Crap Towns / Oxford / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Oxford?

There were 5.0 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Oxford from April 2023 to March 2026, 12% lower than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were grass, woods and crops set on fire, at 2.0. In 2025/26 it was 6.3, up from 4.2 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	4.2	5.2
2024/25	4.5	5.4
2025/26	6.3	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	2.0	1.7
Bins and rubbish set on fire	1.7	1.9
Other outdoor fires	1.4	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Grove	20.3 km	8.0
Witney	16.0 km	6.1
Oxford	–	5.0
Didcot	16.2 km	3.8
Eynsham	8.6 km	3.6
Bicester	17.4 km	3.1
Thame	19.4 km	2.8
Abingdon-on-Thames	8.8 km	2.4
Wallingford	19.3 km	2.0
Kidlington	7.7 km	1.8
Benson	18.9 km	1.6
The typical town	–	5.7