Safety in South Hempstead: figures, but no grade
The closest graded town is Rockville Centre, 1 mile away, at A. South Hempstead has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Nassau County. The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for South Hempstead alone, and no Safety Grade. There are 9 graded towns within 10 miles.
What stands out about safety in South Hempstead
Policed by the county
South Hempstead is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for South Hempstead. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest New York towns with their own police figures are Rockville Centre (A, 1 mi), Hempstead (C, 2 mi), Freeport (B, 3 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from South Hempstead. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Nassau County without police of their own, which include South Hempstead.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in Nassau County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest New York towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockville Centre | A | 1 mi | 0.3 | 4.8 |
| Hempstead | C | 2 mi | 4.7 | 10.5 |
| Freeport | B | 3 mi | 1.5 | 9.1 |
| Garden City | A− | 3 mi | 0.2 | 8.0 |
| Floral Park | A− | 5 mi | 0.9 | 5.7 |
| Long Beach | A | 7 mi | 0.7 | 1.1 |
Straight-line distance from the center of South Hempstead. Nearby towns can differ a lot from South Hempstead.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Five people died in crashes on South Hempstead’s roads in 2019–2023
South Hempstead had 5 fatal crashes in five years, in which five people died.
That is more than is typical for New York towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (6.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of South Hempstead’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so South Hempstead’s own rate (32.2) 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.
South Hempstead and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockville Centre | A | 0.3 | 4.8 |
| Hempstead | C | 4.7 | 10.5 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
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 South Hempstead
Is South Hempstead, NY safe?
There is no Safety Grade for South Hempstead. The nearest New York towns with a grade are Rockville Centre (A, 1 mi), Hempstead (C, 2 mi), Freeport (B, 3 mi).
Who polices South Hempstead?
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office. South Hempstead is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Nassau County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in South Hempstead.
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.