339 anti-social behaviour reports in central Burgess Hill from March to July, up from 223 a year earlier. Haywards Heath fell. The streets, and how to report.
Reports of anti-social behaviour in central Burgess Hill have risen by about half in a year. Sussex Police recorded 339 incidents within a mile of the town centre between March and July 2026. In the same five months of 2025 the figure was 223.
The numbers come from police.uk, the Home Office’s street-level crime data. July 2026 is the latest month published. We pulled every month from March 2025 onwards for Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and East Grinstead, using the same one-mile radius for each town. (police.uk open data)
The quick answer
- Burgess Hill: 339 anti-social behaviour reports from March to July 2026, up from 223 in 2025, a rise of 52%.
- All recorded crime in the same area rose 8%, from 1,002 to 1,084. Violent crime fell, from 335 to 302.
- Haywards Heath went the other way: anti-social behaviour down from 155 to 141, and all crime down 17%.
- Report it to Sussex Police on 101 or online, or to the district council if it is ongoing. Details at the end.
Month by month
The rise began in March and has not let up. Burgess Hill logged 19 reports in January and 21 in February. Then came 54 in March, 67 in April, 72 in May, 77 in June and 69 in July. Every one of those five months was at or above the busiest month of spring 2025.
How the three towns compare
The same five months, March to July, in each year:
| Within a mile of | Anti-social behaviour 2025 | 2026 | All crime 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burgess Hill | 223 | 339 | 1,002 | 1,084 |
| East Grinstead | 129 | 192 | 549 | 671 |
| Haywards Heath | 155 | 141 | 680 | 563 |
East Grinstead’s anti-social behaviour reports rose almost as sharply, by 49%. Its total crime rose 22%, the steepest of the three. Haywards Heath fell on both counts. (police.uk open data)
What else changed in Burgess Hill
Across all categories, March to July 2026 against the same months of 2025:
- anti-social behaviour: 223 to 339
- violent and sexual offences: 335 to 302
- public order offences: 66 to 86
- shoplifting: 73 to 83
- burglary: 32 to 41
- vehicle crime: 46 to 17
Violent crime is still the largest group of actual crimes. Anti-social behaviour is now the largest category overall.
Where the reports were placed
police.uk does not publish exact addresses. Each report is moved to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, which is why some carry names like “parking area” or “supermarket” rather than a street. Treat the locations as approximate.
With that caveat, the named streets that stand out this year are:
- Freek’s Lane: 13 reports, up from 6
- Keymer Parade: 12 reports, up from none
- Church Road: 11 reports, against 12 last year
- Civic Way: 7 reports, up from 1
The points labelled as car parks took 37 reports, up from 14. Points labelled as a supermarket took 18, up from 4.
What the police and council say they are doing
Sussex Police’s neighbourhood team for the Meeds and Franklands area of Burgess Hill lists youth-related anti-social behaviour as one of its three priorities. The others are anti-social driving and retail crime. The team says it is patrolling where reports have been made and working with schools and youth groups through its Neighbourhood Youth Officers. The priorities were last updated on 6 August. (police.uk, Meeds and Franklands priorities)
In June, Mid Sussex District Council ran a “see it, report it” campaign for ASB Awareness Week, with officers at Burgess Hill Marketplace on 1 July. It said reports help it and the police “target action where it is needed most”. It has also renewed its order against car cruising on the A2300 off Jobs Lane. The council says complaints about car cruising in Burgess Hill have fallen by almost 60% since that order began in 2020. (Mid Sussex District Council, 26 June 2026)
What the figures cannot tell you
These are reports recorded by the police, not a count of what happened. A campaign that asks people to report more can push recorded numbers up on its own. The data cannot separate a real rise from a rise in reporting, and neither Sussex Police nor the council has published an explanation for the Burgess Hill increase.
Anti-social behaviour covers a wide range, from noise and nuisance to intimidation. The figures do not say which. The one-mile circle also takes in residential streets well beyond the shopping centre, and it is a snapshot of five months, not a long-term trend.
What it means for you
- In an emergency, or if someone is in danger: call 999.
- To report anti-social behaviour or a crime: call 101 or use the online form at sussex.police.uk. Every report is counted in these figures.
- For ongoing problems affecting your quality of life: report them to the district council through its anti-social behaviour and crime page.
- To see your own street: search your postcode on police.uk.
Parking and town centre information is on our parking in Mid Sussex page, and planning changes in the town on our planning news page.
Sources
- police.uk street-level crime data, March 2025 to July 2026, one-mile radius of central Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and East Grinstead (Open Government Licence)
- police.uk, Meeds and Franklands neighbourhood priorities
- Mid Sussex District Council, See it, report it (26 June 2026)
- Mid Sussex District Council, Anti-social behaviour and crime
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