Church of St Peter · Photo: Dylan Moore · CC BY-SA 2.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Johnston than in 95% of UK towns
Violence recorded locally dropped 13% in a year. Even so, for its size, it sits below 2% of the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people on crime per resident. The Safety Grade comes out at D, drawn from crimes police recorded inside Johnston’s built-up area through September 2023 to August 2026. Its police logs show 63.7 violent and sexual offences and 12.5 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Johnston
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 13% less violent crime per resident in Johnston than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind Johnston’s D
A fairly firm grade. Built on 349 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Johnston 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, Johnston runs highest on drugs (7.9 per 1,000 against 0.6), violence & sexual offences (56.6 per 1,000 against 16.6) and criminal damage & arson (9.1 per 1,000 against 3.2).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 100 | 56.6 | 16.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 16 | 9.1 | 3.2 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 16 | 9.1 | 5.3 |
| Drugs | not graded | 14 | 7.9 | 0.6 |
| Public order | not graded | 12 | 6.8 | 2.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 11 | 6.2 | 2.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 4 | 2.3 | 1.1 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 3 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 2 | 1.1 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.6 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.6 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.6 | 0 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 0 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Robbery | Violent | 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.
How Johnston compares with UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 253 | Crundale Dyfed | 1,065 | 13.4 | 3.2 | 1.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 300 | Penrhyn-coch Dyfed | 1,378 | 15 | 2.7 | 1.9 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 545 | Penybanc Dyfed | 1,165 | 18.4 | 4.5 | 1.9 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 673 | Bryn Dyfed | 1,727 | 19.9 | 5.9 | 0.9 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 1183 | Barmouth Gwynedd | 1,986 | 58.5 | 14.8 | 19 | D |
| 1184 | Ansley Warwickshire | 1,046 | 50 | 24.5 | 6.4 | D |
| 1185 | Markham Gwent | 1,443 | 57.1 | 18.5 | 7.2 | D |
| 1186 | Johnston Dyfed | 1,766 | 63.7 | 12.5 | 10.8 | D |
| 1187 | Trethomas Gwent | 1,713 | 58 | 19.5 | 5.6 | D− |
| 1188 | Poyle Berkshire | 1,736 | 44.6 | 34.8 | 13.6 | D− |
| 1189 | Colnbrook Berkshire | 1,898 | 48.1 | 31.3 | 22.7 | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 1214 | 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 Johnston, and others in Dyfed.
Crime in Johnston 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 11 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 8 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
How crime in Johnston has moved
Dyfed Powys Police published four months short or not at all (Jan 2024, Feb 2024, Mar 2024 and Apr 2024), so the line breaks there and those months are left out of the rates. “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 -13% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -10% (towns its size +0%), shoplifting and theft -25% (towns its size +4%), anti-social behaviour -38% (towns its size -1%).
No one died in a collision on Johnston’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 6 collisions with injuries inside Johnston in five years. 2 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 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 Johnston is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Johnston’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; Johnston 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 Johnston’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Johnston
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnston | 1,766 | 63.7 | 12.5 | D |
| Merlin's Bridge | 2,220 | 46.6 | 9.6 | C− |
| Haverfordwest | 12,088 | 91.4 | 28.6 | D− |
| Milford Haven | 14,251 | 74.9 | 22.6 | D− |
| Neyland | 3,250 | 40 | 15.8 | C− |
| Pembroke Dock | 9,659 | 63.4 | 20.2 | D− |
| Crundale | 1,065 | 13.4 | 3.2 | A |
| Pembroke | 7,963 | 50.6 | 16.4 | D |
Johnston records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. Merlin's Bridge, 2.3 miles away, records 46.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Johnston’s 63.7.
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
- Some months are short. Dyfed Powys Police published January 2024, February 2024, March 2024 and April 2024 only in part or not at all. Those months are left out of the rates, which average the months that were published in full; the raw counts include what was published.
- 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 Johnston 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 Johnston
Is Johnston safe?
Police recorded 63.7 violent and sexual offences and 12.5 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Johnston’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 5% of UK towns. Among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Johnston has less crime per resident than 2%.
Is crime going up in Johnston?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 13%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 10%, shoplifting and theft fell 25% and anti-social behaviour fell 38%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Johnston?
Violence & sexual offences: 100 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (16) and drugs (14), with 16 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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.