POLICE are mounting a clampdown on Oxford's most prolific criminals.

Up to 40 police officers have been targeting burglars, car thieves, drug offenders and vandals across the city in Operation Backlash.

There have been 34 arrests and the operation is continuing with a pledge to come down hard on repeat offenders.

Mounted police have been in the city centre as a visible deterrent to crime.

Oxford police commander Supt Jim Trotman said: "This year Backlash has been running for a week so far and we are really pleased with the results.

"We have arrested 34 people, including three burglars, 10 autocrime offenders and one street robber.

"Six people have been arrested on warrants and four for drugs offences. The rest have been for theft, criminal damage and smaller offences."

Supt Trotman said there were a number of criminals across the city who were driven by their drug habits.

He added: "The people we are tackling at the moment are those who show no inclination to stop committing crime and we are coming down hard on them."

On Friday, officers from the Thames Valley Police roads policing department were out in force, in areas where drug dealing is known to happen, and stopping any cars used for crime.

Supt Trotman said: "The mounted officers are also good at spotting street crime.

"They also mean we disperse crime from the city centre to outlying areas of Oxford where more officers are ready and waiting.

"This is a time of year when we have a lot of people released from prison and we have some particularly difficult criminals out there, but we also have a number of police officers out there catching them."

Det Insp Kev Elkins, of Oxford police, urged the public to protect themselves from criminals.

He said: "We need people to take responsibility for their own security. Last year, a laptop was stolen in 40 per cent of burglaries - that is 400 to 500 laptops being stolen - and these are generally preventable crimes."