AS Christmas draws ever closer most people are enjoying festive parties and splashing out on presents for loved ones.

But Oxford’s police force are warning that people need to keep themselves safe during the holiday season, as December sees a spike in night-time crime and burglaries.

Crime figures show that in December last year there were 427 crimes recorded across Oxford, compared with only 344 during the month of April.

Insp Andy Thompson is in charge of the NightSafe campaign, which sees at least 20 police constables patrolling the streets of the city every Friday and Saturday night over the Christmas period.

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He said: “We do notice an increase in incidents around this time. There are more people in town and more people drinking. It’s because there’s more people, not necessarily because there’s more trouble.”

Despite this, Insp Thompson said crime rates were still low. “We see between two and four assaults on a weekend,” he added. “When you think about how many people are going through the streets, it’s relatively low.”

Club managers and doormen, such as Jason Litchfield, security manager for Thirst in Park End Street, agrees.

Speaking as doors opened on a Friday night in mid-December, he said: “A lot of them aren’t used to drinking and feel supported by people they have turned up with, so feel they can behave in a certain way. You don’t always get violence but you do get people who think they can do what they like, even if it’s at other people’s expense.”

For police, the evening has two main components: up until 11pm, where people are coming into the city and after 1am when people are leaving clubs and heading home.

Insp Thompson said: “The thing with Oxford is that its so diverse, with tourists, students, locals and the international community.

“When people are all coming out of clubs there are a few key streets – like Hythe Bridge Street, Cornmarket Street and George Street – where all of these groups mix and there’s potential for incidents.”

On this particular Friday there are plenty of women bearing the winter cold with bare legs and high heels and rowdy groups enjoying pints and cigarettes while wearing Christmas jumpers.

Pc Greenaway said: “For the first part of the night we patrol the streets and make sure nothing’s wrong. We identify big groups and judge their level of drunkeness.

“It means we can keep an eye on them later in the night as they move from bars to clubs and have more to drink.”

Meanwhile, during the course of their evening, Pc Simon Collins and Pc Paula Greenaway eject two drinkers from the city.

Both men threatened bar staff after becoming drunk and one attempted to punch a manager in the back of the head after being kicked out of a club.

Police can now use section 35 orders under the Antisocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 to keep potential trouble-makers out of city centre hot spots.

Pc Collins said: “We can ban them from an area, such as the city, for up to 48 hours.

“It’s really good because at the beginning of the night if someone is being a bit rowdy and we’re worried they will commit a crime after some more drinks then we can stop that from happening.”

Once the police have issued an order, if the person is found in the restricted zone when they should not be, they can then be arrested.

Pc Collins said: “I don’t feel guilty about ruining their night because I’m stopping them from ruining their lives. With these orders there’s no criminal record, but if they go and hit someone and get arrested for assault, that stays with them.”

For Dt Sgt Pauline Heilbron, from Thames Valley Police’s burglary team, Christmas crime is less about excessive drinking and more about expensive gifts.

She said: “We tend to have a spike of burglaries over Christmas. A lot of it does come down to how easy it is for people to break in and how inviting it is. This time of year it can be easy pickings for high-quality goods.

“Burglaries in Oxford have dropped 20 per cent since 2013 and we want to keep that going over Christmas.”

She said that police were not planning on doing any extra patrols over Christmas unless there was a spate of crimes.

She added there are lots of things people can do to keep their property safe: “Burglars know the things under the tree are probably going to be more valuable than anything else in the house, and they know if on Boxing Day there’s a flatscreen television box outside then there’s probably a good television inside.”

PROTECT YOURSELF

POLICE advice for a safe night out includes:

  • Ensure you are not drinking excessive amounts, know your limits, and know what you are drinking
  • Keep your personal property, such as phones and wallets, close to you and out of sight
  • Know how you are getting home

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