Photo: David Purchase · CC BY-SA 2.0Gilwern stands out for anti-social behaviour: 2.1 times the rate of a typical town its size
Compared with the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, it records less crime per resident than 39%. What’s more, violent crime was up 10% in a year. Typical years here bring 20.2 violent and sexual offences plus 7.9 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 Gilwern
About the middle for a village its size
Of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Gilwern has the 272nd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Steeple Claydon, Hunmanby and Jacksdale and Westwood, higher than Rayne, Boverton and Denby Dale. Towns its size ↓
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 10% more violent crime per resident in Gilwern 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.
Gilwern’s Safety Grade is B
A fairly firm grade. Built on 184 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Gilwern 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, Gilwern runs highest on anti-social behaviour (11.4 per 1,000 against 5.3), public order (5 per 1,000 against 2.4) and criminal damage & arson (6.4 per 1,000 against 3.2).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 44 | 20.1 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 25 | 11.4 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 14 | 6.4 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 11 | 5 | 2.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 10 | 4.6 | 2.5 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 5 | 2.3 | 1.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 3 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 2 | 0.9 | 1.6 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 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.
How crime in Gilwern 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 +10% (towns its size +3%), anti-social behaviour +14% (towns its size -1%).
Crime in Gilwern 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 5 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Set against 550 towns its size, Gilwern is 272nd
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 66 | Marshfield Gwent | 2,386 | 11.7 | 5.2 | 3.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 250 | Usk Gwent | 2,310 | 18.5 | 8.1 | 11.3 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 269 | Rayne Essex | 2,169 | 18.9 | 9.1 | 4.3 | B |
| 270 | Boverton South Glamorgan | 2,740 | 21.8 | 6.2 | 2.7 | B |
| 271 | Denby Dale West Yorkshire | 2,734 | 20 | 8.1 | 3 | B |
| 272 | Gilwern Gwent | 2,184 | 20.2 | 7.9 | 4.3 | B |
| 273 | Charlbury Oxfordshire | 2,810 | 19.5 | 8.7 | 2.9 | B |
| 274 | Downton Wiltshire | 2,952 | 13.6 | 14.6 | 7.3 | B |
| 275 | Dinnington Tyne and Wear | 2,366 | 20.1 | 8.1 | 2.5 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 280 | Underwood Gwent | 2,134 | 20 | 8.4 | 2.8 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 406 | Langstone Gwent | 2,912 | 27 | 10.4 | 6.9 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 550 | Avonmouth Bristol | 2,643 | 82.9 | 54.6 | 60.4 | 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 Gilwern, and others in Gwent.
No one died in a collision on Gilwern’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 4 collisions with injuries inside Gilwern in five years. 4 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 Gilwern is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Gilwern’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; Gilwern had 4.
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 Gilwern’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Gilwern
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilwern | 2,184 | 20.2 | 7.9 | B |
| Govilon | 1,342 | 13.2 | 4 | A |
| Llanfoist | 2,007 | 36.2 | 14.3 | C− |
| Crickhowell | 2,108 | 23.3 | 5.9 | B |
| Abergavenny | 13,689 | 47.5 | 20.8 | D |
| Blaenavon | 5,637 | 58.2 | 23.5 | D− |
| Brynmawr | 5,250 | 56 | 27.3 | D− |
| Nantyglo | 4,548 | 47.3 | 23.5 | D |
Gilwern records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. Govilon, 1.3 miles away, records 13.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Gilwern’s 20.2.
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 Gilwern 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 Gilwern
Is Gilwern safe?
Police recorded 20.2 violent and sexual offences and 7.9 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Gilwern’s built-up area). That earns a B for safety: less crime per resident than 61% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Gilwern is 272nd from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Gilwern?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 10%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 17%, shoplifting and theft rose 175% and anti-social behaviour rose 14%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Gilwern?
Violence & sexual offences: 44 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (14) and public order (11), with 25 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Gilwern compare with Pontypool?
Pontypool records 47 violent and sexual offences and 18.7 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Gilwern’s 20.2 and 7.9, 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.