Crime and Safety in Elstree and Borehamwood
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Elstree and Borehamwood is the third most dangerous medium-sized town in Hertfordshire, and is the 24th most dangerous overall out of Hertfordshire's 140 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Elstree and Borehamwood in 2026 is 73 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Hertfordshire's overall crime rate, coming in 21% higher than the Hertfordshire rate of 60 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Elstree and Borehamwood is the 88th most dangerous medium-sized town, and the 1,230th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In May 2025, Elstree and Borehamwood had the worst crime rate in Hertfordshire for robbery, with 11 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.22 per 1,000 daytime population. And in January 2026, Elstree and Borehamwood was the worst medium-sized town in Hertfordshire for drugs, with 33 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.66 per 1,000 daytime population. February 2026 was also a bad month for Elstree and Borehamwood residents, when it was Hertfordshire's most dangerous medium-sized town for anti-social behaviour, recording 61 crimes at a rate of 1.2 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Elstree and Borehamwood are violence and sexual offences, with 1,529 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 31. This is 5% lower than 2025's figure of 1,617 offences and a difference of 1.80 from 2025's crime rate of 32. Elstree and Borehamwood's least common crime is bicycle theft, with 15 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 29% from 2025's figure of 21 crimes.
Elstree and Borehamwood 2026 Crime Scorecard
Third Most Dangerous
Medium-Sized Towns, Hertfordshire
19% higher, regional crime rate
East of England
1.6% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Elstree and Borehamwood is 19% higher than the East of England and 1.6% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Elstree and Borehamwood Crime Rate Over Time
| Elstree and Borehamwood | |
| East of England | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Elstree and Borehamwood Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Elstree and Borehamwood represent the time frame between January 2016 and April 2026. Each point on the map represents an area where crimes have been recorded locally.
Use Crime Map
Hover over a point to see a breakdown of crime types recorded at that location. You can also filter by individual crime types, or use a combinations of offences to visualise the data you need.
See How Elstree and Borehamwood Compares
You can compare Elstree and Borehamwood's crime statistics against any other town, village, or city from across the country. Search for a location's name below to see how they stack up.
Introduction to Elstree and Borehamwood's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Elstree and Borehamwood up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Elstree and Borehamwood's 1,045 postcodes using three area sizes for comparison:
- Within a Five-Minute Walk
- Within a Ten-Minute Walk
- Within a Fifteen-Minute Walk
Individual crime risk scores and index figures are for the 12-month period ending April 2026 unless otherwise stated.
CrimeRate Insights
Looking into a specific address in Elstree and Borehamwood? CrimeRate Insights reports convert raw numbers into practical insight for any location, from single addresses and postcodes, up to major towns and cities.
Crime rates don’t happen by themselves; they follow people and patterns. Where crowds gather - near pubs and late-night venues, around the station, by supermarkets and forecourts - incidents naturally concentrate.
That doesn’t mean an area is "bad"; it usually means footfall is higher.
Your report explores these factors in a calm, non-judgemental way, putting the numbers in context and helping you spot what’s typical for places like this.
Crime Risk Scores
Elstree and Borehamwood • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Elstree and Borehamwood has a crime risk score of 610. This is based on analysis of 1,045 nearby areas within Elstree and Borehamwood, with "most" referring to roughly two thirds of the nearby locations.
Crime risk scores are on a scale of 1 to 1,000 and consider the severity of the crimes involved, as determined by sentencing guidelines. A score of 1 represents the lowest risk, and 1,000 the highest risk. This approach ensures that - unlike overall crime rate figures - bicycle theft is not given the same importance in Elstree and Borehamwood's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Elstree and Borehamwood, crime risk scores are typically around 610, while in Hertfordshire they are average 456.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 636 (472 for Hertfordshire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 660 (Hertfordshire 489).
Trends in Crime Risk
Elstree and Borehamwood
Calculated via Seasonal and Trend decomposition using Loess, the Seasonality Adjusted line represents the original data with seasonality subtracted, and the Trend line has been plotted unadjusted. Overall trend direction has been identified using the Mann-Kendall trend test, and rate calculated from the slope of the best-fit line identified from linear regression.
The 10-year trend indicates a decrease of 2.1% in Elstree and Borehamwood's crime risk score. This is potentially a strong signal of how the crime risk is evolving. Cross-referencing with major cultural events and Covid's impact during this time is advised.
Looking at the previous five years, the trend in Elstree and Borehamwood's crime risk score is up by 14%. While potentially a good indicator of the overall risk trend, analysis may offer further insight when combined with the checks mentioned above.
Over the last year, Elstree and Borehamwood's crime risk score has shown a downward trend of approximately 5%, indicating that the risk profile is going down. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Elstree and Borehamwood
The CrimeRate Index shows how crime rates compare against the national average.
1.0 equals the average
2.0 is double
3.0 triple
0.5 is half and
0.25 a quarter.
Highest Crime Rates
Elstree and Borehamwood • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Excluding other crime and other theft because their geographic location is often not relevant, anti-social behaviour as its definition is too wide, and bicycle theft for its specificity.
Drugs offences have a crime rate of 4.84 reports per 1,000 people in Elstree and Borehamwood, which is 1.57 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 242 crime reports logged by Hertfordshire Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Hertfordshire Police recorded 42 reports of Possession of Weapons in Elstree and Borehamwood, resulting in a crime rate of 0.84 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.08.
The crime rate for Robbery is 1.08 times the national average at 1.28 reports per 1,000. This is from 64 crime reports reported to Hertfordshire Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Elstree and Borehamwood
Excluding other crime and other theft, anti-social behaviour, and bicycle theft, and calculated with the same STL method described in Trends in Crime Risk, using CrimeRate Index figures to identify crime types that are trending above or below the national average, and the analysis timeframe limited to the last three years.
Public Order offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.96 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 0.44 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 118% over this timeframe.
Drugs offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.57 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Drugs CrimeRate Index was 0.86 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 83% over this timeframe.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.82 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 0.70 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 17% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Elstree and Borehamwood
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Theft From the Person offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.67 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Theft From the Person CrimeRate Index was 0.31 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 116% over this timeframe.
Vehicle Crime offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.43 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Vehicle Crime CrimeRate Index was 1.55 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 8% over this timeframe.
Shoplifting offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.79 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Shoplifting CrimeRate Index was 2.32 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 66% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Elstree and Borehamwood • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Elstree and Borehamwood | Hertfordshire | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 937 | 18.77 | 1.33 | 21,601 | 15.50 | 1.10 | 74,182 | 10.23 | 0.72 |
| Bicycle Theft | 15 | 0.30 | 0.53 | 917 | 0.66 | 0.90 | 5,325 | 0.72 | 0.99 |
| Burglary | 162 | 3.24 | 1.04 | 3,683 | 2.65 | 0.85 | 17,593 | 2.42 | 0.77 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 273 | 5.46 | 0.87 | 6,931 | 4.97 | 0.79 | 40,107 | 5.51 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 242 | 4.84 | 1.57 | 3,411 | 2.45 | 0.79 | 18,935 | 2.59 | 0.84 |
| Other Crime | 85 | 1.70 | 0.92 | 1,983 | 1.41 | 0.76 | 12,241 | 1.70 | 0.92 |
| Other Theft | 324 | 6.48 | 1.14 | 8,371 | 6.01 | 1.06 | 34,703 | 4.78 | 0.84 |
| Possession of Weapons | 42 | 0.84 | 1.08 | 861 | 0.62 | 0.73 | 5,931 | 0.83 | 0.98 |
| Public Order | 299 | 5.98 | 1.03 | 5,446 | 3.91 | 0.67 | 32,088 | 4.42 | 0.76 |
| Robbery | 64 | 1.28 | 1.08 | 991 | 0.70 | 0.59 | 4,492 | 0.61 | 0.52 |
| Shoplifting | 346 | 6.92 | 0.97 | 8,328 | 5.99 | 0.84 | 43,068 | 5.94 | 0.83 |
| Theft From the Person | 43 | 0.86 | 0.60 | 954 | 0.68 | 0.44 | 3,654 | 0.52 | 0.34 |
| Vehicle Crime | 229 | 4.58 | 1.07 | 6,049 | 4.35 | 1.01 | 27,821 | 3.84 | 0.89 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 1,529 | 30.66 | 1.01 | 36,109 | 25.93 | 0.85 | 200,684 | 27.65 | 0.91 |
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Total Crime by Year
Elstree and Borehamwood | Hertfordshire | East of England | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 3,653 | 73.14 | 1.02 | 84,034 | 60.33 | 0.84 | 446,642 | 61.53 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 3,905 | 78.14 | 1.06 | 82,503 | 59.54 | 0.80 | 441,082 | 61.31 | 0.83 |
| 2024 | 3,562 | 71.17 | 0.95 | 73,907 | 53.85 | 0.71 | 443,460 | 62.34 | 0.83 |
| 2023 | 3,469 | 69.68 | 0.88 | 76,470 | 56.33 | 0.71 | 474,715 | 67.51 | 0.85 |
| 2022 | 3,363 | 67.53 | 0.88 | 74,426 | 55.22 | 0.72 | 471,617 | 67.78 | 0.88 |
| 2021 | 3,450 | 69.81 | 1.02 | 72,746 | 54.15 | 0.79 | 437,869 | 63.51 | 0.93 |
| 2020 | 3,660 | 74.80 | 1.01 | 82,388 | 61.55 | 0.83 | 465,376 | 67.88 | 0.92 |
| 2019 | 3,731 | 76.72 | 1.01 | 86,563 | 64.71 | 0.85 | 482,539 | 70.87 | 0.93 |
| 2018 | 3,574 | 73.77 | 1.04 | 84,008 | 63.06 | 0.89 | 439,882 | 64.91 | 0.91 |
| 2017 | 3,368 | 69.82 | 1.10 | 77,119 | 58.04 | 0.91 | 396,747 | 58.76 | 0.92 |
| 2016 | 883 | 18.36 | 0.97 | 21,894 | 16.50 | 0.87 | 116,493 | 17.30 | 0.91 |
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Elstree and Borehamwood Compared to Nearby Medium-Sized Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Medium-Sized Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hatfield | 4,688 | 88.56 | 21% more dangerous |
| Elstree and Borehamwood | 3,653 | 73.14 | - |
| Cheshunt | 3,156 | 72.51 | 0.86% safer |
| Hoddesdon | 2,750 | 65.82 | 10% safer |
| Welwyn Garden City | 3,809 | 59.81 | 18% safer |
| Hertford | 2,036 | 56.52 | 23% safer |
| Letchworth Garden City | 2,082 | 55.56 | 24% safer |
| Bishop's Stortford | 2,494 | 52.47 | 28% safer |
| Bushey | 1,440 | 49.10 | 33% safer |
| Rickmansworth | 1,339 | 47.31 | 35% safer |
| Hitchin | 1,828 | 46.31 | 37% safer |
| Harpenden | 1,179 | 35.14 | 52% safer |
Comparing Elstree and Borehamwood to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Elstree and Borehamwood | 73.14 | - |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 9% more dangerous |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 13% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 15% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 34% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 43% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 44% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 46% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 46% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 47% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 71% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
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You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Offences In and Around Elstree and Borehamwood's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Elstree and Borehamwood that are named and have had crimes recorded within their boundaries in the 12 months to Apr 2026.
| Name | ASB | Drugs | Public Order | Robbery | VSO | All Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thirskcliffe Nature Park | 7 | 4 | 4 | - | 20 | 5 |
| Woodcock Hill Village Green | 5 | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Composers Park | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| Byron Avenue Play Area | 13 | - | 2 | 1 | 21 | 5 |
| Stapleton Gardens Allotments | 5 | 3 | 6 | - | 14 | 3 |
| Brook Meadow | 42 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 13 |
| Brookmeadow Play Area | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Allum Lane Allotments | 8 | - | - | - | 3 | 0 |
| Walshford Green | 3 | - | 1 | - | 9 | 4 |
| Leeming Park | 11 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 32 | 27 |
| Meadow Park | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 9 |
| The Venue | 28 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 37 | 32 |
| Maxwell Hillside Park | 6 | 6 | 6 | - | 25 | 14 |
| Melrose Avenue Allotments | 4 | 1 | - | - | 2 | 4 |
| Kenliworth Park | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | 8 | 11 |
| Ripon Park | 26 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 17 |
| Haggerston Park | - | - | - | - | 3 | 7 |
| Organ Hall Open Space | 16 | 4 | 6 | - | 47 | 36 |
| Aldenham Country Park | 2 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Aberford Park | 35 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 95 | 36 |
| Potterswood Park | 8 | - | 2 | - | 6 | 13 |
| Tempsford Green | 27 | 5 | 14 | - | 34 | 27 |
| Rowley Lane Sports Ground | 2 | - | - | - | 9 | 0 |
| Aycliffe Park | 21 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 45 | 30 |
| Shakespeare Drive Playground | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Farriers Way Open Space | 11 | 1 | - | - | 5 | 3 |
Recent Crimes in Elstree and Borehamwood
The 20 most recent crime reports in Elstree and Borehamwood.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Stevenage Crescent | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Eldon Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Edwintree Court | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Shopping Area | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Eldon Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Edwintree Court | |
| April 2026 | Drugs | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Other crime | On or near Stevenage Crescent | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Stevenage Crescent | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Edwintree Court | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Theft from the person | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Petrol Station | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Winstre Road |
Methodology & Data Sources
Elstree and Borehamwood Crime Report
Data Sources & Processing
Every month, CrimeRate processes crime reports from data.police.uk, the UK's official provider of open crime report data. Each crime report includes anonymised coordinates, most often "snapped" to the middle of the nearest street, or to the nearest major landmark. The reports also include the month and year the crime was reported, as well as the type of crime.
Data releases on data.police.uk happen once a month, with a two-month delay. This means that, for example, crimes reported in Elstree and Borehamwood during July 2026 will typically become available in September 2026. The latest release is for Apr 2026 and was released in Jun 2026. To provide current and historical crime statistics, CrimeRate processed 61,669,232 crime reports for the latest release.
Elstree and Borehamwood Data Points
For Elstree and Borehamwood, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2023 release of their Parishes and Non Civil Parished Areas dataset, using the PARNCP23CD column value E04004763.
Due to the 2021 Census being conducted during a UK-wide Coronavirus lockdown, the daytime population figures released so far cannot be relied on for purposes such as comparing crime rates. Instead, CrimeRate uses Elstree and Borehamwood's daytime - or "workday" - population of 36,566 from the ONS 2011 Census for calculations throughout the site.
All geographic boundaries use the full resolution - extent of the realm versions where provided to avoid missing crime reports near coastlines and rivers - the banks of the Thames in particular - that would otherwise not be included when using the clipped to the coastline datasets.
Calculating Crime Rates
CrimeRate locates the UK region, county, and town/city/village locality for each crime report, and calculates the crime rate by taking the sum of all crime reports, dividing it by the locality's daytime / "workday" population, and multiplying the result by 1,000 to get the crime rate per 1,000.
Crime Risk Score Calculations
CrimeRate calculates crime counts for local, nearby, and wider areas for every postcode in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The postcodes locations are deduplicated by a process that ensures distinct points are approximately 50 metres apart. This process removes the bias that would otherwise come from counting the same crimes several times in heavily populated areas.
Using a custom algorithm developed in-house, CrimeRate applies a crime severity weighting to each area's crime counts, based on the type of crime reported. This increases or decreases the crime count, or zeroes it out entirely, depending on the crime type. A separate crime severity rate is then calculated, standardised, and scaled to fit the crime risk score range of 1 to 1,000, with 1 being the lowest score, and 1,000 the highest.
Crime risk scores undergo further analysis per town, city, and village plus other areas including police forces and neighbourhoods. CrimeRate uses percentiles to work out the most common range of crime risk scores in each locality. This includes identifying the high and low bounds where approximately 68% of scores fall, and finding the median (50th percentile) for easy reference.
The crime types with a weight of zero are: Anti-Social Behaviour; Bicycle Theft; Other Crime; Other Theft; and Shoplifting. The highest weights to are assigned to Violence & Sexual Offences, and the lowest to Vehicle Crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crime in Elstree and Borehamwood