POLICE have revealed that the heavy snow and Arctic temperatures which paralysed Oxfordshire earlier this month also helped to keep criminals at bay.

Crime fell by more than a third during a week which saw much of the county blanketed by snow and ice and enduring temperatures as low as -17.7C.

Figures showed there were 300 crimes reported, compared with the county’s weekly average – a fall of 36 per cent.

There were just 82 reports of criminal damage, well down on the weekly average of 151 and police believe the weather helped ward off criminals.

Det Chief Insp Colin Paine, head of Oxford’s priority crime team, said that due to the snow and ice, burglaries fell by almost a quarter and criminal damage halved.

Icy roads deterred car thieves and with people forced to take time off work because of the snow, there were fewer empty homes for burglars to target.

Mr Paine said: “It’s not a huge surprise crime went down, because so many people had to stay indoors.

“Obviously, if you’re a burglar, that makes life more difficult. It’s also difficult for offenders, because they leave behind footprints in the snow, which we can follow.

“It’s also almost impossible to cycle, ride motorbikes or drive cars on the ice and snow, so fewer people have been stealing them.

“Because cars are covered in snow and ice, the thieves have not been able to see if there’s anything inside to steal.

“But there has also been an element of community support and people looking after their neighbours and that might well have an effect on acquisitive crime.”

In Oxfordshire, between Tuesday, January 5 – when most of the county was blanketed by up to a foot of snow – and Tuesday, January 12, burglaries fell by 21 per cent.

During the same period, there was a 50 per cent drop in theft from vehicles, a 28 per cent reduction in theft of vehicles and 46 per cent fewer incidents of criminal damage and vandalism.

One 38-year-old reformed burglar from Oxford, who asked to remain nameless, said criminals were affected by bad weather.

He added: “It’s true you would get put off by the cold weather, but most criminals are seeking money for drugs and that craving doesn’t stop.

“But the snow does make it difficult. People are at home and they have their windows closed and locked because it’s cold.

“You’re not going to steal a car, and definitely not a motorbike, because the roads are too icy.”