Crime in Oxford district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (6,031), shoplifting (2,143) and anti-social behaviour (1,619) made up 55% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 81st of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the upper half.

Recorded crime in Oxford district peaked in the year to August 2024 (18,505 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2020 (16,154). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 5%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Oxford district recorded notably more bicycle theft (6.7 times the national rate), shoplifting (53% above the national rate) and other theft (43% above the national rate), and notably less anti-social behaviour (37% below) and possession of weapons (30% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 209 to 244, while possession of weapons fell from 184 to 112 and theft from the person fell from 490 to 348.

What each category covers: crime categories.

15,987 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Oxford district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 96.3 per 1,000 residents, higher than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. The total was down 8% on the year ending March 2025 (17,363), against a fall of 2% across England and Wales. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Oxford district had the 58th highest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 302 districts with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).

Offences recorded in Oxford district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 2,442 offences (15% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for bicycle theft (6.5 times the national rate), shoplifting (1.6 times the national rate) and possession of drugs (1.5 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for miscellaneous crimes against society (0.74 times).

The largest rises on the year were in rape (+26%) and robbery of personal property (+23%). The largest falls were in non-residential burglary (−48%) and theft from the person (−40%). Robbery of business property and shoplifting are not compared with the year ending March 2025: from April 2025 the Home Office Counting Rules were clarified so that a theft from a shop in which violence is used or threatened against staff or anyone else is recorded as robbery of business property rather than shoplifting (ONS).

Recorded crime in Oxford district since the year ending March 2013

The chart shows police recorded crime per 1,000 residents in each year ending March from 2013 to 2026. Oxford district's rate was above the England and Wales rate in every one of those 14 years. Changes in how forces record crime move these figures as well as changes in crime (methodology).

Districts in the Thames Valley Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 13 districts in the Thames Valley Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Oxford district had the 2nd highest rate.

Source: Home Office police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables (released 23 July 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Financial years, excluding fraud; how they differ from the street-level figures: methodology.

1 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than Oxford district; the highest is Reading district (112.0 per 1,000) and the lowest South Oxfordshire (47.5).

Of the 25 areas within Oxford district, Osney & St Thomas had the highest crime rate (231.4 per 1,000) and Summertown the lowest (40.5), 6 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 24% of the crime recorded in Oxford district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (1,125).

Of the 16,148 crimes in Oxford district with a recorded outcome, 38% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 5.6% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,619 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Oxford district has an estimated population of 166,034 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more students (26.9%, against 7.9%), more private renting (32%, against 20%) and fewer retired residents (12%, against 22%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Oxford district average decile 6.9 (1 = most deprived), less deprived than average.

Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.