Coronavirus restrictions may have had an influence on many types of crime decreasing. Latest figures from data.police.uk also reveal that thefts fell by 40 per cent and vehicle crime halved. 

Despite a national lockdown, there were more crimes reported in May (168) than in any other month. 

Possession of weapons increased by almost half (18) compared to the same period in 2019 (10), and anti-social behaviour rose by 17 per cent.

Dyfed-Powys Police recorded 1,607 crimes in Newtown in the 12 months to November 2020. That was five per cent lower compared with the previous year.

Newtown recorded 141 crime per 1,000 people, which is higher than Welshpool (121) and Brecon (128), but lower than the rate for Llandrindod Wells (173).

The data also revealed that the most reported crime in Newtown as a whole was categorised as violence and sexual offences, with 585 incidents.

Infographic: Anwen Parry

Every crime committed near where you live in 2020

This map shows how many crimes were committed on each street in Newtown last year.

Location icons are not where crime happened exactly, but generic longtitutde/latitude markers used by police when reporting crimes.

Map: Anwen Parry/data.police.uk

Six streets with the highest number of reported crimes

1. Llys yr Hebog, Maesyrhandir (51)

2. Heol Pengwern, Vaynor (38)

3. Llys Dulas, Trehafren (32)

4. Lon Derw, Trehafren and Pine Court, Maesyrhandir (29)

5. New Road (28)

'It leaves scars'

Newtown councillor Joy Jones

A few years ago, Newtown councillor Joy Jones' son was badly attacked in ann incident that involved knives in the town centre.

"Thankfully he wasn’t stabbed but he was very frightened by it all," she said.

"Although my son recovered, the mental damage it causes is huge, it leaves scars not just for him but for the entire family.

"Due to that, the Knife Angel made this big impression. The Knife Angel was something very close to my heart."

It has been little more than a year since the Knife Angel visited Newtown - its first visit to Wales. The 27-foot tall sculpture, which was made out of 100,000 seized blades, highlighted the negative effects of violent behaviour.

Twelve months on, what impact has it had on Newtown? Cllr Joy Jones was part of the team that brought the Knife Angel to the town with only five weeks of planning. 

She said: “It was the most amazing thing that happened to Newtown last year. It brought communities together.

“It was not just about knives though. The whole idea about the Knife Angel was about crime and the importance about being kind to one another and reminding people that we need kindness.

“I also think that it is a message that we need to carry on going forwards especially with the circumstances we find ourselves in, that we need to remember kindness is extremely important.”

Video by Anwen Parry

Knife Angel in Newtown. Picture: Anwen Parry

A year later, data from Dyfed-Powys Police revealed that reports of possession of weapons in Newtown rose by 90 per cent in the 12 months to November 2020.

“It is very, very sad that people are turning to that kind of crime and carrying weapons," Cllr Jones said.

“It’s quite frightening because those are the sort of thing that leads to tragedy.

“It takes one second to destroy not only one life but many lives. Because it does not just take the life of the person who is possibly stabbed, it can also take the person who done it; for one second of anger, for one second of thoughtlessness.

“If you are carrying a weapon, you’re going to use it and that’s the problem. It is no good saying ‘I am just carrying it for my own protection’, if people get into a situation, they tend to use them.

“It is awful. It is something that we as a society actually need to address and stop carrying weapons for protection, for any reason whatsoever.

“It is a life at the end of this and not just the victim, it’s the victim’s family, and the person who did it and their family – they are all victims of this crime. “