Crime and Safety in Oxford
Last updated: 07 Jun 2026
Oxford is the most dangerous major town in Oxfordshire, and is the 23rd most dangerous overall out of Oxfordshire's 312 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Oxford in 2026 is 81 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Oxfordshire's overall crime rate, coming in 53% higher than the Oxfordshire rate of 53 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Oxford is the 45th safest major town, and the 1,242nd most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
In January 2026, Oxford was the worst major town in Oxfordshire for anti-social behaviour, with 66 crimes reported and a crime rate of 0.41 per 1,000 daytime population. January 2026 was also a bad month for Oxford residents, when it was Oxfordshire's most dangerous major town for burglary, recording 38 crimes at a rate of 0.24 per 1,000 daytime population.
The most common crimes in Oxford are violence and sexual offences, with 4,645 offences during 2026, giving a crime rate of 28. This is 2.5% higher than 2025's figure of 4,530 offences and a difference of 0.86 from 2025's crime rate of 28. Oxford's least common crimes are possession of weapons, with 106 offences recorded in 2026, a decrease of 13% from 2025's figure of 122 crimes.
Oxford 2026 Crime Scorecard
Most Dangerous
Major Towns, Oxfordshire
31% higher, regional crime rate
South East
12% higher, national crime rate
England, Wales & NI
Local Crime in Context
As of April 2026, the crime rate in Oxford is 31% higher than the South East and 12% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland overall figure.
Oxford Crime Rate Over Time
| Oxford | |
| South East | |
| England, Wales & NI |
Oxford Crime Map
Incidents mapped in Oxford 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 Oxford Compares
You can compare Oxford'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 Oxford's crime statistics
This crime profile provides a detailed view of crime and safety around Oxford up to April 2026, the most recent data release available. The crime figures and statistics have been calculated across each of Oxford's 3,021 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 Oxford? 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
Oxford • 12 Months Ending April 2026
The typical five-minute walk within Oxford has a crime risk score of 523. This is based on analysis of 3,021 nearby areas within Oxford, 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 Oxford's risk scores as, for example, robbery, or violence & sexual offences.
Within a five-minute walk of the typical location in Oxford, crime risk scores are typically around 523, while in Oxfordshire they are average 409.
Areas within a ten-minute walk typically see crime risk scores of 610 (399 for Oxfordshire), and scores within a fifteen-minute walk are most often around 658 (Oxfordshire 400).
Trends in Crime Risk
Oxford
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.
The 10-year trend indicates an increase of 8% in Oxford's crime risk score. This is potentially a strong signal of how the crime risk is evolving. Cross-referencing with major cultural events and Covid's impact during this time is advised.
Looking at the previous five years, the trend in Oxford's crime risk score is down by 5%. While potentially a good indicator of the overall risk trend, analysis may offer further insight when combined with the checks mentioned above.
Over the last year, Oxford's crime risk score has shown an upward trend of approximately 3.2%, indicating that the risk profile is going up. This is an extremely short time period for crime trend analysis, and caution should be exercised when interpreting this figure.
Crime Rates and Indexes
Oxford
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
Oxford • 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 Oxford, which is 1.61 times the national average. This figure is calculated from 1,874 crime reports logged by Thames Valley Police during the 12-month period ending April 2026.
For the same period, Thames Valley Police recorded 341 reports of Theft From the Person in Oxford, resulting in a crime rate of 2.08 reports per 1,000, and a CrimeRate Index of 1.34.
The crime rate for Public Order is 1.27 times the national average at 7.35 reports per 1,000. This is from 1,199 crime reports reported to Thames Valley Police.
Most Significant 3-Year Increases in Crime Types
Oxford
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.
Robbery offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.10 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Robbery CrimeRate Index was 1.00 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 10% over this timeframe.
Public Order offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 1.31 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Public Order CrimeRate Index was 1.14 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 15% over this timeframe.
Criminal Damage and Arson offences are trending upwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.85 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Criminal Damage and Arson CrimeRate Index was 0.73 times the national average, and the current trend indicates an increase of 16% over this timeframe.
Most Significant 3-Year Decreases in Crime Types
Oxford
Calculated with the same methodology as the largest increases section above.
Theft From the Person offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.67 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Theft From the Person CrimeRate Index was 2.23 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 70% over this timeframe.
Vehicle Crime offences are trending downwards, and have a CrimeRate Index of 0.49 for the month of April 2026.
Three years ago, the monthly Vehicle Crime CrimeRate Index was 0.89 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 45% 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 0.97 times the national average, and the current trend indicates a decrease of 14% over this timeframe.
Crime Type Breakdown & Heat Map
Oxford • 12 Months Ending April 2026
Size and colour reflect the CrimeRate Index figures for each type of crime.
Oxford | Oxfordshire | South East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Type | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| Anti-Social Behaviour | 1,319 | 8.08 | 0.57 | 5,244 | 6.03 | 0.43 | 115,500 | 10.87 | 0.77 |
| Bicycle Theft | 887 | 5.43 | 7.44 | 1,242 | 1.42 | 1.95 | 7,315 | 0.68 | 0.93 |
| Burglary | 388 | 2.38 | 0.76 | 1,826 | 2.09 | 0.67 | 23,535 | 2.23 | 0.71 |
| Criminal Damage and Arson | 863 | 5.29 | 0.84 | 3,683 | 4.24 | 0.68 | 58,501 | 5.50 | 0.88 |
| Drugs | 550 | 3.37 | 1.09 | 1,544 | 1.77 | 0.57 | 25,203 | 2.37 | 0.77 |
| Other Crime | 221 | 1.38 | 0.75 | 1,026 | 1.17 | 0.63 | 17,151 | 1.61 | 0.87 |
| Other Theft | 1,320 | 8.07 | 1.42 | 4,031 | 4.63 | 0.81 | 51,336 | 4.84 | 0.85 |
| Possession of Weapons | 106 | 0.63 | 0.74 | 334 | 0.37 | 0.44 | 8,736 | 0.81 | 0.95 |
| Public Order | 1,199 | 7.35 | 1.27 | 4,184 | 4.79 | 0.83 | 54,745 | 5.15 | 0.89 |
| Robbery | 197 | 1.21 | 1.03 | 484 | 0.55 | 0.47 | 7,588 | 0.72 | 0.61 |
| Shoplifting | 1,874 | 11.46 | 1.61 | 4,959 | 5.69 | 0.80 | 72,983 | 6.88 | 0.96 |
| Theft From the Person | 341 | 2.08 | 1.34 | 543 | 0.61 | 0.39 | 4,668 | 0.45 | 0.29 |
| Vehicle Crime | 586 | 3.58 | 0.83 | 2,064 | 2.37 | 0.55 | 34,099 | 3.22 | 0.75 |
| Violence and Sexual Offences | 4,645 | 28.46 | 0.94 | 20,006 | 22.96 | 0.76 | 286,815 | 26.98 | 0.89 |
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Total Crime by Year
Oxford | Oxfordshire | South East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index | Count | Rate | Index |
| 2026 | 13,177 | 80.69 | 1.12 | 45,926 | 52.66 | 0.73 | 652,675 | 61.44 | 0.85 |
| 2025 | 14,344 | 87.51 | 1.18 | 47,473 | 54.75 | 0.74 | 670,274 | 63.35 | 0.86 |
| 2024 | 13,337 | 81.59 | 1.08 | 47,431 | 55.35 | 0.73 | 690,903 | 65.86 | 0.87 |
| 2023 | 14,438 | 89.01 | 1.13 | 51,233 | 60.76 | 0.77 | 713,547 | 68.83 | 0.87 |
| 2022 | 13,287 | 82.85 | 1.08 | 49,164 | 59.40 | 0.77 | 704,444 | 68.58 | 0.89 |
| 2021 | 11,658 | 72.99 | 1.06 | 41,990 | 51.46 | 0.75 | 625,484 | 61.36 | 0.89 |
| 2020 | 12,274 | 76.59 | 1.03 | 39,686 | 49.11 | 0.66 | 669,219 | 65.97 | 0.89 |
| 2019 | 12,479 | 77.88 | 1.02 | 39,535 | 49.37 | 0.65 | 666,505 | 65.82 | 0.86 |
| 2018 | 12,299 | 76.93 | 1.08 | 38,049 | 47.83 | 0.67 | 644,142 | 63.85 | 0.90 |
| 2017 | 11,792 | 73.99 | 1.16 | 36,123 | 45.79 | 0.72 | 552,696 | 55.04 | 0.86 |
| 2016 | 3,314 | 20.78 | 1.09 | 10,357 | 13.12 | 0.69 | 160,273 | 15.99 | 0.84 |
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Comparing Oxford to the UK's Major Cities
12 Months Ending Apr 2026
| City Name | Crime Rate | Rate Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 79.55 | 1.4% safer |
| Oxford | 80.69 | - |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 82.69 | 2.5% more dangerous |
| Sheffield | 84.09 | 4.2% more dangerous |
| Leicester | 97.87 | 21% more dangerous |
| Bristol | 104.64 | 30% more dangerous |
| Birmingham | 105.05 | 30% more dangerous |
| Liverpool | 106.48 | 32% more dangerous |
| Leeds | 107.10 | 33% more dangerous |
| Nottingham | 107.74 | 34% more dangerous |
| Westminster | 125.00 | 55% more dangerous |
CrimeRate Pro
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You can find out more, or get a CrimeRate Insights report that includes further analysis.
Offences In and Around Oxford's Parks & Leisure Spaces
Limited to spaces in Oxford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botley Meadow Allotments | 4 | 5 | 1 | - | 4 | 4 |
| Botley Park | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| King George's Playing Field | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 16 |
| Sunnymead Recreation Ground | 2 | - | - | - | 3 | 6 |
| Alexandra Courts | 5 | 1 | 5 | - | 12 | 15 |
| Keble College Sports Ground | 2 | - | 2 | - | 5 | 12 |
| The Ferry Centre | 2 | 1 | 4 | - | 9 | 32 |
| Oxford City and County Bowls Club | - | 1 | 1 | - | 4 | 9 |
| St John's College Sports Ground | - | - | - | - | 5 | 2 |
| St Sepulchre's Cemetery | 6 | 2 | 2 | - | 6 | 11 |
| Twenty Pound Meadow Allotments | 4 | - | 2 | - | 10 | 9 |
| University Parks | - | - | 2 | - | 4 | 9 |
| Exeter College Sports Ground | 1 | - | - | - | 5 | 5 |
| Balliol College Sports Ground | - | - | - | - | 6 | 7 |
| New College Sports Ground | - | - | 2 | - | 3 | 4 |
| Holy Cross Cemetery | - | - | - | - | 3 | 20 |
| Magdalen College Sports Ground | 1 | - | 2 | - | 1 | 2 |
| Eden Drive Allotments | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 14 | 5 |
| Brookes Sports | 1 | 5 | - | - | 6 | 11 |
| Barton Pool | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 | 4 |
| Osney Cemetery | - | - | 1 | - | 4 | 6 |
| University College Sports Ground | - | 1 | 2 | - | 9 | 13 |
| Cowmead Allotments | 5 | - | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Longbridges Nature Park | - | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Meadow Lane Allotments | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | 8 | 9 |
| Donnington Sports Ground | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | 9 | 22 |
| East Ward Allotments | 1 | 1 | - | - | 23 | 13 |
| Cowley Marsh | 18 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 27 | 19 |
| Town Furze Allotments | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | 15 | 8 |
| Florence Park | 2 | 1 | 4 | - | 15 | 10 |
| Elder Stubbs Allotments | 12 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 32 | 17 |
| Rose Hill Cemetery | 5 | 2 | 3 | - | 11 | 19 |
| Sandy Lane Recreation Ground | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 8 |
| Wolvercote Cemetery | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| Headington Hill Park | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | 3 | 17 |
| Dunstan Park | 3 | - | - | - | 4 | 9 |
| Bury Knowle Park | 11 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 22 | 54 |
| Hinksey Park | 9 | 3 | 22 | - | 40 | 26 |
| Magdalen College School Playing Fields | 1 | - | 1 | - | 4 | 8 |
| Angel and Greyhound Meadow | 7 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 43 | 35 |
| University Sports Centre | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 14 |
| Queen's College Sports Ground | - | 1 | 1 | - | 4 | 8 |
| Brasenose College Sports Ground | - | 1 | 1 | - | 4 | 8 |
| University Rugby Football Ground | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 14 |
| Rivermead Nature Park | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | 5 |
| South Park | 8 | 3 | - | - | 8 | 11 |
| Oriel College Sports Ground | 7 | 2 | 3 | - | 15 | 17 |
| Jesus College Sports Ground | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | 23 | 6 |
| Lincoln College Sports Ground | 3 | - | 2 | - | 23 | 6 |
| Broad Oak Nature Park | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Shotover Country Park | 10 | 1 | 3 | - | 31 | 16 |
| University Botanical Garden | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| Oxford Sports Park | - | 1 | - | - | 2 | 10 |
| Milham Ford Nature Park | - | 1 | 2 | - | 13 | 6 |
| Wolvercote Common | 4 | 2 | 3 | - | 3 | 11 |
| Goose Green | 1 | - | 4 | - | 8 | 5 |
| Wolvercote Green | 1 | - | 6 | - | 14 | 6 |
| Town Furze | 8 | 2 | 3 | - | 22 | 17 |
| Cutteslowe Park | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| Wadnham College Sports Ground | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 5 | 10 |
Recent Crimes in Oxford
The 20 most recent crime reports in Oxford.
| Date | Crime Type | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Parking Area | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Moberly Close | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Anti-social behaviour | On or near Saunders Road | |
| April 2026 | Bicycle theft | On or near Caroline Street | |
| April 2026 | Bicycle theft | On or near Gloucester Street | |
| April 2026 | Bicycle theft | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Further/Higher Educational Building | |
| April 2026 | Burglary | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Possession of weapons | On or near Nightclub | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Claymond Road | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Gloucester Street | |
| April 2026 | Public order | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Shoplifting | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Vehicle crime | On or near Pixey Place | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near A4144 | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Supermarket | |
| April 2026 | Violence and sexual offences | On or near Further/Higher Educational Building |
Methodology & Data Sources
Oxford 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 Oxford 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.
Oxford Data Points
For Oxford, 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 E43000128.
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 Oxford's daytime - or "workday" - population of 158,652 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 Oxford