Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0Presteigne trails 90% of UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people on crime per resident
Violence recorded locally held about level in a year. It has more violent crime than 77% of UK towns, and more burglary, vehicle crime and damage than 78%. Each year brought 34.6 violent and sexual offences and 14.3 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage for every 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 Presteigne
More crime than many places its size
Of 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Presteigne has the 1,584th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Llanbadarn Fawr, Whitland and Pontyates, higher than Woolavington, Ruishton and Cliffs End. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Presteigne: C− for safety, and why
A fairly firm grade. Built on 253 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Presteigne against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Presteigne places 1,584th of 1,764 towns its size, the least crime first
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 96 | Four Crosses Powys | 1,469 | 10.2 | 1.8 | 2.8 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 401 | Guilsfield Powys | 1,160 | 14.2 | 3.9 | 2.3 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 594 | Llangynidr Powys | 1,038 | 15.2 | 5.8 | 1.8 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 1091 | Crickhowell Powys | 2,108 | 23.3 | 5.9 | 3.2 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 1581 | Woolavington Somerset | 2,324 | 37.7 | 10.9 | 9.8 | C− |
| 1582 | Ruishton Somerset | 1,476 | 27.4 | 21.2 | 7 | C− |
| 1583 | Cliffs End Kent | 1,284 | 28.8 | 20 | 9.4 | C− |
| 1584 | Presteigne Powys | 1,929 | 34.6 | 14.3 | 5.8 | C− |
| 1585 | Keadby Lincolnshire | 1,446 | 34.1 | 14.8 | 5.8 | C− |
| 1586 | Loddon Norfolk | 2,247 | 38.6 | 10.5 | 9.2 | C− |
| 1587 | Latchingdon Essex | 1,140 | 33.9 | 15.2 | 8.2 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 1764 | 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 Presteigne, and others in Powys.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Presteigne runs highest on criminal damage & arson (6.7 per 1,000 against 3.2), violence & sexual offences (30.6 per 1,000 against 16.6) and anti-social behaviour (8.3 per 1,000 against 5.3).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 59 | 30.6 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 16 | 8.3 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 13 | 6.7 | 3.2 |
| Public order | not graded | 7 | 3.6 | 2.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 4 | 2.1 | 0 |
| Other theft | not graded | 4 | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 4 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Drugs | not graded | 4 | 2.1 | 0.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Other crime | not graded | 1 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 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 Presteigne 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 9 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 4 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
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 -2% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -47% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on Presteigne’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 2 collisions with injuries inside Presteigne in five years. 0 people were killed or seriously injured.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Presteigne is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Presteigne’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; Presteigne had 0.
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 Presteigne’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Presteigne
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presteigne | 1,929 | 34.6 | 14.3 | C− |
| Kington | 2,423 | 34.4 | 9.5 | C |
| Knighton | 2,911 | 31.4 | 13.9 | C |
| Weobley | 1,273 | 26.2 | 12.1 | C+ |
| Leominster | 11,206 | 43.7 | 13.5 | D |
Presteigne records more graded crime per resident than 3 of its 4 neighbours; only Leominster records more. Kington, 4.7 miles away, records 34.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Presteigne’s 34.6.
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 Presteigne 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 Presteigne
Is Presteigne safe?
Police recorded 34.6 violent and sexual offences and 14.3 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Presteigne’s built-up area). That earns a C− for safety: less crime per resident than 23% of UK towns. Among 1,764 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Presteigne is 1,584th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Presteigne?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 47%, shoplifting and theft fell 27% and anti-social behaviour rose 23%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Presteigne?
Violence & sexual offences: 59 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (13) and public order (7), with 16 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Presteigne compare with Hereford?
Hereford records 41.7 violent and sexual offences and 11.1 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Presteigne’s 34.6 and 14.3, 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.