Photo: Eddy Blanche · CC BY-SA 2.0Fochriw sees more burglary, vehicle crime and damage per resident than 90% of UK towns
The Safety Grade comes out at D, drawn from crimes police recorded inside Fochriw’s built-up area through September 2023 to August 2026. On top of that, among the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, it records less crime per resident than 5%. Recorded violence rose 8% in a year. Annual rates stand at 41.8 violent and sexual offences and 19.2 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every thousand residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Fochriw
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 8% more violent crime per resident in Fochriw than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
100% of Fochriw’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of Wales (WIMD 2025 community safety), and 0% in the lowest-crime 30%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Fochriw’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 210 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Fochriw against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
How Fochriw 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 281 | Govilon Gwent | 1,342 | 13.2 | 4 | 3.7 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 440 | Caer-went Gwent | 1,523 | 14.9 | 5.7 | 2.2 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 496 | Portskewett Gwent | 1,627 | 18 | 3.7 | 1.6 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 552 | Penperlleni Gwent | 1,396 | 18.2 | 5 | 1.4 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 1155 | Trinant Gwent | 1,504 | 46.1 | 13.7 | 2.4 | D |
| 1156 | Bournmoor County Durham | 1,991 | 31.8 | 28.3 | 5.9 | D |
| 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 |
| … | ||||||
| 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 Fochriw, and others in Gwent.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Fochriw runs highest on violence & sexual offences (37.5 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 43 | 37.5 | 16.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 8 | 7 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 8 | 7 | 2.4 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 5 | 4.4 | 1.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 4 | 3.5 | 1.1 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 3 | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 3 | 2.6 | 5.3 |
| Other theft | not graded | 1 | 0.9 | 2.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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.
Crime in Fochriw 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 14 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 1 shoplifting and theft report, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
How crime in Fochriw 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 +8% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -38% (towns its size +0%), anti-social behaviour -88% (towns its size -1%).
No one died in a collision on Fochriw’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 1 collision with injuries inside Fochriw in five years. 1 person was 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 Fochriw is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Fochriw’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; Fochriw had 1.
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 Fochriw’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Fochriw
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fochriw | 1,148 | 41.8 | 19.2 | D |
| Pontlottyn | 1,832 | 48.2 | 37.8 | D− |
| Rhymney | 4,998 | 67.7 | 39.8 | D− |
| Abertysswg | 1,424 | 29 | 12.9 | C |
| Bedlinog | 1,098 | 36.1 | 14.9 | C− |
| New Tredegar | 3,280 | 61.5 | 32.7 | D− |
| Troedyrhiw and Pentrebach | 3,780 | 47.8 | 15.5 | D |
| Tredegar | 14,534 | 60.9 | 32 | D− |
Fochriw records more graded crime per resident than 2 of its 7 neighbours. Abertysswg, 1.5 miles away, records 29 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Fochriw’s 41.8.
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 Fochriw 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 Fochriw
Is Fochriw safe?
Police recorded 41.8 violent and sexual offences and 19.2 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Fochriw’s built-up area). That earns a D for safety: less crime per resident than 12% of UK towns. Among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Fochriw has less crime per resident than 5%.
Is crime going up in Fochriw?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 8%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 38%, shoplifting and theft fell 83% and anti-social behaviour fell 88%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Fochriw?
Violence & sexual offences: 43 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (8) and public order (8), with 3 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Fochriw compare with Merthyr Tydfil?
Merthyr Tydfil records 45.6 violent and sexual offences and 19.1 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Fochriw’s 41.8 and 19.2, 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.