Council areas
Council areas in the South Wales Police area by crime rate
7 council areas ranked by published street-crime records per 1,000 residents counted in the Census 2021, September 2025 to August 2026, as each council area's page shows them.
Updated October 2026.
Ranked by published crime rate
This ranks rates, not safety. A residents-only rate reads high where many people visit and few live. Each record counts for the council area of its nearest postcode, so counts near a boundary are indicative, and police locations are approximate. How this ranking is built.
| Rank of 7 |
Council area |
Per 1,000 |
Records |
| 1 |
Cardiff
362,371 residents |
118.1 |
42,801 |
| 2 |
Merthyr Tydfil
58,898 residents |
109.6 |
6,453 |
| 3 |
Swansea
238,447 residents |
91.2 |
21,742 |
| 4 |
Rhondda Cynon Taf
237,673 residents |
87.5 |
20,803 |
| 5 |
Bridgend
145,448 residents |
85.7 |
12,467 |
| 6 |
Neath Port Talbot
142,321 residents |
82.9 |
11,795 |
| 7 |
Vale of Glamorgan
131,937 residents |
75.3 |
9,932 |
By police force area
Avon and Somerset Police area, Bedfordshire Police area, Cambridgeshire Constabulary area, Cheshire Constabulary area, Cleveland Police area, Cumbria Constabulary area, Derbyshire Constabulary area, Devon and Cornwall Police area, Dorset Police area, Durham Constabulary area, Dyfed-Powys Police area, Essex Police area, Gwent Police area, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary area, Hertfordshire Constabulary area, Humberside Police area, Kent Police area, Lancashire Constabulary area, Leicestershire Police area, Lincolnshire Police area, Merseyside Police area, Norfolk Constabulary area, North Wales Police area, North Yorkshire Police area, Northamptonshire Police area, Northumbria Police area, Nottinghamshire Police area, South Yorkshire Police area, Staffordshire Police area, Suffolk Constabulary area, Surrey Police area, Sussex Police area, Thames Valley Police area, Warwickshire Police area, West Mercia Police area, West Midlands Police area, West Yorkshire Police area, Wiltshire Police area.
For one council area's months, categories and trend, open its page from the table or from crime by council area. For all 43 forces added up, see England and Wales crime statistics.