Cherwell has a crime rate of 68.74 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #110 of 330 local authorities nationally. Crime levels vary significantly across Cherwell's wards; some neighbourhoods are considerably safer than the city average. See the ward breakdown and hotspot map on this page for a detailed local picture.

What is the crime rate in Cherwell?

As of March 2026, Cherwell has an annual crime rate of 68.74 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,005 recorded offences in the latest reporting period. This figure is sourced from Police.uk open data and normalised using ONS Census 2021 population estimates to allow accurate comparisons between areas.

How does Cherwell rank nationally for crime?

Cherwell ranks #110 out of 330 local authorities in England and Wales by annual crime rate per 1,000 residents. A rank of #1 indicates the highest crime rate nationally. Rankings are recalculated each month as new Police.uk data becomes available, covering all recorded crimes across the area.

What is the most common crime in Cherwell?

The most common crime type in Cherwell is Violence & Sexual Offences, accounting for 390 incidents in March 2026 — 38.8% of all recorded crime in the area. Data is sourced from Police.uk and covers all crimes recorded by the responsible police force across the Cherwell local authority area.

March 2026 Source: Thames Valley Police Police

Cherwell Crime Intelligence Report

Cherwell recorded 1,005 crimes in March 2026, equating to a crime rate of 6.2 per 1,000 residents. This places Cherwell at #159 of 330 local authorities nationally by total crime volume. Crime has increased by 2.3% compared to the previous month. Year-on-year, crime levels are 6.2% lower.

check_circle Crime is below average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring68.74 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,005 crimes recorded in March 2026
leaderboardRanked #110 of 330 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_downCrime down 6.2% year-on-year

Data Sources:Police.ukONS Census 2021HM Land Registry Period: March 2026 • Updated monthly

Total Crimes

1,005

trending_up +2.3% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

68.74per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#110of 330

Ranked by annual rate

Oxfordshire

#4rank

Ranked by annual rate

12-Month Crime Trend

Monthly Totals

Interactive Crime Map

District View

Live Points

Crime Incident

Area Boundary

Incident Distribution

Top Locations

Location Reference	Crime Breakdown	Primary Count
On or near Supermarket Map	Shoplifting: 42 Theft from the person: 1	42
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 28 Public order: 4	28
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 21	21
On or near Parking Area Map	Public order: 10 Possession of weapons: 3 Criminal damage and arson: 3	10
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 17	17
On or near Dover Avenue Map	Violence and sexual offences: 11 Public order: 3	11
On or near Petrol Station Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9 Theft from the person: 1	9
On or near Supermarket Map	Violence and sexual offences: 8	8
On or near Church Lane Map	Violence and sexual offences: 7	7
On or near Hart Place Map	Shoplifting: 6	6

Crime Breakdown

March 2026

1,005 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

390

38.8%

Shoplifting

131

13.0%

Anti-social Behaviour

110

10.9%

Criminal Damage & Arson

7.9%

Public Order

7.6%

Other Theft

5.1%

Burglary

4.6%

Vehicle Crime

4.1%

Drug Offences

3.1%

Other Crime

2.8%

Weapons Possession

0.7%

Theft from Person

0.6%

Bicycle Theft

0.6%

Robbery

0.3%

Stop & Search

March 2026

1,604

Total Stops

9.4%

Arrest Rate

108

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

1,069

Offensive weapons

241

Stolen goods

197

Article for use in theft

Articles for use in criminal damage

Firearms

Fireworks

Psychoactive substances

Outcome

A no further action disposal1,138

Community resolution273

Arrest150

Not recorded12

Khat or Cannabis warning10

Penalty Notice for Disorder9

Summons / charged by post6

Caution (simple or conditional)6

Gender

Male1,324

Female240

Other28

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

65.4%

White

16.5%

Asian

16.0%

Black

2.2%

Other

Stop & search data published by Thames Valley Police under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: police.uk.

Expert Safety Insights

Ward Safety Rankings

16 wards

Highest Crime

#	Ward	Crimes	Rate
1	Banbury Cross and Neithrop	201	125.2
2	Bicester South and Ambrosden	123	91.6
3	Banbury Ruscote	85	78.0
4	Bicester East	88	76.0
5	Bicester West	46	61.4

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Deddington	25	2.6
shield	Banbury Hardwick	50	3.4
shield	Adderbury, Bloxham and Bodicote	37	3.3
shield	Banbury Calthorpe and Easington	36	3.1
shield	Kidlington West	31	2.9

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +2.3%

Year-on-Yeartrending_down -6.2%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_up +0.3%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 330 local authorities in England & Wales.

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