This crime news report for Oxfordshire focuses on incidents impacting businesses in the county across 2025.
News reports in Oxfordshire saw a series of notable crime related incidents from January to April 2025, particularly targeting businesses, commercial properties, local council facilities, schools, and parks.
In summary, these crime news stories include thefts, burglaries, vandalism, arson, and fraud.
All in all, crime is impacting premises across the county including shops, council sites, school properties, and public parks.
While Oxfordshire remains relatively safe (with overall crime rates about 80.1 per 1,000 people, below the national average), specific categories such as shoplifting and robbery spiked in early 2025.
Below we detail confirmed incidents across the county, with sources from police reports and local news.
- Related service: Security systems in Oxfordshire
Key article takeaways (TL;DR)
- Oxfordshire experienced theft, break-ins, vandalism, and vehicle crime across 2025.
- A 4×4 and trailer were stolen from a rural location near Chipping Norton.
- Kidlington saw commercial burglary, including broken glass and entry damage.
- Copper wire theft and cable targeting remain ongoing risks for rural businesses.
- CCTV, alarms, and perimeter security are essential for both urban and rural sites.
Oxfordshire crime news report – business and commercial property crimes
Several commercial property crimes in Oxfordshire during Q1 2025 have alarmed local business owners.
From brazen ram-raids to unusual thefts, offenders targeted a range of enterprises.
Now let’s take a look at the first story in this local crime news report.
Search for woman after cash stolen from Oxford Tesco ATM (June 2025)
Money was stolen from the ATM outside the Oxford store and Thames Valley Police (TVP) is now investigating the incident.
The force released an appeal this afternoon (Wednesday, June 4) and included photographs of a woman who officers wish to speak to.
Vandalism in Berinsfield: Business damage worth £30,000
An investigation is ongoing after two Oxfordshire offenders broke into a business in Wimblestraw Road, Berinsfield, causing large scale damage to the premises.
This included windows being broken, toilets being smashed up leading to considerable flooding.
Lastly, graffiti was painted on the building.
Thieves steal 13 portable toilets from Banbury firm (Jan 2025)
The next story in this Oxfordshire crime news report is a bit mucky…
CCTV footage shows thieves wheeling away a portable toilet from AndyLoos’ yard in Banbury.
In one of the more unusual commercial property crimes in Oxfordshire, a sanitation hire company in Banbury fell victim to a large-scale theft.
The culprits made off with an incredible haul of 13 portable toilets, as well as drums of chemical fluid and piping. CCTV images captured masked individuals carting away the loos under cover of darkness.
The company estimates losses over £10,000 to replace the stolen equipment.
“Why would someone target a portable toilet hire company when surely there’s more valuable things?” the baffled general manager remarked.
Thames Valley Police and the business owners appealed for witnesses to this overnight raid.
This theft in Oxfordshire, widely reported by ITV News Meridian, underscores how even niche businesses are not immune to brazen theft.
Shoplifting spree and burglary at Oxford supermarkets (Jan–Feb 2025
Organised retail theft also hit the city of Oxford in early 2025. Multiple Sainsbury’s supermarkets in Oxford (St Aldate’s, St Clements, and Walton Street) were targeted repeatedly between mid-January and mid-February.
A 32-year-old man from Witney, Dominic Walls, was charged in February with 15 offences related to these incidents. The charges include nine counts of burglary and five counts of shoplifting.
The assault charge came after a store security guard in his twenties was pushed to the ground on 1 February during an attempted theft. Walls was caught and brought before Oxford Magistrates’ Court, illustrating a robust police response.
The growing threat of shoplifting in Oxfordshire
Shoplifting is a growing concern, with Oxfordshire seeing about 5,900 shoplifting cases in the year up to March 2025 (up 30% year-on-year), slightly above the national average rate.
This commercial property crime trend in Oxfordshire has prompted retailers to tighten security and remain vigilant.
It’s an unfortunate truth, but retail crime makes up a significant portion of the news coverage of incidents impacting the county.
Oxfordshire crime involving schools and colleges
Schools and educational facilities in Oxfordshire also experienced criminal incidents, from internal fraud to on-campus violence, during Jan–Apr 2025.
In this section of our guide on the most important crime news stories impacting sites in Oxfordshire, we focus on issues impacting schools.
Schools are a prime target for thieves, and other crime like anti social behaviour, and violence.
School business manager stole funds – Bladon Primary (West Oxon)
An Oxfordshire primary school was “horrified” to discover its former employee had been stealing from school accounts. In April 2025, Bladon Primary School reported that a former business manager stole nearly £1,000 from the school’s funds.
The ex-staff member had abused financial access, siphoning off money intended for the school. She was eventually caught and pleaded guilty to the theft by employee.
“It is appalling,” the headteacher said, after the staff and parents learned of the betrayal (according to local news reports).
The offender was sentenced in late April, though the sentence details were not publicized in the initial report.
The school noted feeling “horrified” by the breach of trust and has since tightened its finance oversight. This case of fraud in an Oxfordshire school serves as a warning to other schools to monitor accounts closely.
Further reading: Bladon Primary School horrified after former staff member stole money
Pupil arrested after incident at a local school – Bicester (Apr 2025)
A violent incident at a Bicester secondary school led to a police response and a temporary lockdown. On 24 April 2025, Whitelands Academy in Bicester was disrupted when a confrontation broke out, resulting in the school being put into lockdown for safety.
Thames Valley Police confirmed that a 14-year-old female Oxfordshire school pupil was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault. According to reports, an altercation occurred during the school day, and out of caution the school enacted emergency procedures to contain the situation.
Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported. The arrested teen was questioned in relation to an assault on another student (details were limited due to the ages involved).
Incidents of crime like violence in schools like this are rarely reported in the news in Oxfordshire, but this event underscores the need for vigilance in campus security and conflict management.
Incidents in parks and public spaces
Criminal damage and dangerous behaviour in Oxfordshire’s parks and council-owned public spaces also made headlines in early 2025
Low-flying paragliders cause havoc on port meadow (Oxford)
In April, Oxford City Council issued an urgent appeal after two shocking incidents on the historic Port Meadow common land.
Powered paragliders flying illegally low over the meadow panicked a herd of horses, tragically resulting in the death of a young foal. The first incident on 10 April saw a paraglider swooping erratically over grazing horses; a foal was seriously injured and had to be put down due to its injuries.
A second incident on 20 April involved three paragliders buzzing low and loud over the meadow, again sending the horses into a frenzy. These acts are being treated as criminal offences: disturbing livestock and causing suffering to animals.
The City Council and Thames Valley Police’s Rural Crime Team are taking the matter “extremely seriously” and pursuing legal action against those responsible. They have appealed to the public for any information to help identify the rogue flyers.
This unusual case highlights that not all threats to public safety are traditional crimes, even thrill-seekers can cross the line into criminal behavior when endangering animals and the public. The Port Meadow incidents have prompted calls for better enforcement of no-fly rules over sensitive parkland.
Vandalism and damage in local parks
In this section of our report on crime in Oxfordshire Beyond Port Meadow, several instances of vandalism in Oxfordshire’s parks were recorded by local authorities during this period.
In Witney, the Town Council logged recurring damage such as graffiti at a skatepark and even superglue jammed into public lock mechanisms in early 2025
For example, in March, vandals superglued locks at a Mill Meadow facility multiple times, and anti-Semitic graffiti had to be removed from a skatepark sign. There were also reports of youths trespassing on a construction site and damaging security cameras at a new sports court development.
Source: Democracy Witney – local crime reports
Oxfordshire crime news report: Trends and takeaways for 2025
From ram-raids on rural shops to white-collar crime in school offices, the start of 2025 saw a diverse range of crimes targeting Oxfordshire’s businesses and institutions.
Key trends include:
- A rise in shoplifting and robbery affecting retailers
- Continued occurrences of burglary and vandalism
- Incidents of violence or vandalism in schools and parks
Yet, Oxfordshire’s overall crime rate remains lower than many regions – a testament to effective policing and community vigilance.
In summary, this Oxfordshire crime report serves as a resource for businesses, local councils, and school facility managers.
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Frequently asked questions
Crimes included commercial burglaries, vehicle theft, and rural cable and copper wire theft. Incidents ranged from break-ins in towns like Kidlington to agricultural and trailer thefts in remote areas near Chipping Norton, highlighting the diverse risks across the county.
Notable locations included Kidlington, where a commercial premises was burgled, and rural Oxfordshire near Chipping Norton, where a trailer and 4×4 were stolen. These incidents underline that both urban and rural sites remain vulnerable to targeted theft.
Rural businesses and farms are often hit by organised criminals stealing tools, trailers, and copper wiring. Remote locations and lack of surveillance make these areas attractive targets, especially at night or during holiday periods when sites are unmanned.
Copper remains valuable on the black market, and rural infrastructure like solar farms, telecoms, and farms are vulnerable to cable theft. These crimes cause financial loss, operational downtime, and long repair times—making prevention essential.
Commercial burglary often results in smashed entry points, stolen stock, and temporary closures. For small businesses, this can severely affect revenue and staff morale. Preventative measures like alarms and CCTV help reduce risk and aid post-incident investigations.
A layered approach works best: monitored CCTV, perimeter alarms, reinforced access points, and proper lighting. Remote locations should consider motion-triggered cameras and rapid-response monitoring, while urban premises benefit from visible deterrents and secure entry systems.
Yes, but in different ways. Rural businesses face equipment theft and cable crime, while urban ones see more burglary, vandalism, and antisocial behaviour. Both require tailored security strategies based on location, hours of operation, and asset visibility.