Cathays sits inside a deep pool of local talent: 140 security workers in our network live within 10 miles, and 85 of them carry a current SIA licence, ready to be booked across this part of Cardiff.
Trusted Protection in Cathays
Few parts of Wales give us as much local depth as Cathays. Of the 140 people on our register living within 10 miles, 85 are SIA-licensed and bookable, and 15 travel by car, which suits mobile patrol rounds and alarm attendance. That pool supports reception posts at hospitals, store detectives for city-centre retail and stewards for theatre nights, all directed from our 24/7 in-house control room with GPS book-on at every site.
Cathays Business Profile
Cardiff has 12,130 registered businesses. The largest group is professional services, at 1,975, construction follows at 1,385 and retail at 1,020. Health and care makes up 6.3% of local firms against 4.4% across Britain, and finance 3.1% against 2.1%. Those two sectors lean on staffed receptions, lone-worker support and alarm response after the offices empty, which is where much of our Cathays work is shaped.
With 50 construction sites mapped inside 5km, plant and materials need protecting overnight, so CCTV towers and mobile patrols carry real weight here. Retail also matters: the 1,020 shops across the council area face a shoplifting trend that rose 50%. Every officer we place is BS 7858 vetted and paid through PAYE, and each patrol produces a digital report with timed check-ins.
Sherman Theatre, Y Plas nightclub and the Cardiff Students Union Great Hall all fall within 5km. Venues holding 200 or more people will take on Martyn's Law duties when they start, and we can help plan searches and stewarding. What Martyn's Law means for venues.
Sources: Go Security officer network (counts rounded to the nearest 5); ONS UK Business Counts via Nomis; place data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Updated October 2026.
Security Requirements in Cathays
Cathays is ringed by named sites: the University Hospital of Wales and its UHW Concourse, Cardiff Royal Infirmary, Saint David's Centre and Queen's Arcade for retail, and workshops at Gabalfa and Excelsior Road. Five stations, from Cathays itself to Cardiff Central and Heath Low Level, sit within 5km.
That mix means very different security jobs side by side: hospital receptions needing calm, visible staff; shopping centres battling theft; and small industrial units at Parklands or Jubilee Trading Estate that sit empty overnight and suit key holding plus alarm response.
Services in Cathays
The services below are the ones Cathays clients pick most naturally, from retail guarding to construction CCTV.
Security guarding · Mobile patrols · Key holding · Alarm response · Event security · K9 security · CCTV towers · CCTV monitoring · POD intruder alarms
Crime & Security Data
Across September 2025 to August 2026, Police.uk logged 10,104 offences close to Cathays, counting everything within a mile.
Violence and sexual offences were the largest group at 2,780, followed by shoplifting on 1,553, anti-social behaviour on 1,084, vehicle crime on 1,014 and public order on 923. The latest three months ran 25% above the same months a year earlier, while shoplifting alone climbed 50%. For shops, that argues for uniformed officers at peak hours; for car parks and yards, patrols and monitored cameras.
Source: Police.uk open data, street-level crime within ~1 mile, September 2025 to August 2026. Locations are approximate.
Local Policing
South Wales Police's local team for Cathays has named ASB, vehicle crime, and shoplifting and retail crime as its current priorities.
Current neighbourhood priorities:
Source: Police.uk neighbourhoods, the policing team whose area covers Cathays.
Areas We Cover Near Cathays
From Cathays we also cover Roath, Gabalfa and Heath, each shown below with its distance in miles.
Postcodes We Cover in Cathays
The 6 postcode districts nearest central Cathays, covering parts of Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan and Caerphilly.
Nearest first. Source: ONS postcode data via postcodes.io. Need another postcode? Check coverage.
Cathays Security FAQs
Our network includes 140 security workers who live within 10 miles of Cathays. Of those, 85 are licensed by the SIA and available to book, while 15 drive, which suits mobile patrol work, so we can plan rotas around local people.
Shoplifting within a mile of Cathays reached 1,553 offences and rose 50% on the year before. A uniformed retail officer at busy times, backed by CCTV monitoring from an NSI Gold accredited centre, deters theft and builds evidence that police can act on.
Yes. Health and care is 6.3% of Cardiff businesses, above the 4.4% British share, and the University Hospital of Wales is within 5km. We supply reception officers, lone-worker support and out-of-hours cover for clinics and care providers.
There are 50 construction sites mapped within 5km. We offer CCTV towers, overnight patrols and alarm response for compounds, with every visit logged by GPS and written up in a digital report.
Police.uk shows 1,014 vehicle crimes within a mile over the year, and South Wales Police name vehicle crime as a local priority. Mobile patrols with timed checks and camera coverage help car park operators and staff parking areas.
Free, no-obligation quote
Tell us about your site and what you need. We'll price it and come back to you, normally within one working day.
Ring 0800 471 4792 for a quote, or ask for our free on-site security audit, worth £250, covering your Cathays premises.
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