Oxford received the congratulations of the Merseyside Community Relations Council for scrapping the "Task Force", which he felt himself had been responsible for some heavy-handed tactics.
By the late 1970s the relationship between Merseyside Police and parts of deprived communities in Liverpool had plummeted, and a series of incidents of alleged excessive force culminated in the death of Jimmy Kelly in June 1979.
Oxford responded to the wave of pressure that followed with a staunch refusal to discuss the case with his police committee which included both Tory and Labour groups of Liverpool City Council.
Oxford, together with James Anderton, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, became the focal point for a debate over police accountability that raged throughout the 1980s and remains unresolved to this day.
Within the Merseyside force, Oxford was viewed as a tough and forthright Chief Constable who supported his officers against unfair and politically motivated critics.
Over the weekend that followed, the disturbance escalated into full-scale rioting, with pitched battles between police and youths in which petrol bombs and paving stones were thrown.
Such was the scale of the rioting in Toxteth that police reinforcements were drafted in from forces across England including Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cumbria, Birmingham and even Devon to try to control the unrest.
The sole offensive tactic available to officers, the baton charge, proved increasingly ineffective in driving back the attacking crowds of rioters.
A local man David Moore died after being struck by a police van trying to clear crowds and another was disabled after being run over by a Land Rover.
In the respite provided by the Scarman Report Oxford repeated his long-held belief that Liverpool's violent and multi-racial culture required a tough policing style.
During this period a deal was struck between Margaret Simey and the Home Secretary, William Whitelaw, which involved a toning-down of criticisms of Oxford's riot tactics in exchange for his removal as Chief Constable.