Crime in Neath Port Talbot: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (5,220), anti-social behaviour (1,649) and public order (1,498) made up 71% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 168th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lower half.

Recorded crime in Neath Port Talbot peaked in the year to August 2021 (14,076 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2023 (11,306). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it was almost unchanged, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Neath Port Talbot recorded notably more public order (57% above the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (86% below) and robbery (72% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 22 to 55 and possession of weapons rose from 76 to 88, while drugs fell from 406 to 267 and anti-social behaviour fell from 1,984 to 1,649.

What each category covers: crime categories.

9,636 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Neath Port Talbot in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 67.3 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was almost unchanged on the year ending March 2025 (9,582), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Neath Port Talbot had the 108th 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 Neath Port Talbot, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was stalking and harassment, with 2,007 offences (21% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for stalking and harassment (1.4 times the national rate) and public order offences (1.3 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.09 times), robbery of business property (0.29 times) and bicycle theft (0.31 times).

The largest rises on the year were in arson (+24%) and possession of drugs (+19%). The largest falls were in theft from the person (from 58 to 24) and trafficking of drugs (−47%). 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 Neath Port Talbot 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. Neath Port Talbot'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 South Wales Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 5 districts in the South Wales Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Neath Port Talbot had the 2nd lowest rate. Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf are not in the table because the Home Office publishes each of them jointly with a neighbouring district, as one community safety partnership.

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 Neath Port Talbot; the highest is Blaenau Gwent (148.5 per 1,000) and the lowest Vale of Glamorgan (73.1).

Of the 53 areas within Neath Port Talbot, Neath North had the highest crime rate (282.8 per 1,000) and Bryn-coch North the lowest (16.7), 17 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 14% of the crime recorded in Neath Port Talbot over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (544).

Of the 10,175 crimes in Neath Port Talbot with a recorded outcome, 22% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 5.8% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,649 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Neath Port Talbot has an estimated population of 143,249 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has less private renting (14%, against 20%), more residents with no qualifications (24%, against 18%) and fewer residents with Level 4 qualifications or above (26%, against 34%). On the Wales WIMD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Neath Port Talbot average decile 4.4 (1 = most deprived), more 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.