Is Merthyr Tydfil safe?

Merthyr Tydfil has a crime rate of 97.4 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #230 of 331 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Merthyr Tydfil'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 Merthyr Tydfil?

As of April 2026, Merthyr Tydfil has an annual crime rate of 97.4 per 1,000 residents, based on 543 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 Merthyr Tydfil rank nationally for crime?

Merthyr Tydfil ranks #230 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 Merthyr Tydfil?

The most common crime type in Merthyr Tydfil is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 201 incidents in April 2026 — 37.0% 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 Merthyr Tydfil local authority area.

April 2026 Source: South Wales Police Police

Crime in Merthyr Tydfil: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Merthyr Tydfil recorded 543 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 9.23 per 1,000 residents. This places Merthyr Tydfil at #230 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 37.0% of all offences recorded. Crime is down 7.8% compared to the same period last year.

info Crime is above average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring97.4 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment543 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #230 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 7.8% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

543

trending_up +8.8% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

97.4per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#230of 331

Ranked by annual rate

National Population

58,839

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 Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 12 Public order: 3 Criminal damage and arson: 3	12
On or near John Street Map	Shoplifting: 13	13
On or near Coedcae Row Map	Shoplifting: 12	12
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 10	10
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 9	9
On or near Sports/Recreation Area Map	Shoplifting: 9	9
On or near Police Station Map	Violence and sexual offences: 5 Drugs: 2	5
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 7	7
On or near Post Office Lane Map	Public order: 3 Anti-social behaviour: 2 Theft from the person: 1	3
On or near Greenfield Gardens Map	Violence and sexual offences: 6	6

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

543 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

201

37.0%

Shoplifting

13.6%

Public Order

11.0%

Anti-social Behaviour

10.3%

Criminal Damage & Arson

6.4%

Other Theft

5.9%

Vehicle Crime

5.5%

Burglary

3.1%

Other Crime

2.8%

Drug Offences

2.2%

Weapons Possession

1.1%

Robbery

0.4%

Theft from Person

0.4%

Bicycle Theft

0.2%

Crime Analysis: Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil recorded 543 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 97.4 per 1,000 residents — above the national average for England and Wales, ranked #230 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Merthyr Tydfil (37.0%). Shoplifting (13.6%) and Public Order (11.0%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Merthyr Tydfil has fallen noticeably — by 7.8%. 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

11 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Park	48	124.2
2	Cyfarthfa	87	115.5
3	Town	100	109.1
4	Gurnos	66	98.2
5	Merthyr Vale	29	79.0

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Treharris	32	5.1
shield	Bedlinog and Trelewis	15	4.0
shield	Plymouth	50	7.9
shield	Vaynor	19	5.6
shield	Dowlais and Pant	63	7.8

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +8.8%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -7.8%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_down -0.1%

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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Police Force

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South Wales Police

203 policing neighbourhoods

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