POLICE are telling people to keep their windows shut as part of a campaign to cut burglaries in Oxford.

Police took to the streets of Headington to remind residents and students in the area to keep their homes secure.

Det Sgt Marc Tarbit said: “It’s all part of Operation Breaker, a six-month scheme which began in July, focusing on house burglary.

“October is our month of action, which is about creating a sense of urgency about how we work – mobilising resources to make sure there are always police officers or backroom staff where they are needed.

“We won’t put off an arrest because there are no people there, we want to get it done then and there.

“It’s focused on crime reduction and intelligence-based arrests and disruptive patrolling of known offenders.” Det Sgt Tarbit joined Headington neighbourhood officer Pc Chris Miles in Harcourt Terrace on Thursday, where a house occupied by students was spotted with its groundfloor windows wide open.

After talking to one of the residents, who admitted leaving his wallet and laptop computer close to the window sill, Pc Miles said: “We aren’t just targeting student properties, but they’re one of the vulnerable groups.

“If you think about a student house, it has generally got six students, six laptops, six iPods and six sets of everything, so it’s an attractive prospect for burglars. We’ve also spoken to 2,500 students in halls in the past 10 days.

“On our first day we just left footprint-shaped leaflets on the open windows and then went back to talk to them.

“It sounds corny, but we tell them that next time it could be a real burglar’s footprint, which just shows how quick and easy it is.”

He added: “We’ve also been giving people our contact details and asking people to tell us when they see people hanging around suspiciously.

“Even a rough description, like a logo on a jumper, can help us find someone, so it’s really important. We always go to visit the person who has helped us.

“Burglary isn’t generally a problem in the residential areas here, but it can be in the student halls.

“This time last year there had been six or seven in the halls, but this year there has only been one.”

On Monday, the Oxford Mail reported that reformed criminal Simon Hayday, 41, was going out with police to speak to students in halls at Oxford Brookes University to show them how not to become a burglary victim.

Mr Hayday, who spent six years in jail for robbery and theft offences, spoke to individual students about security while police delivered warning leaflets to rooms with windows left ajar.