Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0Violent crime per resident is higher in Bethesda than in 79% of UK towns
Its Safety Grade is C, on crimes police recorded inside Bethesda’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026: #6 of 13 in Gwynedd. What’s more, for its size, it sits below 23% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people on crime per resident. In a usual year, 36.5 violent and sexual offences and 9.7 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage are logged per 1,000 inhabitants. Violence recorded locally held about level in a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Bethesda
More crime than many places its size
Of 539 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, Bethesda has the 442nd lowest rate of graded crime: lower than South Cave, Warton (Fylde) and Llanbradach, higher than Watchet, Boroughbridge and Saxmundham. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
30% of Bethesda’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 sits behind Bethesda’s C
A fairly firm grade. Built on 520 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Bethesda against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Police in Bethesda identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 46% of Bethesda’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 11% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (65% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 7% of violent and 8% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 164 crimes.
Towns its size: Bethesda comes 442nd of 539
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 281 | Tywyn Gwynedd | 3,134 | 26 | 5.9 | 7.1 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 403 | Amlwch Gwynedd | 3,148 | 34.3 | 7.5 | 4.2 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 417 | Menai Bridge Gwynedd | 3,045 | 31.5 | 11.9 | 7.9 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 439 | Watchet Somerset | 3,643 | 34.4 | 11.4 | 8.5 | C |
| 440 | Boroughbridge North Yorkshire | 3,064 | 31.9 | 14 | 10.8 | C |
| 441 | Saxmundham Suffolk | 4,778 | 35.1 | 10.9 | 6.6 | C |
| 442 | Bethesda Gwynedd | 3,757 | 36.5 | 9.7 | 6 | C |
| 443 | Datchet Berkshire | 4,807 | 24.3 | 21.9 | 10.4 | C |
| 444 | Whitwell Derbyshire | 3,722 | 30.5 | 15.9 | 17.3 | C |
| 445 | Fleur-de-lis and Pengam Gwent | 3,102 | 30.1 | 16.9 | 7.9 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 506 | Blaenau Ffestiniog Gwynedd | 3,449 | 53.4 | 12.3 | 9.7 | D |
| … | ||||||
| 539 | Eastchurch Kent | 3,381 | 132 | 13.9 | 3.5 | 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 Bethesda, and others in Gwynedd.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Bethesda runs highest on criminal damage & arson (7.7 per 1,000 against 4.5), violence & sexual offences (38.1 per 1,000 against 22.4) and burglary (2.9 per 1,000 against 1.9).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 143 | 38.1 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 51 | 13.6 | 8.8 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 29 | 7.7 | 4.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 21 | 5.6 | 3.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 17 | 4.5 | 3.2 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 11 | 2.9 | 1.9 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 9 | 2.4 | 1.8 |
| Other crime | not graded | 7 | 1.9 | 1.5 |
| Drugs | not graded | 3 | 0.8 | 1 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 3 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
30% of Bethesda residents live in one of Wales’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
0% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of Wales’s neighbourhoods, and 30% in the highest-crime 20%. The community safety domain scores recorded crime, anti-social behaviour and fire incidents where people live, so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Bethesda’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) in the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025 (community safety domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of Wales’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
Crime in Bethesda 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 7 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Violent crime held steady over the year
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 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 +3% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +48% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft +8% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour -11% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on Bethesda’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 8 collisions with injuries inside Bethesda in five years. 5 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Bethesda is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Bethesda’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 3 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Bethesda had 5.
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 Bethesda’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Bethesda
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethesda | 3,757 | 36.5 | 9.7 | C |
| Tregarth | 1,252 | 12.3 | 2.1 | A+ |
| Clwt-y-bont | 1,385 | 33.2 | 8.7 | C |
| Bangor | 16,994 | 57.2 | 18.7 | D |
| Llanberis | 1,838 | 31.9 | 14.2 | C |
| Menai Bridge | 3,045 | 31.5 | 11.9 | C |
| Llanrug | 1,537 | 20.8 | 6.5 | B |
| Beaumaris | 1,120 | 32.7 | 11.9 | C |
Bethesda records more graded crime per resident than 6 of its 7 neighbours; only Bangor records more. Tregarth, 1.5 miles away, records 12.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Bethesda’s 36.5.
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
- 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 Bethesda 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 Bethesda
Is Bethesda safe?
Police recorded 36.5 violent and sexual offences and 9.7 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Bethesda’s built-up area). That earns a C for safety: less crime per resident than 26% of UK towns. Among 539 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, Bethesda is 442nd from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Bethesda?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 48%, shoplifting and theft rose 8% and anti-social behaviour fell 11%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Bethesda?
Violence & sexual offences: 143 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (29) and public order (21), with 51 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.