Photo: Christopher Hilton · CC BY-SA 2.0Ellesmere stands out for shoplifting: 3.6 times the rate of a typical town its size
Burglary, vehicle crime and damage is lower than in 56% of UK towns; violent crime, lower than in only 33%. Violence recorded locally held about level in a year. Overall, Ellesmere grades C+ for safety (#8 of 19 in Shropshire): more crime per resident than 62% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Behind the grade sit 29.7 violent and sexual offences and 8.8 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 people a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Ellesmere
More crime than many places its size
Of 706 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, Ellesmere has the 456th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Lydd, Coedpoeth and Sapcote, higher than Blackfield and Langley, Battle and Calverley. Towns its size ↓
Many neighbourhoods rank low for crime nationally
The government’s Indices of Deprivation 2025 rank every neighbourhood in England on recorded crime. 43% of Ellesmere’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 0% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind Ellesmere’s C+
A fairly firm grade. Built on 492 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Ellesmere against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
A third of Ellesmere residents live in one of England’s lowest-crime neighbourhoods
43% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 0% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime domain scores the risk of violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage where people live, so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Ellesmere’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) in the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (crime domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of England’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Ellesmere runs highest on shoplifting (6.6 per 1,000 against 1.8), burglary (3 per 1,000 against 1.9) and public order (5.4 per 1,000 against 3.6). Other theft sits below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 125 | 29.3 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 42 | 9.8 | 8.8 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 28 | 6.6 | 1.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 23 | 5.4 | 4.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 23 | 5.4 | 3.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 13 | 3 | 1.9 |
| Other theft | not graded | 11 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 5 | 1.2 | 1.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 3 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Police in Ellesmere identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 60% of Ellesmere’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 10% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (72% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 6% of violent and 3% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 165 crimes.
Ellesmere is 456th of 706 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Bayston Hill Shropshire | 5,221 | 10.9 | 2.6 | 1.5 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 182 | Church Stretton Shropshire | 3,576 | 18.1 | 7.1 | 8.1 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 364 | Broseley Shropshire | 5,596 | 23.7 | 9.2 | 4.4 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 453 | Blackfield and Langley Hampshire | 5,844 | 29.8 | 8.3 | 8.7 | C+ |
| 454 | Battle East Sussex | 5,326 | 25.2 | 13.1 | 14.7 | C+ |
| 455 | Calverley West Yorkshire | 3,988 | 19.6 | 18.7 | 3.6 | C+ |
| 456 | Ellesmere Shropshire | 4,268 | 29.7 | 8.8 | 14.5 | C+ |
| 457 | Madeley Staffordshire | 3,293 | 32.5 | 6 | 3.3 | C+ |
| 458 | Fenstanton Cambridgeshire | 3,015 | 28.3 | 10.2 | 2.5 | C+ |
| 459 | Barnard Castle County Durham | 5,783 | 24.9 | 13.7 | 14.7 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 474 | Highley Shropshire | 3,305 | 29.1 | 11.1 | 2.6 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 706 | Eastchurch Kent | 3,381 | 132 | 13.9 | 3.5 | 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 Ellesmere, and others in Shropshire.
Crime in Ellesmere 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 9 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 9 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Violent crime held steady over the year
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 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 +3% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +3% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft +0% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour -14% (towns its size +0%).
Where in Ellesmere police recorded crime
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 90 | 77% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 27 | 33% violent |
| Petrol stations | 20 | 45% violent |
police.uk places each crime at an anonymous map point; some are named for the kind of place (a supermarket, a car park), and each row adds up every place of that kind in Ellesmere. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
No one died in a collision on Ellesmere’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 7 collisions with injuries inside Ellesmere in five years. 6 people were killed or seriously injured: 4 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Ellesmere is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Ellesmere’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 4 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Ellesmere had 6.
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 Ellesmere’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Ellesmere
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellesmere | 4,268 | 29.7 | 8.8 | C+ |
| St Martins | 2,692 | 24 | 5.3 | B |
| Whittington | 1,618 | 24.9 | 7.8 | B− |
| Gobowen | 3,046 | 31.9 | 11.4 | C |
| Chirk | 3,930 | 35.4 | 14.9 | C− |
| Weston Rhyn | 1,381 | 29.9 | 8.7 | C+ |
| Oswestry | 17,500 | 37 | 10 | C |
| Morda | 1,976 | 17.1 | 4.1 | A− |
Ellesmere records more graded crime per resident than 3 of its 7 neighbours. St Martins, 4.6 miles away, records 24 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Ellesmere’s 29.7.
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 Ellesmere 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 Ellesmere
Is Ellesmere safe?
Police recorded 29.7 violent and sexual offences and 8.8 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Ellesmere’s built-up area). That earns a C+ for safety: less crime per resident than 38% of UK towns. Among 706 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, Ellesmere is 456th from the least crime. 43% of residents live in neighbourhoods in England’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Ellesmere?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage held steady, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour fell 14%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Ellesmere?
Violence & sexual offences: 125 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came shoplifting (28) and criminal damage & arson (23), with 42 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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.