NORTH Oxfordshire’s top police officer will today tell MPs how to fight crime.

Supt Howard Stone will give evidence at a House of Commons inquiry on effective policing after Thames Valley Police’s Cherwell division, which he commands, recorded a “significant fall” in offences.

The Home Affairs Select Committee asked MPs to put forward local examples of how to fight crime and Mr Stone was recommended by Banbury MP Tony Baldry.

Last night the officer said he was “honoured” by the invitation. He believed sharing information with councils, Government agencies and other groups such as Neighbourhood Watch was key.

Mr Stone added: “I am looking forward to it.

“The reduction we have seen in crime is very much down to the strong working partnerships we have built up with the local authorities.

“A lot of people speak about community partnerships but in Cherwell they have really worked.”

In 1998-99, there were 2,470 recorded acquisitive crimes, including burglary from a dwelling, theft of/from motor vehicle and robbery.

But last year there were 805 – a 67 per cent drop.

And violent crime in Cherwell has also fallen steadily, dropping more than 20 per cent in the past 10 years. Overall crime fell from 10,200 in 2008 to 8,821 in 2010.

Mr Stone said: “One of our most successful initiatives has been Jibber Jabber, which is where we send messages to people out and about town at night.

“It uses Bluetooth and we can send an appeal or safety warning to anybody who has their mobile phone or similar device on. It is a very effective way of getting a message out very quickly.

“We also work with a lot of young people who may have become involved in crime, and we believe there is now a generation of people who have taken a more positive path in life.”

Mr Baldry said: “It is a fact that crime levels in North Oxfordshire have fallen significantly in recent years.

“There have been real working partnerships, not simply people coming together to pay lip service to partnership.

“I suspect that there are not many parts of the country which have seen such a significant fall in crime levels in recent years, without any increase in police resources.”

Between 2008 and 2010, total crime fell from 20,772 to 18,261 in Oxford, from 5,608 to 4,569 in West Oxfordshire, from 7,369 to 6,993 in South Oxfordshire and from 6,046 to 5,005 in Vale of White Horse.