Crime and Safety in Prestatyn
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Prestatyn is among the top 10 safest small towns in the preserved county of Clwyd, and is the 30th most dangerous overall out of Clwyd's 142 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Prestatyn in 2026 is 67 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares favourably to Clwyd's overall crime rate, coming in 4.9% lower than the Clwyd rate of 71 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Prestatyn is the 269th most dangerous small town, and the 1,711st most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In June 2018, Prestatyn had the worst crime rate in Clwyd for possession of weapons, with 5 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.26 per 1,000 daytime population. And in June 2025, Prestatyn was the worst small town in Clwyd for theft from the person, with 0 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.00 per 1,000 daytime population. January 2024 was also a bad month for Prestatyn residents, when it was Clwyd's most dangerous small town for possession of weapons, recording 4 crimes at a rate of 0.21 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Prestatyn are violence and sexual offences, with 675 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 35. This is 5% lower than 2025's figure of 711 offences and a difference of 1.91 from 2025's crime rate of 37. Prestatyn's least common crime is theft from the person, with 2 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 33% from 2025's figure of 3 crimes.
Prestatyn 2026 Crime Scorecard
Top 10 Safest
Small Towns, Clwyd
9% higher, regional crime rate
Wales
7% lower, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Prestatyn is 9% higher than Wales and 7% lower than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Prestatyn Crime Rate Over Time
| Prestatyn | |
| Wales | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Prestatyn Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Prestatyn represent the time frame between January 2016 and April 2026. Each point on the map represents an area where crimes have been recorded locally.
Use Crime Map
Hover over a point to see a breakdown of crime types recorded at that location. You can also filter by individual crime types, or use a combinations of offences to visualise the data you need.
See How Prestatyn Compares
You can compare Prestatyn's crime statistics against any other town, village, or city from across the country. Search for a location's name below to see how they stack up.
Introduction to Prestatyn's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Prestatyn up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Prestatyn's 556 postcodes using three area sizes for comparison:
- Within a Five-Minute Walk
- Within a Ten-Minute Walk
- Within a Fifteen-Minute Walk
Individual crime risk scores and index figures are for the 12-month period ending April 2026 unless otherwise stated.
CrimeRate Insights
Looking into a specific address in Prestatyn? CrimeRate Insights reports convert raw numbers into practical insight for any location, from single addresses and postcodes, up to major towns and cities.
Crime rates don’t happen by themselves; they follow people and patterns. Where crowds gather - near pubs and late-night venues, around the station, by supermarkets and forecourts - incidents naturally concentrate.
That doesn’t mean an area is "bad"; it usually means footfall is higher.
Your report explores these factors in a calm, non-judgemental way, putting the numbers in context and helping you spot what’s typical for places like this.
Crime Risk Scores
Prestatyn • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Prestatyn has a crime risk score of 573. This is based on analysis of 556 nearby areas within Prestatyn, with "most" referring to roughly two thirds of the nearby locations.
Crime risk scores are on a scale of 1 to 1,000 and consider the severity of the crimes involved, as determined by sentencing guidelines. A score of 1 represents the lowest risk, and 1,000 the highest risk. This approach ensures that - unlike overall crime rate figures - bicycle theft is not given the same importance in Prestatyn's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Prestatyn, crime risk scores are typically around 573, while in Clwyd they are average 594.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 654 (609 for Clwyd), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 722 (Clwyd 623).
Trends in Crime Risk
Prestatyn
Calculated via Seasonal and Trend decomposition using Loess, the Seasonality Adjusted line represents the original data with seasonality subtracted, and the Trend line has been plotted unadjusted. Overall trend direction has been identified using the Mann-Kendall trend test, and rate calculated from the slope of the best-fit line identified from linear regression.
No trend could be found in Prestatyn's crime risk scores over the last 10 years, and the trend may well be static.
Looking at the previous five years, the trend in Prestatyn's crime risk score is down by 15%. While potentially a good indicator of the overall risk trend, cross-referencing with major cultural events and Covid's impact during this time is advised.
Over the last year, Prestatyn's crime risk score has shown a downward trend of approximately 6%, indicating that the risk profile is going down. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Prestatyn
The CrimeRate Index shows how crime rates compare against the national average.
1.0 equals the average
2.0 is double
3.0 triple
0.5 is half and
0.25 a quarter.
Highest Crime Rates
Prestatyn • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Excluding other crime and other theft because their geographic location is often not relevant, anti-social behaviour as its definition is too wide, and bicycle theft for its specificity.
Shoplifting offences have a crime rate of 11 reports per 1,000 people in Prestatyn, which is 1.52 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 211 crime reports logged by North Wales Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, North Wales Police recorded 675 reports of Violence and Sexual Offences in Prestatyn, resulting in a crime rate of 35 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.14.
The crime rate for Public Order is 0.91 times the national average at 5.26 reports per 1,000. This is from 102 crime reports reported to North Wales Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Prestatyn
Excluding other crime and other theft, anti-social behaviour, and bicycle theft, and calculated with the same STL method described in Trends in Crime Risk, using CrimeRate Index figures to identify crime types that are trending above or below the national average, and the analysis timeframe limited to the last three years.
No significant increases identified.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Prestatyn
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Violence and Sexual Offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.22 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Violence and Sexual Offences CrimeRate Index was 1.03 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 18% over this timeframe.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.33 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Criminal Damage and Arson CrimeRate Index was 0.57 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 133% over this timeframe.
Burglary offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.83 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Burglary CrimeRate Index was 0.87 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 4.6% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Prestatyn • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Prestatyn | Clwyd | Wales | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 381 | 19.58 | 1.39 | 9,603 | 17.43 | 1.23 | 37,683 | 10.96 | 0.78 |
| Bicycle Theft | 5 | 0.25 | 0.96 | 246 | 0.47 | 0.64 | 1,599 | 0.46 | 0.63 |
| Burglary | 32 | 1.63 | 0.52 | 1,275 | 2.32 | 0.74 | 6,704 | 1.94 | 0.62 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 110 | 5.65 | 0.90 | 4,017 | 7.30 | 1.16 | 21,045 | 6.12 | 0.97 |
| Drugs | 21 | 1.06 | 0.38 | 1,169 | 2.11 | 0.68 | 7,344 | 2.14 | 0.69 |
| Other Crime | 29 | 1.47 | 0.95 | 907 | 1.65 | 0.89 | 6,008 | 1.76 | 0.95 |
| Other Theft | 86 | 4.42 | 0.78 | 2,656 | 4.82 | 0.85 | 13,307 | 3.88 | 0.68 |
| Possession of Weapons | 6 | 0.30 | 0.68 | 375 | 0.68 | 0.80 | 2,296 | 0.68 | 0.80 |
| Public Order | 102 | 5.26 | 0.91 | 3,281 | 5.96 | 1.03 | 23,747 | 6.91 | 1.19 |
| Robbery | 5 | 0.25 | 0.86 | 157 | 0.30 | 0.25 | 1,461 | 0.43 | 0.36 |
| Shoplifting | 211 | 10.87 | 1.52 | 4,123 | 7.47 | 1.05 | 19,180 | 5.58 | 0.78 |
| Theft From the Person | 2 | 0.10 | 0.38 | 80 | 0.15 | 0.10 | 1,019 | 0.28 | 0.18 |
| Vehicle Crime | 26 | 1.33 | 0.53 | 931 | 1.70 | 0.40 | 8,617 | 2.52 | 0.59 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 675 | 34.71 | 1.14 | 19,748 | 35.83 | 1.18 | 99,099 | 28.83 | 0.95 |
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Total Crime by Year
Prestatyn | Clwyd | Wales | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 1,310 | 67.30 | 1.01 | 38,965 | 70.76 | 0.98 | 211,426 | 61.53 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 1,612 | 83.25 | 1.21 | 40,763 | 74.45 | 1.01 | 257,229 | 75.28 | 1.02 |
| 2024 | 1,594 | 82.26 | 1.17 | 41,127 | 75.38 | 1.00 | 238,672 | 70.43 | 0.93 |
| 2023 | 1,797 | 92.50 | 1.24 | 46,483 | 85.63 | 1.08 | 255,615 | 75.95 | 0.96 |
| 2022 | 1,685 | 86.79 | 1.21 | 46,578 | 86.21 | 1.12 | 245,565 | 73.85 | 0.96 |
| 2021 | 1,507 | 77.80 | 1.20 | 40,375 | 74.82 | 1.09 | 217,266 | 65.68 | 0.96 |
| 2020 | 1,779 | 92.63 | 1.30 | 42,825 | 79.76 | 1.08 | 237,502 | 72.15 | 0.97 |
| 2019 | 1,889 | 98.09 | 1.32 | 45,213 | 84.47 | 1.11 | 244,905 | 74.66 | 0.98 |
| 2018 | 1,367 | 70.48 | 1.04 | 38,904 | 72.78 | 1.02 | 218,341 | 66.57 | 0.94 |
| 2017 | 1,043 | 53.38 | 0.88 | 30,730 | 57.52 | 0.90 | 199,059 | 60.80 | 0.95 |
| 2016 | 335 | 17.12 | 0.98 | 9,689 | 18.13 | 0.95 | 61,849 | 18.94 | 0.99 |
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Prestatyn Compared to Nearby Small Towns
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| Small Town | Total Crimes | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinmel Bay and Towyn | 853 | 104.25 | 55% more dangerous |
| Llandudno | 2,441 | 112.95 | 68% more dangerous |
| Colwyn Bay | 1,274 | 94.91 | 41% more dangerous |
| Holywell | 864 | 86.33 | 28% more dangerous |
| Flint | 1,276 | 87.59 | 30% more dangerous |
| Mold | 990 | 78.37 | 16% more dangerous |
| Denbigh | 721 | 72.51 | 8% more dangerous |
| Abergele | 943 | 75.70 | 12% more dangerous |
| Rhosllanerchrugog | 666 | 70.53 | 4.8% more dangerous |
| Prestatyn | 1,310 | 67.30 | - |
| Broughton | 428 | 53.99 | 20% safer |
| Connah's Quay | 1,083 | 62.78 | 7% safer |
| Gwersyllt | 607 | 54.56 | 19% safer |
| Acton | 661 | 51.30 | 24% safer |
| Conwy | 866 | 48.53 | 28% safer |
| Buckley | 760 | 45.70 | 32% safer |
Comparing Prestatyn to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Prestatyn | 67.30 | - |
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 18% more dangerous |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 23% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 25% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 45% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 55% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 56% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 58% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 59% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 60% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 86% more dangerous |
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Offences In and Around Prestatyn's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Prestatyn that are named and have had crimes recorded within their boundaries in the 12 months to Apr 2026.
| Name | ASB | Drugs | Public Order | Robbery | VSO | All Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parc Pendre | 4 | 3 | 3 | - | 11 | 4 |
| Frith Beach Festival Gardens | 9 | - | - | - | 2 | 7 |
| The Morfa's Playing Field | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| Highbury Bowling Club | 5 | - | 2 | - | 6 | 3 |
| Coronation Gardens | 7 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 39 | 45 |
| Hillside Gardens | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Sports Centre | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
Recent Crimes in Prestatyn
The 20 most recent crime reports in Prestatyn.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near West Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Alexandra Drive | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Alexandra Drive | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Stryd Fawr | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Penley Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Alexandra Drive | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Alexandra Drive | |
| April 2026 | Criminal damage and arson | On or near Ffordd Bryn Melyd | |
| April 2026 | Other theft | On or near Ffordd Bryn Melyd | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Rhodfa Cowlyd | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near First Avenue | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Bastion Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Bastion Road | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Ffordd Bryn Melyd | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Brynllys East | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Ffordd Idwal | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Maes Glas | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Alexandra Drive | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Tudor Court | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Hendre Court |
Methodology & Data Sources
Prestatyn Crime Report
Data Sources & Processing
Every month, CrimeRate processes crime reports from data.police.uk, the UK's official provider of open crime report data. Each crime report includes anonymised coordinates, most often "snapped" to the middle of the nearest street, or to the nearest major landmark. The reports also include the month and year the crime was reported, as well as the type of crime.
Data releases on data.police.uk happen once a month, with a two-month delay. This means that, for example, crimes reported in Prestatyn during August 2026 will typically become available in October 2026. The latest release is for Apr 2026 and was released in Jun 2026. To provide current and historical crime statistics, CrimeRate processed 61,669,232 crime reports for the latest release.
Prestatyn Data Points
For Prestatyn, CrimeRate uses the geographic boundaries provided by The Office for National Statistics in the December 2023 release of their Parishes and Non Civil Parished Areas dataset, using the PARNCP23CD column value W04000171.
Due to the 2021 Census being conducted during a UK-wide Coronavirus lockdown, the daytime population figures released so far cannot be relied on for purposes such as comparing crime rates. Instead, CrimeRate uses Prestatyn's daytime - or "workday" - population of 15,533 from the ONS 2011 Census for calculations throughout the site.
All geographic boundaries use the full resolution - extent of the realm versions where provided to avoid missing crime reports near coastlines and rivers - the banks of the Thames in particular - that would otherwise not be included when using the clipped to the coastline datasets.
Calculating Crime Rates
CrimeRate locates the UK region, county, and town/city/village locality for each crime report, and calculates the crime rate by taking the sum of all crime reports, dividing it by the locality's daytime / "workday" population, and multiplying the result by 1,000 to get the crime rate per 1,000.
Crime Risk Score Calculations
CrimeRate calculates crime counts for local, nearby, and wider areas for every postcode in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The postcodes locations are deduplicated by a process that ensures distinct points are approximately 50 metres apart. This process removes the bias that would otherwise come from counting the same crimes several times in heavily populated areas.
Using a custom algorithm developed in-house, CrimeRate applies a crime severity weighting to each area's crime counts, based on the type of crime reported. This increases or decreases the crime count, or zeroes it out entirely, depending on the crime type. A separate crime severity rate is then calculated, standardised, and scaled to fit the crime risk score range of 1 to 1,000, with 1 being the lowest score, and 1,000 the highest.
Crime risk scores undergo further analysis per town, city, and village plus other areas including police forces and neighbourhoods. CrimeRate uses percentiles to work out the most common range of crime risk scores in each locality. This includes identifying the high and low bounds where approximately 68% of scores fall, and finding the median (50th percentile) for easy reference.
The crime types with a weight of zero are: Anti-Social Behaviour; Bicycle Theft; Other Crime; Other Theft; and Shoplifting. The highest weights to are assigned to Violence & Sexual Offences, and the lowest to Vehicle Crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crime in Prestatyn