Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0Usk stands out for other theft: 2.9 times the rate of a typical town its size
Overall, Usk grades B+ for safety: less crime per resident than 65% of UK towns, on crimes police recorded inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Its police logs show 18.5 violent and sexual offences and 8.1 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents a year. Violent crime here is lower than in 65% of UK towns; burglary, vehicle crime and damage, lower than in 62%.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Usk
About the middle for a village its size
Of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Usk has the 250th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Osbaldwick, Valley and Limpsfield, higher than Alresford, Kintbury and Galgate. Towns its size ↓
Many neighbourhoods rank low for crime in Wales
The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025 ranks every neighbourhood in Wales on community safety. 52% of Usk’s residents live in one of the lowest-crime 10%, and 0% in one of the highest-crime 20%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
The grade: B+ for Usk
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 Usk 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, Usk runs highest on other theft (7.4 per 1,000 against 2.5) and anti-social behaviour (8.2 per 1,000 against 5.3).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 43 | 18.6 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 19 | 8.2 | 5.3 |
| Other theft | not graded | 17 | 7.4 | 2.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 8 | 3.5 | 2.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 7 | 3 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 5 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 4 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 3 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 3 | 1.3 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 2 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.4 | 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 Usk 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 7 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 12 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
250th of 550: Usk among towns its size
| # | 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 |
| … | ||||||
| 247 | Alresford Essex | 2,462 | 18.7 | 7.7 | 4.5 | B+ |
| 248 | Kintbury Berkshire | 2,054 | 20.5 | 6 | 3.5 | B+ |
| 249 | Galgate Lancashire | 2,085 | 18.2 | 8.3 | 4.3 | B+ |
| 250 | Usk Gwent | 2,310 | 18.5 | 8.1 | 11.3 | B+ |
| 251 | Crich Derbyshire | 2,070 | 19.7 | 6.9 | 2.9 | B+ |
| 252 | Meppershall Bedfordshire | 2,044 | 16 | 10.6 | 3.3 | B+ |
| 253 | Petworth West Sussex | 2,592 | 14.9 | 11.7 | 5.7 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 272 | Gilwern Gwent | 2,184 | 20.2 | 7.9 | 4.3 | 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 Usk, and others in Gwent.
44 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 38 the year before
“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 +16% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -30% (towns its size +0%), shoplifting and theft +13% (towns its size +4%).
Where in Usk police recorded crime
| At or near | Reports | Mostly |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol stations | 55 | 64% shoplifting & theft |
| Car parks | 43 | 37% violent |
| Prisons | 31 | 74% violent |
police.uk places each crime at an anonymous map point; some are named for the kind of place (a supermarket, a car park), and each row adds up every place of that kind in Usk. We show only these, never streets or homes.
Beside it, the public places police.uk named most often.
No one died in a collision on Usk’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 8 collisions with injuries inside Usk in five years. 3 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 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 Usk is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Usk’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; Usk 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 Usk’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Usk
Usk records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. Penperlleni, 4.4 miles away, records 18.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Usk’s 18.5.
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
- A prison inside the boundary. police.uk counted 31 at or near a prison (74% violent) over three years. They count in Usk’s rate, as they would for any town that has them.
- 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 Usk 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 Usk
Is Usk safe?
Police recorded 18.5 violent and sexual offences and 8.1 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Usk’s built-up area). That earns a B+ for safety: less crime per resident than 65% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Usk is 250th from the least crime. 52% of residents live in neighbourhoods in Wales’s lowest-crime 10%.
Is crime going up in Usk?
Police recorded 44 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 38 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Usk?
Violence & sexual offences: 43 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came other theft (17) and public order (8), with 19 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Usk compare with Newport?
Newport records 55.8 violent and sexual offences and 25.6 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Usk’s 18.5 and 8.1, 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.