BURGLARIES of homes in Oxford have risen by almost a third, it was revealed last night.

Police figures showed there were 640 reports of break ins during 2010/11, which leapt to 846 in 2011/12 – a rise of 32 per cent.

But overall crime in the city fell 4.5 per cent, from 18,243 to 17,419, across the same period.

Oxford police commander, Acting Superintendent Chris Sharp, last night blamed drugs for the burglary spike.

He said: “Almost 100 per cent of burglars have class A drug addictions and we know that because we test them when they come in to custody.”

He added his officers had noted a rise in burglaries targeting just one room in a home, rather than break-ins where whole houses were ransacked.

He said: “These are quick wins to get quick fixes to fund their drug habits.”

Mr Sharp said a specialist early intervention drugs unit had been set up to tackle drug-driven burglaries.

The team consists of detectives who specialise in burglary, selected because of their knowledge of known burglars and suspected dealers.

Since it was set up four weeks ago, Mr Sharp said the team has seized 93 heroin deals with a street value of £1,400, 106 crack cocaine deals with a street value of £1,600, 42 deals of cannabis worth £800 and £1,600 in cash believed to be connected to drug dealing.

Mr Sharp said other factors had also pushed up the rate of burglaries in the city since April 1 last year.

He admitted: “We have been on the back foot through the first three quarters of the year.

“Part of that was people coming into the area and a number of offenders not known for committing crime before.”

He said detectives had been faced with three different groups of criminals behind three separate strings of burglaries in Jericho, North Oxford and Headington and said they had arrested and charged suspects from Reading and Slough as well as Lithuania and Poland.

Mr Sharp dismissed the idea that the recession had forced people into carrying out burglaries. He added that since January the number of burglaries within Oxford had “levelled off”.

Burglaries at non-dwelling properties such as commercial premises and garden sheds have also risen in Oxford by 9.6 per cent from 813 to 891.

Victims of burglary reacted angrily to news of the burglary rise.

Sandra Lockyer and her husband Jeffery were burgled by a knife-wielding thug who has never been caught at their Bower End in Chalgrove in 2009.

Three years on, 63-year-old Mr Lockyer has been referred to a specialist by his GP after suffering a series of traumatic flashbacks about the burglary.

Mrs Lockyer, who uses a wheelchair due to a spinal condition, said: “It’s always pensioners and disabled people they go for because they can’t defend themselves.

“When we got burgled they were after my husband’s jewellery.

“I think people are desperate – they want money so they think they can steal this and that so they can get money for drugs and drink.”

Despite the rise in burglaries, the city saw a marked reduction in cases of grievous bodily harm without intent, less serious assault, serious sexual offences, robbery, vehicle theft and thefts from vehicles.

Mr Sharp said: “The good news is there has been reduction in violence against the person and crimes linked to the night-time economy.”

Elsewhere in Oxfordshire, Cherwell saw an increase in serious sexual offences with 14 more cases reported to police than a year earlier, as well as an extra 37 thefts from cars.

West Oxfordshire saw crime fall by 12 per cent – a reduction of 549 reported crimes overall – as well as almost a third less burglaries than the previous year.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse also saw crime drop overall with a 15.6 per cent reduction signalling 1,870 less crimes than the year before.

The figures relate to April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011 and April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012.

Addressing Oxford City Council in April 2011, Thames Valley Chief Constable Sara Thornton said that she couldn’t guarantee her force could continue to deliver reductions in crime in the face of six per cent budget cuts over four years.

At the time, she said: “We’re doing everything we can to make sure the crime reduction we have had in Oxford city is maintained, that is all I can promise people. I cannot predict the future.”