Christiana Historic District · Photo: Smallbones · Public domainWho polices Brookside, and what they report
Brookside has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in New Castle County. The New Castle County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Brookside alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in Brookside
Policed by the county
Brookside is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the New Castle County Police Department’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the New Castle County Police Department covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Brookside. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Delaware towns with their own police figures are Newark (C, 3 mi), New Castle (D, 7 mi), Elsmere (C+, 8 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Brookside. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the New Castle County Police Department reports
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
Reports to the FBI for the parts of New Castle County without police of their own, which include Brookside.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in New Castle County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the New Castle County Police Department
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
The nearest Delaware towns with a Safety Grade
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newark | C | 3 mi | 2.8 | 18.5 |
| New Castle | D | 7 mi | 4.3 | 30.8 |
| Elsmere | C+ | 8 mi | 2.6 | 14.5 |
| Delaware City | B− | 9 mi | 3.0 | 6.1 |
| Wilmington | D− | 10 mi | 11.9 | 32.2 |
| Middletown | C+ | 16 mi | 1.7 | 15.9 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Brookside. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Brookside.
Seven people died in crashes on Brookside’s roads in 2019–2023
Brookside had 6 fatal crashes in five years, in which seven people died; 1 was a pedestrian. 3 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is about what is typical for Delaware towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (8.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Brookside’s size would see about 6 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Brookside’s own rate (9.3) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Brookside and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newark | C | 2.8 | 18.5 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Brookside
Is Brookside, DE safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Brookside. Brookside has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in New Castle County. The New Castle County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Brookside alone, and no Safety Grade. The nearest Delaware towns with a grade are Newark (C, 3 mi), New Castle (D, 7 mi), Elsmere (C+, 8 mi).
Who polices Brookside?
The New Castle County Police Department. Brookside is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of New Castle County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Brookside.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.