Photo: Richard Park · CC BY-SA 2.0Meliden records public order at 2.7 times the rate of a typical town its size
On burglary, vehicle crime and damage it beats 61% of UK towns; on violent crime, only 18%. Behind the grade sit 38.5 violent and sexual offences and 8.2 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 people a year. Weighing it all, Meliden earns C for safety, with more crime per resident than 75% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area over September 2023 to August 2026. Violent crime was down 11% in a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Meliden
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 11% less violent crime per resident in Meliden than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Meliden has the 1,558th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Machynlleth, Barwick and Stoford and Haswell, higher than Whitchurch, Old Leake and Upper Heyford. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Inside Meliden’s C for safety
A fairly firm grade. Built on 280 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Meliden against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Meliden runs highest on public order (6.5 per 1,000 against 2.4), anti-social behaviour (13.5 per 1,000 against 5.3) and criminal damage & arson (7.5 per 1,000 against 3.2).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 72 | 36 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 27 | 13.5 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 15 | 7.5 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 13 | 6.5 | 2.4 |
| Other crime | not graded | 9 | 4.5 | 1.1 |
| Other theft | not graded | 6 | 3 | 2.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 3 | 1.5 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 2 | 1 | 0.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Among 1,764 towns its size, Meliden ranks 1,558th for the least graded crime
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 27 | Higher Kinnerton Clwyd | 1,731 | 6 | 2.5 | 0.2 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 62 | Soughton Clwyd | 1,697 | 7.7 | 2.8 | 2.6 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 381 | Dwygyfylchi Clwyd | 1,403 | 13.1 | 4.8 | 3.8 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 444 | Llansanffraid Glan Conwy Clwyd | 1,663 | 14.4 | 4.2 | 2.4 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 1555 | Whitchurch Somerset | 1,992 | 32.1 | 14.4 | 4.5 | C |
| 1556 | Old Leake Lincolnshire | 1,173 | 39.2 | 7.4 | 3.4 | C |
| 1557 | Upper Heyford Oxfordshire | 2,481 | 39.1 | 7.5 | 5.7 | C |
| 1558 | Meliden Clwyd | 2,002 | 38.5 | 8.2 | 5.7 | C |
| 1559 | Rockwell Green Somerset | 2,854 | 39.6 | 7 | 2.1 | C |
| 1560 | Cwmfelinfach Gwent | 1,353 | 30.8 | 16 | 1.7 | C |
| 1561 | Wainfleet All Saints Lincolnshire | 1,802 | 34 | 13 | 10 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 1764 | Ingoldmells Lincolnshire | 1,928 | 259 | 64.7 | 57.2 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Meliden, and others in Clwyd.
How crime in Meliden has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent -11% (towns its size +3%), anti-social behaviour +17% (towns its size -1%).
Crime in Meliden per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 8 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 4 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
No one died in a collision on Meliden’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 6 collisions with injuries inside Meliden in five years. 2 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Meliden is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Meliden’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Meliden had 2.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Meliden’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Meliden
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meliden | 2,002 | 38.5 | 8.2 | C |
| Prestatyn | 16,678 | 41.3 | 12.2 | C− |
| Dyserth | 2,038 | 27.3 | 5.6 | B− |
| Rhyl | 26,982 | 89.1 | 22.9 | D− |
| Rhuddlan | 3,791 | 35.4 | 7.4 | C |
| St Asaph | 3,483 | 39.3 | 12.5 | C− |
| Kinmel Bay | 9,016 | 61.6 | 15.2 | D− |
| Bodelwyddan | 1,785 | 99.5 | 15.9 | D− |
Meliden records more graded crime per resident than 2 of its 7 neighbours. Dyserth, 1.3 miles away, records 27.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Meliden’s 38.5.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Meliden sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Meliden
Is Meliden safe?
Police recorded 38.5 violent and sexual offences and 8.2 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Meliden’s built-up area). That earns a C for safety: less crime per resident than 25% of UK towns. Among 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Meliden is 1,558th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Meliden?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 11%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 55%, shoplifting and theft fell 40% and anti-social behaviour rose 17%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Meliden?
Violence & sexual offences: 72 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (15) and public order (13), with 27 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Meliden compare with Rhyl?
Rhyl records 89.1 violent and sexual offences and 22.9 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Meliden’s 38.5 and 8.2, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · Welsh Government Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025, community safety domain by LSOA · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.