Photo: Pubdog · Public domainWho polices Shady Side, and what they report
Shady Side has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Anne Arundel County. The Anne Arundel County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Shady Side alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in Shady Side
Policed by the county
Shady Side is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Anne Arundel County Police Department’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Anne Arundel County Police Department covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Shady Side. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Maryland towns with their own police figures are Annapolis (D, 10 mi), Bowie (C, 15 mi), St. Michaels (C+, 16 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Shady Side. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Anne Arundel 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 Anne Arundel County without police of their own, which include Shady Side.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in Anne Arundel County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Anne Arundel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annapolis | D | 10 mi | 7.3 | 19.5 |
| Bowie | C | 15 mi | 1.8 | 18.9 |
| St. Michaels | C+ | 16 mi | 1.2 | 16.4 |
| Glenarden | B | 19 mi | 1.9 | 8.0 |
| District Heights | C− | 20 mi | 5.2 | 18.2 |
| Seat Pleasant | D | 21 mi | 7.2 | 28.1 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Shady Side. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Shady Side.
Four people died in crashes on Shady Side’s roads in 2019–2023
Shady Side had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which four people died.
That is more than is typical for Maryland towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (5.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Shady Side’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Shady Side’s own rate (16.9) 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.
Shady Side and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galesville | — | — | — |
| Deale | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Galesville and Deale 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 Shady Side
Is Shady Side, MD safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Shady Side. Shady Side has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Anne Arundel County. The Anne Arundel County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Shady Side alone, and no Safety Grade. The nearest Maryland towns with a grade are Annapolis (D, 10 mi), Bowie (C, 15 mi), St. Michaels (C+, 16 mi).
Who polices Shady Side?
The Anne Arundel County Police Department. Shady Side is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Anne Arundel County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Shady Side.
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.