Photo: Robin Webster · CC BY-SA 2.0Elstree stands out for drugs: 9.2 times the rate of a typical town its size
The overall Safety Grade is C, which means more crime per resident than 70% of UK towns, judged on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Recorded violence fell 29% in a year. Even so, violent crime here is higher than in 60% of UK towns; burglary, vehicle crime and damage, higher than in 86%. Typical years here bring 26.3 violent and sexual offences plus 16.9 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Elstree
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 29% less violent crime per resident in Elstree than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Elstree has the 1,054th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Mistley, Heathfield and Pagham, higher than Yalding, Denham and Medomsley. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Elstree’s C for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 225 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Elstree against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Elstree runs highest on drugs (5.8 per 1,000 against 0.6), vehicle crime (7.5 per 1,000 against 1.5) and anti-social behaviour (24.8 per 1,000 against 5.3).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 43 | 24.8 | 5.3 |
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 41 | 23.6 | 16.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 13 | 7.5 | 1.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 11 | 6.3 | 2.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 10 | 5.8 | 0.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 8 | 4.6 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 8 | 4.6 | 2.4 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 6 | 3.5 | 1.6 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.6 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other crime | not graded | 0 | 0 | 1.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
How crime in Elstree has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent -29% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -18% (towns its size +0%), anti-social behaviour +59% (towns its size -1%).
1,054th of 1,214: Elstree among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 142 | Datchworth Hertfordshire | 1,179 | 8.8 | 5.4 | 1.1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 169 | Pirton Hertfordshire | 1,452 | 10.3 | 4.4 | 1.6 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 175 | Flamstead Hertfordshire | 1,055 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 1.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 237 | Ashwell Hertfordshire | 1,982 | 9.6 | 6.6 | 3.2 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 1051 | Yalding Kent | 1,549 | 26.7 | 16.1 | 6.2 | C |
| 1052 | Denham Buckinghamshire | 1,482 | 23.4 | 19.6 | 10.3 | C |
| 1053 | Medomsley County Durham | 1,216 | 27.7 | 15.4 | 3.3 | C |
| 1054 | Elstree Hertfordshire | 1,737 | 26.3 | 16.9 | 8.6 | C |
| 1055 | Orsett Essex | 1,428 | 14.7 | 28.7 | 5.8 | C |
| 1056 | Wrotham Kent | 1,961 | 22.1 | 21.4 | 4.4 | C |
| 1057 | Llandovery Dyfed | 1,455 | 32 | 11.6 | 7.5 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 1214 | Ingoldmells Lincolnshire | 1,928 | 259 | 64.7 | 57.2 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Elstree, and others in Hertfordshire.
Crime in Elstree per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 16 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 6 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
One person died in collisions on Elstree’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 22 collisions with injuries inside Elstree in five years, in which one person died. 5 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, so with numbers this small a single collision changes the picture; Elstree’s one death is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Elstree’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Elstree had 5.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Elstree’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Elstree
Elstree records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. Bushey, 2.6 miles away, records 23.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Elstree’s 26.3.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Elstree sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Elstree
Is Elstree safe?
Police recorded 26.3 violent and sexual offences and 16.9 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Elstree’s built-up area). That earns a C for safety: less crime per resident than 30% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Elstree is 1,054th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Elstree?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 29%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 18%, shoplifting and theft fell 21% and anti-social behaviour rose 59%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Elstree?
Violence & sexual offences: 41 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came vehicle crime (13) and other theft (11), with 43 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Elstree compare with Barnet?
Barnet records 25.3 violent and sexual offences and 21 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Elstree’s 26.3 and 16.9, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.