Crime in Merthyr Tydfil
Recorded crime in Merthyr Tydfil is 1.1 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has risen 2%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
58,972 residents in 36 neighbourhoods. 3% live in busy town or city centres.
- Safety
- 3/10Above average crime
- Living
- 6.8/10Good
- 5-year change
- +2%more crimes
Crime over 5 years
Up 2% in 5 years Recorded crimes in Merthyr Tydfil, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 1.1× the England and Wales average. 94 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 68% of the harm here
- Burglary: 12% of the harm here
- Other theft: 4% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 68% of the harm here. It is a broad police category: most of these crimes are assaults without injury, harassment and threats, often indoors between people who know each other, and only a small part are sexual or serious violent offences. Police data does not say which, so each one is weighted at the England and Wales average for the category, which can overstate a quiet residential area.
Anti-social behaviour: 23 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, not scored. Not a crime, so it is not part of the Safety score.
Crime by type
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents per year, most serious first, not counting anti-social behaviour.
| Type | Per 1,000 a year |
|---|---|
| Robbery | 0.4 |
| Burglary | 4.0 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 37.2 |
| Drugs | 3.3 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.6 |
| Other crime | 2.3 |
| Other theft | 7.1 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.6 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 5.8 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 10.3 |
| Public order | 11.9 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.2 |
| Shoplifting | 10.7 |
What crimes are recorded in Merthyr Tydfil
Crimes recorded by the police, April 2025 to March 2026. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership. Figures for the Cwm Taf community safety partnership, which covers Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 518 | 1.7 | Up 9% |
| Cars broken into | 423 | 1.4 | Up 6% |
| Vehicle tampering | 141 | 0.47 | Up 29% |
| Vandalism to homes | 813 | 2.7 | About the same |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 307 | 1.0 | Up 6% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 746 | 2.5 | Up 4% |
| Arson | 52 | 0.17 | Down 13% |
| Burglary of homes | 342 | 1.1 | Up 12% |
| Burglary of businesses | 196 | 0.65 | Down 2% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 7 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 84 | 0.28 | Down 9% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 176 | 0.58 | Up 47% |
| Robbery of people | 75 | 0.25 | Up 50% |
| Robbery of businesses | 50 | 0.17 | - |
| Violence with injury | 2,495 | 8.3 | Down 8% |
| Violence without injury | 3,656 | 12.1 | Up 10% |
| Stalking and harassment | 4,081 | 13.5 | Up 6% |
| Sexual offences | 1,068 | 3.5 | Up 12% |
| Shoplifting | 1,636 | 5.4 | Down 13% |
| Bicycle theft | 43 | 0.14 | Up 13% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 97 | 0.32 | Down 4% |
| Drug dealing | 257 | 0.85 | Down 14% |
| Drug possession | 476 | 1.6 | Up 11% |
Under 10 a year: no rate or change, the numbers are too small to compare. These are council-area figures: police.uk street-level data, used for the map and the Safety score, only has the broad categories, and no source publishes murders or stabbings by street.
South Wales Police area: 645 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (662 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Merthyr Tydfil.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Towns and cities in Merthyr Tydfil
Postcode districts in Merthyr Tydfil
Questions about crime in Merthyr Tydfil
- Is Merthyr Tydfil a safe place to live?
- Merthyr Tydfil scores 3 out of 10 for safety (above average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in Merthyr Tydfil?
- Up 2% over 5 years, from 5,520 recorded crimes a year to 5,613.
- What is the most common crime in Merthyr Tydfil?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 37 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How many cars are stolen in Merthyr Tydfil?
- In the Cwm Taf community safety partnership (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf), the police recorded 518 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 1.7 per 1,000 residents, up 9% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Merthyr Tydfil?
- 1,866 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in the Cwm Taf community safety partnership (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf) in 2025/26, 6.2 per 1,000 residents, 1.3 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Merthyr Tydfil last year?
- 7 homicides (murder or manslaughter) were recorded in the Cwm Taf community safety partnership (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf) in 2025/26, against 3 the year before.