A Growing Concern: Why students feel unsafe in Oxford
Violence and crime becoming all too familiar in Oxford, poses fear in the lives of students.
With the rise in violence and crime plaguing the lives of Oxford students, the fear of walking alone begins to impact their daily lives. And with the new proposal of Dark Skies, how will students learn to feel safe, when this fear is all too familiar?
The safety of students in Oxford should be constantly reassessed and established as a priority. We should question why there has been a rising fear for students in this once considered sheltered and comfortable town to now, an alarming number of attacks and overall crimes.
According to CrimeRate, “as of 2024, the crime rate in Oxford is 1.6% higher than the South East ... [and] the most common crimes in Oxford are violence and sexual offences, with 4,674 offences during 2023”. These statistics force us to evaluate what is changing and how we protect the lives of the youth in this student-packed city.
Here, is what students in Oxford thought.
When discussing with 20-year-old Martha on her decision to come to Oxford Brookes University, she disclosed,
“When I came to look at Brookes, I felt completely safe, especially being in a city known for its prestige, I felt some kind of safety that came along with that title”.
We further questioned how if now in her second year had her perspective altered at all?
“I would say yes. Since getting to know Oxford better over the last year, I would say I have come to recognize parts more on the outskirts which do pose a danger, and that I now aim to avoid”.
Unfortunately, this idea of avoiding streets and certain areas is not a foreign to most students and actually quite familiar. And to further protest this issue of safety, the ‘Darker Skies Proposal’ has recently come to light, forcing a thought to many people,
‘Don’t darker skies mean more can hide?’
Therefore, we inquired another student [Bella] here at Brooke’s about her own thoughts to improve safety in this city and she answered,
“As a student, I think the dark skies proposal is an issue, as a girl, I personally would not feel safe walking around the city with dimmed lights, I think we need continue the protest against this idea”.
Thus, we need to ask, what will the city council do for our students? They seem to propose a lot help benefit the enviroment, which is prositive, but what will be done for the safety for the thousnands of students that come to this city every year unknowing of the threat that poses against them?
The battle for student safety continues.