Safety index · Cardiff · data through August 2026
Is Penylan safe?
Penylan records more reported crime than most Cardiff wards. Its SafeRoute safety index is 54 out of 100 — 4 points below the Cardiff median of 58, ranking 18th of 28 Cardiff wards — based on 144 incidents reported to South Wales Police within 1 km of the ward centre over the month to August 2026.
DATA THROUGH AUGUST 2026 · 1 MONTH OF DATA
The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Cardiff — a typical Cardiff ward sits near 58. It ranks Penylan against other wards here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.
The largest reported category here is violent crime (19% of reports) — worth taking seriously when walking at night; the full mix is broken down below.
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Violent crime | 28 · 19% | |
| Shoplifting | 20 · 14% | |
| Public order | 19 · 13% | |
| Vehicle crime | 19 · 13% | |
| Anti-social behaviour | 17 · 12% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 13 · 9% |
Walking in Penylan at night?
SafeRoute scores every walking route against the same official crime data on this page — and shows how much of each route runs on lit streets. Compare the routes and share your walk. Free, no account.
Get SafeRoute on the App StoreNearby areas
- Plasnewydd28/100 · Elevated
- Adamsdown23/100 · High risk
- Splott48/100 · Elevated
- Pentwyn59/100 · Moderate
- Rumney71/100 · Moderate
Common questions
Is Penylan safe at night?
Moderate overall (safety index 54/100). At night, prefer lit, busier streets — a short detour often avoids the clusters on the map above.
What is the most common crime in Penylan?
Violent crime — 28 of 144 incidents (19%) reported within 1 km of the ward centre over the month to August 2026.
How is the Penylan safety index calculated?
SafeRoute weights each police-recorded incident by severity (violence weighs more than shoplifting), sums the last published month within 1 km of the ward centre, and normalises against Cardiff rates onto a 0–100 scale — higher is safer. It describes reported crime only; it is not a guarantee of safety. The scale is calibrated within Cardiff, so scores compare wards to each other and cannot be read against another city's.