Photo: G. Edward Johnson · CC BY 4.0Who polices Colesville, and what they report
Colesville has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Montgomery County. The Montgomery County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Colesville alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in Colesville
Policed by the county
Colesville is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Montgomery County Police Department’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Montgomery County Police Department covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Colesville. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Maryland towns with their own police figures are Takoma Park (D−, 6 mi), Berwyn Heights (C+, 7 mi), University Park (B, 8 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Colesville. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Montgomery 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 Montgomery County without police of their own, which include Colesville.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in Montgomery County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Montgomery County Police Department
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. Agencies that reported only zeros (the Sheriff’s Office here) are left out. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
The nearest Maryland towns with a Safety Grade
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takoma Park | D− | 6 mi | 4.7 | 53.7 |
| Berwyn Heights | C+ | 7 mi | 2.3 | 13.7 |
| University Park | B | 8 mi | 0.4 | 12.5 |
| Laurel | D | 8 mi | 4.7 | 43.9 |
| Hyattsville | D− | 8 mi | 7.2 | 38.5 |
| Greenbelt | D− | 8 mi | 6.4 | 44.9 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Colesville. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Colesville.
Six people died in crashes on Colesville’s roads in 2019–2023
Colesville had 6 fatal crashes in five years, in which six people died.
That is about what is typical for Maryland towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Colesville’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Colesville’s own rate (8.3) 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.
Colesville and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Fairland, Glenmont, Cloverly, Kemp Mill, White Oak, Layhill and Wheaton are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
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 Colesville
Is Colesville, MD safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Colesville. Colesville has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Montgomery County. The Montgomery County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Colesville alone, and no Safety Grade. The nearest Maryland towns with a grade are Takoma Park (D−, 6 mi), Berwyn Heights (C+, 7 mi), University Park (B, 8 mi).
Who polices Colesville?
The Montgomery County Police Department. Colesville is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Montgomery County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Colesville.
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.