Cherwell has a crime rate of 69.07 per 1,000 residents — around the national average for England and Wales, ranked #113 of 331 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 April 2026, Cherwell has an annual crime rate of 69.07 per 1,000 residents, based on 1,052 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 #113 out of 331 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 416 incidents in April 2026 — 39.5% 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.

April 2026 Source: Thames Valley Police Police

Crime in Cherwell: Crime Rate & Statistics 2026

Cherwell recorded 1,052 crimes in April 2026 — a crime rate of 6.49 per 1,000 residents. This places Cherwell at #113 of 331 local authorities in England and Wales. Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for the largest share of crime at 39.5% of all offences recorded. Crime is up 8.5% compared to the same period last year.

check_circle Crime is below average compared to other UK areas.

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Key Statistics

monitoring69.07 crimes per 1,000 residents annually
assignment1,052 crimes recorded in April 2026
leaderboardRanked #113 of 331 UK local authorities by crime rate
trending_upCrime up 8.5% year-on-year

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

Total Crimes

1,052

trending_up +4.7% vs last month

Annual Crime Rate

69.07per 1k

Moderate

National Safety

#113of 331

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: 55	55
On or near Shopping Area Map	Shoplifting: 26 Other crime: 2	26
On or near Parking Area Map	Violence and sexual offences: 22	22
On or near Palmer Avenue Map	Violence and sexual offences: 9 Other crime: 3	9
On or near Parking Area Map	Shoplifting: 10	10
On or near Parking Area Map	Criminal damage and arson: 8 Drugs: 1 Robbery: 1	8
On or near Police Station Map	Violence and sexual offences: 6 Drugs: 3	6
On or near Dover Avenue Map	Anti-social behaviour: 8	8
On or near Sheep Street Map	Shoplifting: 6 Burglary: 2	6
On or near Parking Area Map	Anti-social behaviour: 8	8

Crime Breakdown

April 2026

1,052 Total

Violence & Sexual Offences

416

39.5%

Shoplifting

141

13.4%

Anti-social Behaviour

133

12.6%

Other Theft

7.5%

Public Order

7.5%

Criminal Damage & Arson

5.8%

Burglary

3.6%

Vehicle Crime

3.2%

Other Crime

2.3%

Drug Offences

1.6%

Bicycle Theft

1.1%

Robbery

1.0%

Theft from Person

0.5%

Weapons Possession

0.3%

Crime Analysis: Cherwell

Cherwell recorded 1,052 crimes in April 2026, equivalent to a rate of 69.07 per 1,000 residents — broadly average for England and Wales, ranked #113 of 331.

Violence & Sexual Offences accounts for more than a third of all recorded crime in Cherwell (39.5%). Shoplifting (13.4%) and Anti-social Behaviour (12.6%) are the next most common categories.

Compared to the same period last year, crime in Cherwell has risen noticeably — by 8.5%. The 12-month trend chart above shows where this change is concentrated across individual offence categories.

All figures are published monthly by Thames Valley Police through the Police.uk open data platform and cross-referenced with ONS 2021 Census population estimates to produce the per-resident rates above. Data typically appears 1–2 months after the end of the recording period.

Stop & Search

April 2026

1,430

Total Stops

10.5%

Arrest Rate

108

Neighbourhoods

Reason for Stop

Controlled drugs

960

Offensive weapons

182

Stolen goods

179

Article for use in theft

Articles for use in criminal damage

Firearms

Game or poaching equipment

Fireworks

Outcome

A no further action disposal963

Community resolution278

Arrest150

Not recorded13

Penalty Notice for Disorder11

Khat or Cannabis warning7

Summons / charged by post4

Caution (simple or conditional)4

Gender

Male1,194

Female205

Other18

Officer-Defined Ethnicity

Self-defined where available

61.8%

White

18.7%

Asian

17.7%

Black

1.8%

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	191	125.4
2	Bicester South and Ambrosden	110	91.3
3	Bicester East	108	78.7
4	Banbury Ruscote	85	77.2
5	Bicester West	46	61.5

Safest Wards

	Ward	Crimes	Rate
shield	Deddington	27	2.8
shield	Banbury Hardwick	42	2.9
shield	Adderbury, Bloxham and Bodicote	38	3.4
shield	Banbury Calthorpe and Easington	45	3.9
shield	Kidlington West	47	4.4

Growth Analysis

Month-on-Monthtrending_up +4.7%

Year-on-Yeartrending_up +8.5%

12m Rolling Trendtrending_up +0.5%

Data Transparency

Crime rates are calculated per 1,000 residents using ONS Census 2021 population data. Rankings cover all 331 local authorities in England & Wales.

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