Cardiff has a crime rate of 96.45 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #228 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Cardiff's wards; some neighbourhoods are considerably safer than the city average. See the ward breakdown and hotspot map on this page for a detailed local picture.

What is the crime rate in Cardiff?

As of April 2026, Cardiff has an annual crime rate of 96.45 per 1,000 residents, based on 3,575 recorded offences in the latest reporting period. This figure is sourced from Police.uk open data and normalised using ONS Census 2021 population estimates to allow accurate comparisons between areas.

How does Cardiff rank nationally for crime?

Cardiff ranks #228 out of 331 local authorities in England and Wales by annual crime rate per 1,000 residents. A rank of #1 indicates the highest crime rate nationally. Rankings are recalculated each month as new Police.uk data becomes available, covering all recorded crimes across the area.

What is the most common crime in Cardiff?

The most common crime type in Cardiff is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 1,107 incidents in April 2026 — 31.0% of all recorded crime in the area. Data is sourced from Police.uk and covers all crimes recorded by the responsible police force across the Cardiff local authority area.

April 2026 Source: South Wales Police Police

Crime in Cardiff: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Cardiff recorded 3,575 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 9.25 per 1,000 residents. This places Cardiff at #228 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 31.0% of all offences recorded. Crime is up 2.5% compared to the same period last year.

info Crime is above average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring96.45 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment3,575 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #228 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 2.5% year-on-year

Data Sources:Police.ukONS Census 2021HM Land Registry Period: April 2026 • Updated monthly

Total Crimes

3,575

trending_up +7.3% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

96.45per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#228of 331

Ranked by annual rate

National Population

362,310

Estimated population

12-Month Crime Trend

Monthly Totals

Interactive Crime Map

District View

Live Points

Crime Incident

Area Boundary

Incident Distribution

Top Locations

Location Reference	Crime Breakdown	Primary Count
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 83 Anti-social behaviour: 21 Vehicle crime: 5	83
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 44 Public order: 13	44
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 49	49
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 32	32
On or near Ellen Street Map	Shoplifting: 26 Robbery: 2	26
On or near Heol Eglwys Fair Map	Violence and sexual offences: 20 Bicycle theft: 2 Theft from the person: 2	20
On or near Knox Road Map	Violence and sexual offences: 15 Other crime: 5 Drugs: 4	15
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 19 Other crime: 3	19
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 22	22
On or near Abergele Road Map	Shoplifting: 19	19

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

3,575 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

1,107

31.0%

Shoplifting

513

14.3%

Anti-social Behaviour

431

12.1%

Public Order

342

9.6%

Vehicle Crime

297

8.3%

Criminal Damage & Arson

293

8.2%

Other Theft

192

5.4%

Drug Offences

2.7%

Other Crime

2.2%

Burglary

2.0%

Bicycle Theft

1.8%

Robbery

0.9%

Weapons Possession

0.9%

Theft from Person

0.8%

Crime Analysis: Cardiff

Cardiff recorded 3,575 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 96.45 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, ranked #228 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences makes up the largest share of crime in Cardiff at 31.0%. Shoplifting (14.3%) and Anti-social Behaviour (12.1%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Cardiff has risen slightly — by 2.5%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by South Wales Police through the Police.uk open data platform and cross-referenced with ONS 2021 Census population estimates to produce the per-resident rates above. Data typically appears 1–2 months after the end of the recording period.

Stop & Search

April 2026

664

Total Stops

14.2%

Arrest Rate

203

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

408

Offensive weapons

Stolen goods

Article for use in theft

Articles for use in criminal damage

Evidence of offences under the Act

Outcome

A no further action disposal522

Arrest94

Community resolution24

Summons / charged by post18

Caution (simple or conditional)4

Not recorded2

Gender

Male560

Female97

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

88.0%

White

6.5%

Black

3.6%

Asian

1.9%

Other

Stop & search data published by South Wales Police under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk.

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

28 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Adamsdown	259	187.2
2	Riverside	183	145.4
3	Caerau	169	132.3
4	Cathays	583	117.3
5	Plasnewydd	191	113.4

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Cyncoed	53	2.6
shield	Lisvane and Thornhill	30	2.9
shield	Rhiwbina	25	2.2
shield	Rumney	48	2.3
shield	Radyr	19	2.7

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +7.3%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +2.5%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.3%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 331 local authorities in England & Wales.

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203 policing neighbourhoods

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