Crime in Monmouthshire: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (2,633), anti-social behaviour (1,341) and public order (847) made up 63% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 179th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lower half.

The year to August 2026 had the most recorded crime in Monmouthshire of any year here (7,626 crimes). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 33%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Monmouthshire recorded notably more public order (34% above the national rate), and notably less robbery (71% below) and bicycle theft (68% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 22 to 37 and criminal damage and arson rose from 582 to 706, while vehicle crime fell from 259 to 216 and drugs fell from 174 to 146.

What each category covers: crime categories.

6,090 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Monmouthshire in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 64.2 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 1% on the year ending March 2025 (6,161), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Monmouthshire had the 97th 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).

Offences recorded in Monmouthshire, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 824 offences (14% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for arson (1.8 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for vehicle offences (0.46 times), possession of drugs (0.47 times) and trafficking of drugs (0.50 times).

The largest rises on the year were in arson (+88%) and rape (+49%). The largest falls were in residential burglary (−27%) and possession of drugs (−21%). 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).

Recorded crime in Monmouthshire since the year ending March 2013

The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2013 to 2026. Monmouthshire's rate was below the England and Wales rate in every one of those 14 years. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).

Districts in the Gwent Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 5 districts in the Gwent Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Monmouthshire had the lowest rate.

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.

7 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Monmouthshire; the highest is Bristol, City of (148.8 per 1,000) and the lowest South Gloucestershire (78.1).

Of the 52 areas within Monmouthshire, Pen Y Fal had the highest crime rate (305.4 per 1,000) and Osbaston the lowest (12.8), 24 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 28% of the crime recorded in Monmouthshire over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (546).

Of the 6,285 crimes in Monmouthshire with a recorded outcome, 29% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 3.6% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,341 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Monmouthshire has an estimated population of 94,930 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer households without a car (13%, against 23%), an older population (27%, against 19%) and fewer students (4.9%, against 7.9%). On the Wales WIMD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Monmouthshire average decile 7.3 (1 = most deprived), less deprived than average.

Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.