Crime in Ceredigion: statistics, rates and trends
6,612 crimes were recorded in Ceredigion in the 12 months to August 2026, 91.1 per 1,000 residents. That is close to the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and up 24% on the year before.
Table of Contents
- Crime map
- Crime in Ceredigion at a glance
- Crime trends in Ceredigion
- Types of crime in Ceredigion
- Home Office recorded crime in Ceredigion
- Ceredigion compared with nearby districts
- Areas within Ceredigion
- Streets with the most crime in Ceredigion
- What happened after crimes were reported in Ceredigion
- Demographics of Ceredigion
- Questions about crime in Ceredigion
- About this data
Crime map
Violence and sexual offences (2,343), anti-social behaviour (2,161) and criminal damage and arson (452) made up 75% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 127th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.
| Measure | Ceredigion | Wales | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crimes, the 12 months to August 2026 | 6,612 | 306,958 | 5,618,064 |
| Crimes per 1,000 residents | 91.1 | 96.3 | 96.7 |
| Change on previous 12 months | +24% | +1% | -1% |
| Population | 72,599 | 3,186,581 | 58,127,638 |
Recorded crime in Ceredigion peaked in the year to August 2022 (6,777 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2024 (3,835). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 20%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.
| Period | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year to August 2026 | 6,612 | 91.1 | 96.7 |
| Year to August 2025 | 5,350 | 73.7 | 97.2 |
| Year to August 2024 | 3,835 | 52.8 | 97.9 |
| Year to August 2023 | 6,179 | 85.1 | n/a |
| Year to August 2022 | 6,777 | 93.3 | 102.0 |
| Year to August 2021 | 5,641 | 77.7 | 101.4 |
| Year to August 2020 | 5,795 | 79.8 | 102.7 |
| Year to August 2019 | 5,411 | 74.5 | 101.7 |
| Year to August 2018 | 5,507 | 75.9 | 100.8 |
Month by month
| Month | Crimes |
|---|---|
| August 2026 | 406 |
| July 2026 | 489 |
| June 2026 | 482 |
| May 2026 | 1,336 |
| April 2026 | 1,155 |
| March 2026 | 448 |
| February 2026 | 383 |
| January 2026 | 367 |
| December 2025 | 356 |
| November 2025 | 379 |
| October 2025 | 442 |
| September 2025 | 369 |
Compared with England and Wales, Ceredigion recorded notably more anti-social behaviour (94% above the national rate), and notably less vehicle crime (79% below) and shoplifting (64% below). On the year before, anti-social behaviour rose from 448 to 2,161 and vehicle crime rose from 58 to 74, while drugs fell from 382 to 275 and other crime fell from 146 to 120.
| Crime type | Crimes | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 | Change on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences | 2,343 | 32.3 | 34.2 | -5% |
| Anti-social behaviour | 2,161 | 29.8 | 15.4 | +382% |
| Criminal damage and arson | 452 | 6.2 | 6.7 | -13% |
| Public order | 399 | 5.5 | 6.7 | -12% |
| Other theft | 311 | 4.3 | 6.4 | -14% |
| Drugs | 275 | 3.8 | 3.3 | -28% |
| Shoplifting | 219 | 3.0 | 8.5 | -5% |
| Burglary | 170 | 2.3 | 3.6 | +1% |
| Other crime | 120 | 1.7 | 2.1 | -18% |
| Vehicle crime | 74 | 1.0 | 5.0 | +28% |
| Possession of weapons | 53 | 0.7 | 1.0 | -16% |
| Theft from the person | 18 | 0.2 | 1.7 | n/a |
| Bicycle theft | 11 | 0.2 | 0.8 | n/a |
| Robbery | 6 | 0.1 | 1.4 | n/a |
What each category covers: crime categories.
4,003 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Ceredigion in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 55.1 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 13% on the year ending March 2025 (4,618), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Ceredigion had the 58th lowest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 302 districts with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).
Of the crimes recorded in the Dyfed-Powys Police area in the year ending March 2026, 7.6% were not assigned to a district. Those crimes are counted in the force and England and Wales totals but in no district, so the figure for Ceredigion is an undercount.
No longer series is shown for Ceredigion: comparable figures start in the year ending March 2025, because too many of the force's crimes in the year ending March 2024 were not assigned to a district.
Offences recorded in Ceredigion, the year ending March 2026
The largest category was violence without injury, with 758 offences (19% of the total). No category with at least 20 offences had a rate a quarter or more above the England and Wales rate. Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for vehicle offences (0.16 times), shoplifting (0.38 times) and trafficking of drugs (0.42 times).
The largest rises on the year were in rape (+11%). The largest falls were in possession of drugs (−34%) and residential burglary (−30%). Robbery of business property and shoplifting are not compared with the year ending March 2025: from April 2025 the Home Office Counting Rules were clarified so that a theft from a shop in which violence is used or threatened against staff or anyone else is recorded as robbery of business property rather than shoplifting (ONS).
| Offence | Offences | Per 1,000 | England and Wales per 1,000 | Index (E&W = 1.00) | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence without injury | 758 | 10.4 | 13.2 | 0.79 | −8% |
| Stalking and harassment | 570 | 7.9 | 10.1 | 0.78 | −25% |
| Violence with injury | 461 | 6.3 | 8.1 | 0.78 | −4% |
| Criminal damage | 379 | 5.2 | 6.8 | 0.76 | −19% |
| Public order offences | 374 | 5.2 | 7.0 | 0.74 | −17% |
| Other theft offences | 297 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 0.62 | −5% |
| Possession of drugs | 222 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 1.23 | −34% |
| Shoplifting | 222 | 3.1 | 8.1 | 0.38 | – |
| Other sexual offences | 175 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 1.06 | −5% |
| Miscellaneous crimes against society | 109 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.72 | −9% |
| Rape | 89 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.01 | +11% |
| Residential burglary | 86 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.48 | −30% |
| Vehicle offences | 59 | 0.81 | 5.0 | 0.16 | +9% |
| Possession of weapons | 51 | 0.70 | 1.00 | 0.71 | +6% |
| Non-residential burglary | 43 | 0.59 | 1.1 | 0.53 | −14% |
| Trafficking of drugs | 36 | 0.50 | 1.2 | 0.42 | −10% |
| Arson | 29 | 0.40 | 0.38 | 1.05 | +4% |
| Theft from the person | 15 | 0.21 | 1.8 | 0.12 | −21% |
| Bicycle theft | 12 | 0.17 | 0.85 | 0.19 | −25% |
| Death or serious injury caused by unlawful driving | 10 | 0.14 | 0.03 | 3.95 | +233% |
| Robbery of personal property | 5 | 0.07 | 0.91 | 0.08 | −50% |
| Homicide | 1 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 1.72 | – |
| Robbery of business property | 0 | 0.00 | 0.47 | 0.00 | – |
Districts in the Dyfed-Powys Police area, the year ending March 2026
Of the 4 districts in the Dyfed-Powys Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Ceredigion had the lowest rate.
| District | Offences | Per 1,000 | Index (E&W = 1.00) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pembrokeshire | 9,094 | 72.3 | 0.87 |
| Carmarthenshire | 12,589 | 66.0 | 0.79 |
| Powys | 7,454 | 55.2 | 0.66 |
| Ceredigion | 4,003 | 55.1 | 0.66 |
Source: Home Office police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables (released 23 July 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Financial years, excluding fraud; how they differ from the street-level figures: methodology.
2 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Ceredigion; the highest is Blaenau Gwent (148.5 per 1,000) and the lowest Powys (76.4).
| District | Crimes | Per 1,000 | Rate vs Ceredigion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carmarthenshire | 16,483 | 86.4 | -5% |
| Powys | 10,323 | 76.4 | -16% |
| Swansea | 21,732 | 86.5 | -5% |
| Pembrokeshire | 11,335 | 90.1 | -1% |
| Neath Port Talbot | 11,824 | 82.5 | -9% |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 6,454 | 109.4 | +20% |
| Gwynedd | 10,688 | 88.5 | -3% |
| Blaenau Gwent | 10,078 | 148.5 | +63% |
Of the 44 areas within Ceredigion, Ystrad Aeron had the highest crime rate (285.5 per 1,000) and Llangybi the lowest (24.4), 12 times apart.
| Area | Type | Population | Crimes | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ystrad Aeron | Town | 2,028 | 579 | 285.5 |
| Llanfihangel Ystrad | Neighbourhood | 2,028 | 579 | 285.5 |
| Lledrod | Neighbourhood | 2,188 | 501 | 229.0 |
| Aberystwyth Rheidol | Neighbourhood | 2,235 | 459 | 205.4 |
| Melindwr | Neighbourhood | 1,989 | 403 | 202.6 |
| Lampeter | Town | 1,234 | 243 | 196.9 |
| Aberystwyth Morfa a Glais | Neighbourhood | 4,916 | 956 | 194.5 |
| Teifi | Neighbourhood | 2,450 | 467 | 190.6 |
| Aberaeron | Town | 1,209 | 185 | 153.0 |
| Aberaeron and Aberarth | Neighbourhood | 1,209 | 185 | 153.0 |
| Tregaron | Town | 1,152 | 155 | 134.5 |
| Tregaron and Ystrad Fflur | Neighbourhood | 1,152 | 155 | 134.5 |
| Cardigan | Town | 4,215 | 540 | 128.1 |
| Lampeter | Neighbourhood | 2,672 | 335 | 125.4 |
| Llandysul North and Troedyraur | Neighbourhood | 2,538 | 310 | 122.1 |
| Aberystwyth | Town | 14,950 | 1,762 | 117.9 |
| Llandysul | Town | 1,332 | 123 | 92.3 |
| Llandysul South | Neighbourhood | 1,332 | 123 | 92.3 |
| Llechryd | Town | 1,174 | 92 | 78.4 |
| Aberystwyth Penparcau | Neighbourhood | 3,072 | 217 | 70.6 |
| Llanon | Town | 1,282 | 87 | 67.9 |
| Aberporth | Town | 1,036 | 70 | 67.6 |
| Llanwenog | Neighbourhood | 1,710 | 107 | 62.6 |
| Llangeitho | Neighbourhood | 1,349 | 83 | 61.5 |
| Llandyfriog | Neighbourhood | 1,711 | 97 | 56.7 |
| Beulah and Llangoedmor | Neighbourhood | 2,950 | 167 | 56.6 |
| Llanbadarn Fawr | Town | 2,806 | 150 | 53.5 |
| Aberporth and Y Ferwig | Neighbourhood | 3,350 | 163 | 48.7 |
| Borth | Town | 1,979 | 96 | 48.5 |
| Tirymynach | Neighbourhood | 1,759 | 83 | 47.2 |
| New Quay and Llanllwchaearn | Neighbourhood | 4,361 | 203 | 46.5 |
| Llansanffraid | Neighbourhood | 2,419 | 110 | 45.5 |
| Penparc | Town | 1,148 | 52 | 45.3 |
| Mwldan | Neighbourhood | 1,765 | 73 | 41.4 |
| Ciliau Aeron | Neighbourhood | 1,905 | 77 | 40.4 |
| Penbryn | Neighbourhood | 2,021 | 80 | 39.6 |
| Llanfarian | Neighbourhood | 1,479 | 52 | 35.2 |
| Ceulan a Maesmawr | Neighbourhood | 1,859 | 62 | 33.4 |
| Penrhyn-coch | Town | 1,840 | 57 | 31.0 |
| Trefeurig | Neighbourhood | 1,840 | 57 | 31.0 |
| Ystwyth | Neighbourhood | 1,916 | 55 | 28.7 |
| Llanrhystyd | Neighbourhood | 1,517 | 43 | 28.3 |
| Faenor | Neighbourhood | 4,727 | 130 | 27.5 |
| Llangybi | Neighbourhood | 1,395 | 34 | 24.4 |
The 10 locations below account for 36% of the crime recorded in Ceredigion over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (1,149).
| Location | Crimes |
|---|---|
| On or near Parking Area | 1,149 |
| On or near Maes Aeron | 191 |
| On or near Petrol Station | 171 |
| On or near B4337 | 151 |
| On or near Supermarket | 148 |
| On or near Park/Open Space | 141 |
| On or near Sports/Recreation Area | 117 |
| On or near Shopping Area | 112 |
| On or near A475 | 89 |
| On or near Bus/Coach Station | 79 |
Of the 4,451 crimes in Ceredigion with a recorded outcome, 19% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.0% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 2,161 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.
| Outcome | Crimes | Share | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unable to prosecute suspect | 2,160 | 48.5% | 34.5% |
| Investigation complete; no suspect identified | 835 | 18.8% | 35.3% |
| Under investigation | 509 | 11.4% | 11.5% |
| Status update unavailable | 237 | 5.3% | 4.7% |
| Local resolution | 196 | 4.4% | 3.1% |
| Awaiting court outcome | 177 | 4.0% | 5.2% |
| Court result unavailable | 91 | 2.0% | 2.5% |
| Action to be taken by another organisation | 81 | 1.8% | 1.3% |
| Offender given a caution | 49 | 1.1% | 0.6% |
| Formal action is not in the public interest | 48 | 1.1% | 0.3% |
| Further investigation is not in the public interest | 38 | 0.9% | 0.5% |
| Further action is not in the public interest | 29 | 0.7% | 0.3% |
Ceredigion has an estimated population of 72,599 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more students (13.5%, against 7.9%), an older population (26%, against 19%) and less social housing (11%, against 17%). On the Wales WIMD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Ceredigion average decile 5.5 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.
| Measure | Ceredigion | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0 to 15 | 13.8% | 18.3% |
| Aged 65 and over | 26.4% | 18.9% |
| Residents 16+ in work | 49.1% | 57.2% |
| Residents 16+ unemployed | 3.0% | 3.4% |
| Residents 16+ retired | 27.7% | 21.6% |
| Residents 16+ who are students | 13.5% | 7.9% |
| Residents 16+ with Level 4 qualifications or above (degree, HND and similar) | 35.3% | 33.8% |
| Residents 16+ with no qualifications | 14.7% | 18.2% |
| Households with no car or van | 15.8% | 23.3% |
| Homes owned outright or with a mortgage | 68.9% | 62.5% |
| Social rented homes | 10.5% | 17.1% |
| Private rented homes | 20.6% | 20.3% |
| Average deprivation decile (1 = most deprived, 10 = least) | 5.5 | 5.5 (Wales) |
| Residents in the most deprived 10% of areas | 1.7% | 9.5% (Wales) |
Is Ceredigion a safe place to live?
Ceredigion recorded 91.1 crimes per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to August 2026, close to the England and Wales rate of 96.7, and ranks 127th of the 302 districts on this site by crime rate (1 = highest). The categories most above the national rate were anti-social behaviour.
What is the most common crime in Ceredigion?
Violence and sexual offences was the most common category, with 2,343 reports in the 12 months to August 2026, followed by anti-social behaviour (2,161).
Is crime in Ceredigion going up or down?
Recorded crime in Ceredigion was up 24% on the year before: 6,612 crimes in the 12 months to August 2026 against 5,350 in the previous 12 months.
What is the population of Ceredigion?
About 72,599 people (ONS mid-2024 estimate), 26% of them aged 65 or over (England and Wales: 19%).
Which police force covers Ceredigion?
Ceredigion is policed by Dyfed-Powys.
How many crimes did the police record in Ceredigion in the year ending March 2026?
4,003 crimes, excluding fraud, in the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics: 55.1 per 1,000 residents, against 83.2 across England and Wales. In the year ending March 2025 the figure was 4,618.
Which offences are more common in Ceredigion than across England and Wales?
None: no category with at least 20 offences had a rate a quarter or more above the England and Wales rate in the year ending March 2026. The largest category was violence without injury (758).
Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.