How safe is Ely?
8.0 crimes a month for every 1,000 residents. Ely's crime rate is above Cambridgeshire's, where the county as a whole records 7.3, so Ely's rate is 10% higher.
July 2026 is the most recent month published: police.uk figures arrive about two months behind, so August's are expected at the end of September. Last updated 13 September 2026
How Ely compares with Cambridgeshire
Crimes a month for every 1,000 residents, averaged over May 2026 to July 2026 so that one odd month cannot decide it.
- Ely8.0
- Cambridgeshire7.3
- Ely
- 165 crimes a month, population 20,574 (Census 2021, via Wikidata)
- Cambridgeshire
- 5,011 crimes a month, population 689,109 (population figure for 2022, via Wikidata). This is the Cambridgeshire County Council area, which does not include Peterborough.
Both rates are counted the same way: crimes recorded inside the boundary over the last three months, divided by the population. A town centre with shops and pubs tends to record more than the villages and farmland that make up much of a county, so read the gap with that in mind.
Read these figures carefully. They count crimesrecorded by the police, not crimes committed, so a place where people report more can look worse than one where they report less.
Where reports come from
192 crimes recorded inside the Ely boundary in July 2026. Locations in this data are anonymised: each report is snapped to one of a fixed set of points near, deliberately not at, where it happened. This map shows which parts of Ely generate more reports, never a particular address or business.
fewer reports more reports
When it happens
The last 13 months. Busiest was August 2025 with 208, quietest February 2026 with 97. Pick a month to see what was recorded in it.
192 crimes were recorded in July 2026, against 115 in July 2025, so recorded crime is up 67%. One month moves a long way, so the run above says more than any single comparison.
What was recorded in July 2026
192 crimes inside the Ely boundary.
- Violence and sexual offences47 41% of the month
- Anti-social behaviour15 13% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson11 10% of the month
- Shoplifting11 10% of the month
- Public order7 6% of the month
- Vehicle crime7 6% of the month
- Drugs5 4% of the month
- Other theft4 3% of the month
- Other crime4 3% of the month
- Burglary2 2% of the month
- Bicycle theft1 1% of the month
- Theft from the person1 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, Militia Way, St Mary's Street.
- Violence and sexual offences64 31% of the month
- Anti-social behaviour49 24% of the month
- Shoplifting24 12% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson21 10% of the month
- Other theft18 9% of the month
- Public order9 4% of the month
- Vehicle crime6 3% of the month
- Drugs5 2% of the month
- Other crime4 2% of the month
- Bicycle theft3 1% of the month
- Burglary3 1% of the month
- Possession of weapons2 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, Newnham Street, Bedford Close.
- Violence and sexual offences47 35% of the month
- Anti-social behaviour22 16% of the month
- Vehicle crime14 10% of the month
- Other theft11 8% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson9 7% of the month
- Shoplifting7 5% of the month
- Other crime6 4% of the month
- Drugs5 4% of the month
- Public order5 4% of the month
- Burglary4 3% of the month
- Theft from the person2 1% of the month
- Bicycle theft1 1% of the month
- Possession of weapons1 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, Priests Meadow Court, Newnham Street.
- Violence and sexual offences45 30% of the month
- Anti-social behaviour43 29% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson12 8% of the month
- Shoplifting11 7% of the month
- Other theft8 5% of the month
- Other crime7 5% of the month
- Drugs6 4% of the month
- Public order5 3% of the month
- Bicycle theft4 3% of the month
- Possession of weapons3 2% of the month
- Vehicle crime2 1% of the month
- Burglary1 1% of the month
- Robbery1 1% of the month
- Theft from the person1 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, Market Street, Fore Hill.
- Violence and sexual offences41 35% of the month
- Anti-social behaviour26 22% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson15 13% of the month
- Shoplifting11 9% of the month
- Vehicle crime6 5% of the month
- Drugs5 4% of the month
- Other theft4 3% of the month
- Public order4 3% of the month
- Bicycle theft2 2% of the month
- Burglary2 2% of the month
- Possession of weapons1 1% of the month
- Other crime1 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, a petrol station, Allen Road.
- Violence and sexual offences48 37% of the month
- Anti-social behaviour25 19% of the month
- Shoplifting16 12% of the month
- Public order10 8% of the month
- Other theft9 7% of the month
- Burglary6 5% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson5 4% of the month
- Vehicle crime5 4% of the month
- Bicycle theft3 2% of the month
- Possession of weapons2 2% of the month
- Theft from the person1 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, Market Street, Bedford Close.
- Violence and sexual offences47 32% of the month
- Anti-social behaviour29 20% of the month
- Shoplifting23 16% of the month
- Other theft11 7% of the month
- Public order7 5% of the month
- Vehicle crime7 5% of the month
- Burglary6 4% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson6 4% of the month
- Other crime5 3% of the month
- Drugs3 2% of the month
- Theft from the person2 1% of the month
- Bicycle theft1 1% of the month
- Possession of weapons1 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, Little Lane, Newnham Street.
- Violence and sexual offences29 30% of the month
- Shoplifting21 22% of the month
- Anti-social behaviour11 11% of the month
- Other theft8 8% of the month
- Burglary6 6% of the month
- Public order6 6% of the month
- Other crime5 5% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson4 4% of the month
- Vehicle crime4 4% of the month
- Drugs1 1% of the month
- Possession of weapons1 1% of the month
- Theft from the person1 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, Newnham Street, a petrol station.
- Violence and sexual offences48 34% of the month
- Anti-social behaviour35 25% of the month
- Shoplifting27 19% of the month
- Public order8 6% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson7 5% of the month
- Other crime4 3% of the month
- Burglary3 2% of the month
- Vehicle crime3 2% of the month
- Drugs2 1% of the month
- Theft from the person2 1% of the month
- Other theft1 1% of the month
- Possession of weapons1 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, Newnham Street, Market Street.
- Violence and sexual offences38 29% of the month
- Anti-social behaviour26 20% of the month
- Shoplifting16 12% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson14 11% of the month
- Burglary9 7% of the month
- Drugs6 5% of the month
- Other crime6 5% of the month
- Public order4 3% of the month
- Vehicle crime4 3% of the month
- Other theft3 2% of the month
- Bicycle theft2 2% of the month
- Possession of weapons2 2% of the month
- Theft from the person1 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, Newnham Street, St Mary's Street.
- Violence and sexual offences40 26% of the month
- Shoplifting39 25% of the month
- Anti-social behaviour35 23% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson9 6% of the month
- Other theft9 6% of the month
- Public order7 5% of the month
- Burglary3 2% of the month
- Drugs3 2% of the month
- Bicycle theft2 1% of the month
- Vehicle crime2 1% of the month
- Other crime2 1% of the month
- Possession of weapons1 1% of the month
- Theft from the person1 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, Market Street, Little Lane.
- Anti-social behaviour46 31% of the month
- Violence and sexual offences38 26% of the month
- Shoplifting30 20% of the month
- Other theft8 5% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson7 5% of the month
- Public order5 3% of the month
- Bicycle theft3 2% of the month
- Drugs3 2% of the month
- Burglary2 1% of the month
- Vehicle crime2 1% of the month
- Other crime2 1% of the month
- Possession of weapons1 1% of the month
- Robbery1 1% of the month
- Theft from the person1 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, a petrol station, Fore Hill.
- Anti-social behaviour73 38% of the month
- Violence and sexual offences42 22% of the month
- Shoplifting20 10% of the month
- Other theft15 8% of the month
- Public order13 7% of the month
- Criminal damage and arson11 6% of the month
- Burglary4 2% of the month
- Other crime4 2% of the month
- Possession of weapons3 2% of the month
- Theft from the person3 2% of the month
- Bicycle theft2 1% of the month
- Vehicle crime2 1% of the month
Most reports came from around a parking area, Newnham Street, Steeple Row.
What the police say they are working on
Set by the East Cambridgeshire neighbourhood team, which covers Ely and the villages around it.
- PriorityTheft from shops in Elyset 22 July 2026
- PriorityAnti-social behaviour in Elyset 22 July 2026
Tackling anti-social behaviour remains a priority for the neighbourhood team, with 37 incidents reported in Ely since 15 April, nine of which were youth-related.
The team's own words, published 22 July 2026. Their full update.Reporting something, or getting help
In an emergency, or if a crime is happening now, call 999.
Crime data from data.police.uk, July 2025 to July 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Town boundaries from OpenStreetMap. Population: Census 2021, via Wikidata. To report a crime call 101, or 999 in an emergency.
