Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Elstead trails 71% of UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people on crime per resident
Of all the kinds of crime, public order is where Elstead departs most from towns its size: 4.4 per 1,000 against 2.4. Each year brought 23.9 violent and sexual offences and 9.0 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every 1,000 residents. Overall, Elstead grades B− for safety: close to the middle of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Elstead
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 24% more violent crime per resident in Elstead 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 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Elstead has the 350th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Hapton, Millbrook and Ellington, higher than Combe Martin, Y Felinheli and Hatton. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: B− for Elstead
A fairly firm grade. Built on 223 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Elstead against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Violent crime up 24% in a year, while towns its size held steady
“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 +24% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -38% (towns its size +0%), anti-social behaviour -41% (towns its size -1%).
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Elstead runs highest on public order (4.4 per 1,000 against 2.4), violence & sexual offences (24.3 per 1,000 against 16.6) and anti-social behaviour (7.1 per 1,000 against 5.3).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 55 | 24.3 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 16 | 7.1 | 5.3 |
| Public order | not graded | 10 | 4.4 | 2.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 8 | 3.5 | 3.2 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 4 | 1.8 | 0 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 4 | 1.8 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 3 | 1.3 | 0.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 2 | 0.9 | 2.5 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 2 | 0.9 | 0 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 1 | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 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.
350th of 550: Elstead among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Woldingham Surrey | 2,223 | 5.7 | 6.5 | 2.4 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 29 | Chiddingfold Surrey | 2,160 | 6.6 | 7.6 | 2.3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 58 | Dormansland Surrey | 2,300 | 8.7 | 8 | 3.2 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 65 | Shalford Surrey | 2,508 | 11.8 | 5.1 | 2.3 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 347 | Combe Martin Devon | 2,707 | 25.8 | 6.7 | 5 | B− |
| 348 | Y Felinheli Gwynedd | 2,333 | 25.3 | 7.3 | 2.6 | B− |
| 349 | Hatton Derbyshire | 2,560 | 24.7 | 8.1 | 11.6 | B− |
| 350 | Elstead Surrey | 2,261 | 23.9 | 9 | 3.1 | B− |
| 351 | Dyserth Clwyd | 2,038 | 27.3 | 5.6 | 4.9 | B− |
| 352 | New Marske North Yorkshire | 2,990 | 22.3 | 10.6 | 5.6 | B− |
| 353 | St Mary's Bay Kent | 2,966 | 23.8 | 9.1 | 3.7 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 550 | Avonmouth Bristol | 2,643 | 82.9 | 54.6 | 60.4 | 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 Elstead, and others in Surrey.
Crime in Elstead 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 6 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 3 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
No one died in a collision on Elstead’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 14 collisions with injuries inside Elstead in five years. 7 people were killed or seriously injured: 2 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Elstead is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Elstead’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; Elstead had 7.
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 Elstead’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Elstead
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elstead | 2,261 | 23.9 | 9 | B− |
| Milford and Witley | 6,489 | 14.6 | 7.6 | A− |
| Godalming | 10,450 | 20.3 | 8.7 | B |
| Badshot Lea | 1,883 | 16.8 | 12.6 | B |
| Farncombe | 13,247 | 18.4 | 6.8 | B+ |
| Farnham | 20,499 | 21.8 | 9.9 | B− |
| Normandy | 1,665 | 11.8 | 7.6 | A− |
| Hindhead | 6,444 | 16.3 | 7 | B+ |
Elstead records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Milford and Witley, 2.7 miles away, records 14.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Elstead’s 23.9.
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 Elstead 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 Elstead
Is Elstead safe?
Police recorded 23.9 violent and sexual offences and 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 Elstead’s built-up area). That earns a B− for safety: less crime per resident than 49% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Elstead is 350th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Elstead?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 24%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 38%, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour fell 41%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Elstead?
Violence & sexual offences: 55 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (10) and criminal damage & arson (8), with 16 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Elstead compare with Guildford?
Guildford records 44.3 violent and sexual offences and 15.2 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Elstead’s 23.9 and 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.