Church of St Peter · Photo: Hassocks5489 · CC0Less crime per resident is recorded in Ash and Ash Vale than in 77% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people
At 4.2 per 1,000 residents, vehicle crime in Ash and Ash Vale runs well past the 2.8 of a typical town its size (101 recorded in the 12 months to August 2026). The yearly rates were 21.7 violent and sexual offences and 11.9 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents. All told, Ash and Ash Vale grades B− for safety (#33 of 65 in Surrey): close to the middle of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Violence recorded locally dropped 14% in a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Ash and Ash Vale
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 14% less violent crime per resident in Ash and Ash Vale than in the year before; across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people violent crime held steady. Burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage fell 8% (towns its size: held steady). Trend ↓
Less crime than most places its size
Of 236 UK towns of 17,000 to 33,000 people, Ash and Ash Vale has the 43rd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than East Grinstead, Omagh and Abbots Langley and Kings Langley, higher than Rayleigh, Bourne and Penwortham. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Ash and Ash Vale’s grade
A firm grade. Built on 2,431 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Ash and Ash Vale 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, Ash and Ash Vale runs highest on vehicle crime (4.2 per 1,000 against 2.8) and drugs (2.6 per 1,000 against 1.9). Anti-social behaviour and shoplifting sit below it.
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 459 | 18.9 | 30.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 185 | 7.6 | 12.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 131 | 5.4 | 6.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 121 | 5 | 5.4 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 101 | 4.2 | 2.8 |
| Other theft | not graded | 95 | 3.9 | 4.4 |
| Drugs | not graded | 63 | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| Other crime | not graded | 43 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 38 | 1.6 | 6.1 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 22 | 0.9 | 2.4 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 13 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
| Robbery | Violent | 6 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 5 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 3 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
“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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
How Ash and Ash Vale’s neighbourhoods rank in England
30% 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.
Ash and Ash Vale’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.
Set against 236 towns its size, Ash and Ash Vale is 43rd
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heswall Merseyside | 29,082 | 14.3 | 5.5 | 3.8 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Great Bookham and Fetcham Surrey | 21,655 | 15.3 | 7.5 | 5.1 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Reigate Surrey | 23,774 | 20 | 9.8 | 11.9 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 26 | Cobham Surrey | 17,505 | 19.5 | 11.3 | 10.1 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 29 | Farnham Surrey | 20,499 | 21.8 | 9.9 | 13 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 40 | Rayleigh Essex | 32,383 | 23.4 | 9.8 | 9.3 | B− |
| 41 | Bourne Lincolnshire | 17,495 | 25.6 | 7.7 | 8.9 | B− |
| 42 | Penwortham Lancashire | 20,489 | 24.8 | 8.8 | 6.7 | B− |
| 43 | Ash and Ash Vale Surrey | 24,284 | 21.7 | 11.9 | 6.1 | B− |
| 44 | Sevenoaks Kent | 26,474 | 19.1 | 14.8 | 17.1 | B− |
| 45 | Lancing and Sompting West Sussex | 27,924 | 25.6 | 9.1 | 15.5 | B− |
| 46 | Biggleswade Bedfordshire | 21,945 | 23.8 | 11 | 13.9 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 236 | Great Yarmouth Norfolk | 28,979 | 105 | 32.9 | 33.7 | 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 Ash and Ash Vale, and others in Surrey.
How crime in Ash and Ash Vale has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling six-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 -14% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles -8% (towns its size -2%), shoplifting and theft +3% (towns its size +1%), anti-social behaviour -20% (towns its size -4%).
Police in Ash and Ash Vale identify a suspect less often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 75% of Ash and Ash Vale’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 13% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (66% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 6% of violent and 2% 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. 866 crimes.
Lowest recorded crime in Ash Vale, Mytchett & Deepcut and Ash South and Tongham
| Ward | Residents | Violent | Homes & vehicles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash Vale | 5,694 | 17.3 | 10.2 | |
| Mytchett & Deepcut | 4,392 | 24.7 | 8.3 | |
| Ash South and Tongham | 8,147 | 22.1 | 11.5 | |
| Ash Wharf | 6,051 | 22.8 | 15.9 |
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 172 | 55% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 75 | 35% anti-social behaviour |
| Petrol stations | 41 | 66% shoplifting & theft |
| Sports and recreation grounds | 20 | 45% violent |
A ward’s rate counts crimes where they happened, not where victims live. 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 Ash and Ash Vale. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Crimes per 1,000 residents a year by council ward (the part of each ward inside Ash and Ash Vale’s built-up area), September 2023 to August 2026. Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
Crime in Ash and Ash Vale 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 10 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.
Three people died in collisions on Ash and Ash Vale’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 106 collisions with injuries inside Ash and Ash Vale in five years, in which three people died (2 were pedestrians). 36 people were killed or seriously injured: 8 on foot and 3 on a bicycle.
That is about what is typical for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: at their median rate (0.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Ash and Ash Vale’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Ash and Ash Vale’s own rate (2.5) is context, not a ranking.
Counting serious injuries too, Ash and Ash Vale had 29.6 people killed or seriously injured per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people (23.8). 22% of them were on foot, against 30% across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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 Ash and Ash Vale’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Ash and Ash Vale
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash and Ash Vale | 24,284 | 21.7 | 11.9 | B− |
| Aldershot | 39,827 | 43 | 15.8 | D |
| Badshot Lea | 1,883 | 16.8 | 12.6 | B |
| Normandy | 1,665 | 11.8 | 7.6 | A− |
| Farnborough | 60,665 | 32 | 12.8 | C |
| Weybourne | 11,241 | 16.3 | 7.4 | B+ |
| Deepcut | 2,163 | 23.9 | 18.8 | C |
| Frimley | 15,101 | 26.4 | 9.7 | C+ |
Ash and Ash Vale records more graded crime per resident than 3 of its 7 neighbours. Badshot Lea, 2.5 miles away, records 16.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Ash and Ash Vale’s 21.7.
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 Ash and Ash Vale 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 Ash and Ash Vale
Is Ash and Ash Vale safe?
Police recorded 21.7 violent and sexual offences and 11.9 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Ash and Ash Vale’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 47% of UK towns. Among 236 UK towns of 17,000 to 33,000 people, Ash and Ash Vale is 43rd from the least crime.
What are the safest areas of Ash and Ash Vale?
By council ward, Ash Vale, Mytchett & Deepcut and Ash South and Tongham record the least violent and household crime per resident: 17.3, 24.7 and 22.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year (3-year average), against 22.8 in Ash Wharf.
Is crime going up in Ash and Ash Vale?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 14%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 8%, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour fell 20%. Across UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Ash and Ash Vale?
Violence & sexual offences: 459 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (131) and public order (121), with 185 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Ash and Ash Vale compare with Farnborough?
Farnborough records 32 violent and sexual offences and 12.8 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Ash and Ash Vale’s 21.7 and 11.9, 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.