Photo: Motacilla · CC BY-SA 3.0Upper Heyford has more crime per resident than 89% of UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people
It has less burglary, vehicle crime and damage than 66% of UK towns, but less violent crime than only 17%. Violence recorded locally dropped 9% in a year. Year on year, 39.1 violent and sexual offences and 7.5 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage occur per 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Upper Heyford
Violent crime fell over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 9% less violent crime per resident in Upper Heyford than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Upper Heyford has the 474th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Trimdon, Cwm and Kidwelly, higher than Meden Vale, Brynamman and Great Haywood. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
Upper Heyford’s Safety Grade is C
A fairly firm grade. Built on 347 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Upper Heyford against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Upper Heyford runs highest on violence & sexual offences (41.9 per 1,000 against 16.6) and anti-social behaviour (9.3 per 1,000 against 5.3).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 104 | 41.9 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 23 | 9.3 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 9 | 3.6 | 3.2 |
| Other theft | not graded | 9 | 3.6 | 2.5 |
| Public order | not graded | 7 | 2.8 | 2.4 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 6 | 2.4 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 4 | 1.6 | 0.6 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 3 | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 3 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Robbery | Violent | 2 | 0.8 | 0 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.4 | 1.5 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Set against 550 towns its size, Upper Heyford is 474th
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 92 | Radley Oxfordshire | 2,079 | 14 | 4.7 | 5.5 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 128 | Hook Norton Oxfordshire | 2,188 | 13.7 | 6.7 | 2.9 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 144 | Marcham Oxfordshire | 2,030 | 15.9 | 5.6 | 3 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 167 | Steventon Oxfordshire | 2,211 | 17.5 | 5.1 | 19.6 | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 471 | Meden Vale Nottinghamshire | 2,095 | 30.4 | 15.9 | 3.3 | C |
| 472 | Brynamman Dyfed | 2,636 | 37 | 9.4 | 3.5 | C |
| 473 | Great Haywood Staffordshire | 2,029 | 36.5 | 10 | 3.1 | C |
| 474 | Upper Heyford Oxfordshire | 2,481 | 39.1 | 7.5 | 5.7 | C |
| 475 | Meliden Clwyd | 2,002 | 38.5 | 8.2 | 5.7 | C |
| 476 | Rockwell Green Somerset | 2,854 | 39.6 | 7 | 2.1 | C |
| 477 | Machynlleth Powys | 2,161 | 36.1 | 10.9 | 5.7 | C |
| … | ||||||
| 550 | Avonmouth Bristol | 2,643 | 82.9 | 54.6 | 60.4 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Upper Heyford, and others in Oxfordshire.
How crime in Upper Heyford has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent -9% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -50% (towns its size +0%), anti-social behaviour +0% (towns its size -1%).
Crime in Upper Heyford per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 5 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 6 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
No one died in a collision on Upper Heyford’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 6 collisions with injuries inside Upper Heyford in five years. 0 people were killed or seriously injured.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Upper Heyford is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Upper Heyford’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 2 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Upper Heyford had 0.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Upper Heyford’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Upper Heyford
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Heyford | 2,481 | 39.1 | 7.5 | C |
| Tackley | 1,073 | 15.5 | 4.4 | A− |
| Chesterton | 1,179 | 11.9 | 7.1 | A |
| Bicester | 37,748 | 30.5 | 9.6 | C+ |
| Middle Barton | 1,762 | 8.3 | 4.5 | A+ |
| Deddington | 1,769 | 9.4 | 5.1 | A |
| Croughton | 1,200 | 7.5 | 4.7 | A+ |
| Launton | 1,374 | 14.6 | 5.3 | A− |
Upper Heyford records more graded crime per resident than every neighbour in the table. Tackley, 3.6 miles away, records 15.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Upper Heyford’s 39.1.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Upper Heyford sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Upper Heyford
Is Upper Heyford safe?
Police recorded 39.1 violent and sexual offences and 7.5 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Upper Heyford’s built-up area). That earns a C for safety: less crime per resident than 25% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Upper Heyford is 474th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Upper Heyford?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime fell 9%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 50%, shoplifting and theft rose 7% and anti-social behaviour held steady. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Upper Heyford?
Violence & sexual offences: 104 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (9) and other theft (9), with 23 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Upper Heyford compare with Bicester?
Bicester records 30.5 violent and sexual offences and 9.6 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Upper Heyford’s 39.1 and 7.5, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.