Photo: Jo and Steve Turner · CC BY-SA 2.0Newcastle Emlyn has more crime per resident than 89% of UK towns
Police recorded 17 cases of drugs in Newcastle Emlyn in the 12 months to August 2026, a rate of 9.2 per 1,000 against a typical 0.6. Scored on crimes police recorded inside the town’s built-up area across September 2023 to August 2026, the town lands on D for safety. Add to that, violent crime was up 14% in a year. Typical years here bring 51.7 violent and sexual offences plus 10.6 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Newcastle Emlyn
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 14% more violent crime per resident in Newcastle Emlyn 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’s behind Newcastle Emlyn’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 309 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Newcastle Emlyn 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, Newcastle Emlyn runs highest on drugs (9.2 per 1,000 against 0.6), violence & sexual offences (56.5 per 1,000 against 16.6) and criminal damage & arson (9.2 per 1,000 against 3.2).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 104 | 56.5 | 16.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 17 | 9.2 | 3.2 |
| Drugs | not graded | 17 | 9.2 | 0.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 10 | 5.4 | 5.3 |
| Public order | not graded | 9 | 4.9 | 2.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 7 | 3.8 | 0 |
| Other theft | not graded | 6 | 3.3 | 2.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 6 | 3.3 | 1.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 5 | 2.7 | 0 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 0 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 Newcastle Emlyn 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 1157 | Harpur Hill Derbyshire | 1,121 | 46.4 | 14 | 5.7 | D |
| 1158 | Fochriw Gwent | 1,148 | 41.8 | 19.2 | 3.5 | D |
| 1159 | Rhayader Powys | 1,837 | 48 | 14.3 | 5.9 | D |
| 1160 | Newcastle Emlyn Dyfed | 1,842 | 51.7 | 10.6 | 7.5 | D |
| 1161 | Penwithick Cornwall | 1,706 | 50.1 | 12.8 | 4.5 | D |
| 1162 | Charnock Richard Lancashire | 1,098 | 36.4 | 27 | 25.2 | D |
| 1163 | Onley Northamptonshire | 1,667 | 60.6 | 3 | 1.2 | 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 Newcastle Emlyn, and others in Dyfed.
How crime in Newcastle Emlyn 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 +14% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -5% (towns its size +0%).
Crime in Newcastle Emlyn 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 10 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.
No one died in a collision on Newcastle Emlyn’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 10 collisions with injuries inside Newcastle Emlyn in five years. 3 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Newcastle Emlyn is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Newcastle Emlyn’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; Newcastle Emlyn had 3.
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 Newcastle Emlyn’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Newcastle Emlyn
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle Emlyn | 1,842 | 51.7 | 10.6 | D |
| Llandysul | 1,321 | 48.5 | 21.9 | D |
| Aberporth | 1,075 | 47.1 | 8.7 | C− |
| Cardigan | 3,767 | 69.5 | 20.1 | D− |
| Pencader | 1,061 | 47 | 11.3 | D |
| St Dogmaels | 1,013 | 23.3 | 7.4 | B− |
Newcastle Emlyn records more graded crime per resident than 3 of its 5 neighbours; only Llandysul and Cardigan record more. Aberporth, 7.3 miles away, records 47.1 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Newcastle Emlyn’s 51.7.
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 Newcastle Emlyn 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 Newcastle Emlyn
Is Newcastle Emlyn safe?
Police recorded 51.7 violent and sexual offences and 10.6 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Newcastle Emlyn’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 11% of UK towns. Among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Newcastle Emlyn has less crime per resident than 4%.
Is crime going up in Newcastle Emlyn?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 14%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 5%, shoplifting and theft rose 75% and anti-social behaviour held steady. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Newcastle Emlyn?
Violence & sexual offences: 104 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (17) and drugs (17), with 10 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.