Crime in Powys
Recorded crime in Powys is 0.8 times the England and Wales average. Over 5 years it has fallen 10%. Most of the harm comes from violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences). Police data to August 2026.
135,059 residents in 79 neighbourhoods.
- Safety in the UK
- 5/10Average crime
- Safety in the world
- 7/10Low crime
- Living
- 3.5/10Weak
- 5-year change
- −10%fewer crimes
Crime over 5 years
Down 10% in 5 years Recorded crimes in Powys, anti-social behaviour left out.
What is recorded
Crime severity: 0.8× the England and Wales average. 57 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
- Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences): 72% of the harm here
- Burglary: 11% of the harm here
- Drugs: 6% of the harm here
"Violence and sexual offences" is 72% 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: 14 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 | 0.1 |
| Burglary | 2.8 |
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 27.9 |
| Drugs | 3.0 |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 0.5 |
| Other crime | 1.5 |
| Other theft | 4.7 |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 0.2 |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 1.6 |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 6.6 |
| Public order | 5.8 |
| Bicycle theft | 0.3 |
| Shoplifting | 2.1 |
What crimes are recorded in Powys
55.3 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded in Powys in 2025/26 (England and Wales: 83.2).
Our total for April 2025 to March 2026: 8,494. Home Office recorded crime: 7,470 (14% apart).
Crimes recorded by the police, April 2025 to March 2026. Source: Home Office, police recorded crime by community safety partnership.
Dyfed-Powys Police did not assign 7.6% of the crimes it recorded in 2025/26 to a council area, so these figures are lower than the true count.
| Type | Crimes in 2025/26 | Per 1,000 residents | Change on 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars stolen | 86 | 0.64 | Up 5% |
| Cars broken into | 47 | 0.35 | Down 43% |
| Vehicle tampering | 20 | 0.15 | Up 5% |
| Vandalism to homes | 231 | 1.7 | Up 24% |
| Vandalism to other buildings | 117 | 0.87 | Down 5% |
| Vandalism to vehicles | 212 | 1.6 | Up 5% |
| Arson | 34 | 0.25 | Down 17% |
| Burglary of homes | 157 | 1.2 | Down 17% |
| Burglary of businesses | 102 | 0.76 | Down 30% |
| Homicide (murder and manslaughter) | 1 | - | - |
| Carrying a knife or blade | 51 | 0.38 | Up 6% |
| Carrying other weapons (including guns) | 56 | 0.41 | Up 14% |
| Robbery of people | 19 | 0.14 | Up 27% |
| Robbery of businesses | 1 | - | - |
| Violence with injury | 829 | 6.1 | Up 2% |
| Violence without injury | 1,428 | 10.6 | Up 2% |
| Stalking and harassment | 1,288 | 9.5 | Down 15% |
| Sexual offences | 436 | 3.2 | Up 10% |
| Shoplifting | 224 | 1.7 | Down 29% |
| Bicycle theft | 28 | 0.21 | Up 8% |
| Theft from the person (pickpocketing, bag snatching) | 13 | 0.10 | Down 46% |
| Drug dealing | 41 | 0.30 | Down 27% |
| Drug possession | 312 | 2.3 | Up 16% |
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.
Dyfed-Powys Police area: 191 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2025/26 (173 the year before). This covers the whole police force area, not only Powys.
Source: Home Office, police recorded knife crime by police force.
Police and Crime Commissioner: Dafydd Llywelyn (Dyfed-Powys) →
How often crimes lead to a charge
In Powys, 7% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%).
- Charged or summonsed
- Caution or other action
- Suspect found, not prosecuted
- No suspect identified
- Still open
Show as a table
| Type | Crimes | Charged or summonsed | Caution or other action | Suspect found, not prosecuted | No suspect identified | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences) | 4,656 | 8% | 7% | 66% | 8% | 11% |
| Public order | 929 | 7% | 6% | 58% | 19% | 10% |
| Criminal damage and arson (vandalism) | 885 | 5% | 8% | 35% | 45% | 8% |
| Other theft | 563 | 2% | 2% | 34% | 47% | 14% |
| Burglary | 398 | 5% | 2% | 25% | 62% | 7% |
| Drugs | 380 | 9% | 68% | 12% | 7% | 4% |
| Other crime | 255 | 12% | 10% | 54% | 12% | 13% |
| Shoplifting | 252 | 10% | 10% | 26% | 52% | 3% |
| Vehicle crime (cars stolen and broken into) | 193 | 10% | 4% | 18% | 59% | 8% |
| Possession of weapons (knives and other weapons) | 108 | 31% | 21% | 32% | 7% | 7% |
Uses the latest outcome police have recorded so far. 10% of these crimes are still open, so the final figures may be a little higher.
Road collisions
Powys, 2023 to 2025: 329 road collisions a year with someone hurt, 143 of them with someone killed or seriously injured. 33 collisions were fatal in those 3 years.
2.4 a year per 1,000 residents (Great Britain 1.5). 44% of them killed or seriously injured someone (Great Britain 26%).
Collisions on public roads that the police recorded where someone was hurt, counted where they happened, so busy through roads and town centres with few residents come out high. Serious and slight use the Department for Transport's adjusted severity, comparable between police forces. Source: Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Towns and cities in Powys
- Brecon (Aberhonddu)
- Builth Wells (Llanfair-ym-Muallt)
- Crickhowell (Crughywel)
- Hay-on-Wye (Y Gelli Gandryll)
- Knighton (Tref-y-Clawdd)
- Llandrindod Wells
- Llanfair Caereinion
- Llanfyllin
- Llanidloes
- Llanwrtyd Wells
- Machynlleth
- Montgomery (Trefaldwyn)
- Newtown (Y Drenewydd)
- Presteigne (Llanandras)
- Rhayader
- Talgarth
- Welshpool (Y Trallwng)
- Ystradgynlais
Postcode districts in Powys
Embed this on your site: a free live safety card for Powys.
Questions about crime in Powys
- Is Powys a safe place to live?
- Powys scores 5 out of 10 for safety (average crime), compared with every neighbourhood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Is crime going up or down in Powys?
- Down 10% over 5 years, from 9,382 recorded crimes a year to 8,455.
- What is the most common crime in Powys?
- The most common recorded crime is violence and sexual offences (assaults, harassment, sexual offences), about 28 per 1,000 residents a year.
- How often does crime lead to a charge in Powys?
- In Powys, 7% of crimes reported between September 2024 and August 2025 led to someone being charged or summonsed (England and Wales: 9%). 21% were closed without a suspect being identified.
- How many burglaries are solved in Powys?
- Of 398 burglaries reported in Powys between September 2024 and August 2025, 5% led to someone being charged or summonsed and 62% were closed with no suspect identified.
- How many cars are stolen in Powys?
- In Powys, the police recorded 86 cars stolen in 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026), 0.6 per 1,000 residents, up 5% on the year before.
- Is vandalism common in Powys?
- 560 acts of vandalism to homes, other buildings and vehicles were recorded in Powys in 2025/26, 4.1 per 1,000 residents, 0.9 times the England and Wales average.
- How many murders were there in Powys last year?
- 1 homicide (murder or manslaughter) was recorded in Powys in 2025/26, against 0 the year before.