.88 miles) | 1396 |
| St John’s Wood (1.39 miles) | 1291 |
| Maitland Park | 1235 |
| Kentish Town | 1235 |
| Gospel Oak (0.62 miles) | 1198 |
| South Hampstead(1.24 miles) | 1033 |
The Met also report there are 8 crimes per 1,000 people.
Local Police Stations
There is a Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT) in Kentish Town. This is a group of Met police officers dedicated to serving this community. The team is made up of officers based in the area (or ‘ward’), supported by additional officers from the wider area.
They work closely with local authorities, community leaders and residents to decide on their policing priorities for the area. This helps them to find useful, long-term solutions to local problems, while maintaining our wider focus on reducing crime across London.
The local police station can be found at 10-12A Holmes Road, NW5 3AE and is open 24 hours a day. There is parking for disabled drivers at the station.
You can follow the local police at @MPSKentishTown on Twitter.
For more about Kentish Town, you can read our blog on the top 5 things to do in Kentish Town
And find out more about the area with our Kentish Town Area Guide.
