Oxford’s community seems to have a rising fear of the infestation of crime infiltrating this beautiful town, with ‘theft from the person’ rising by 65%, in the previous three years according to Crime Rate UK.
Residents in once-considered safe neighbourhoods progressively report higher crimes; therefore, the rise of online social groups to discuss these issues is also heightened.
Local resident, who has lived in Oxford for 28 years, attributes,“ I am aware though of my area having some people like drug dealers and doing deals in the community garden, and this is quite upsetting for me, ... [and] is probably linked to the ‘theft from the person’ statistic”.
She further explains, “At work, we have heard about drinks being spiked, either through drink or needle, and this is distressing. I don’t know the motive but maybe this is also linked to this statistic”.
Perhaps, we need to centralise our focus on whether there is a correlation between the rise in these two crimes.
As the conflict persists, how will we preserve Oxford’s reputation for safety and prestige?