POLICE have launched a new project in a bid to reduce rapes and sex crimes in the city at night.

Undercover officers will work as the eyes and the ears of the nightlife trying to spot people who are showing signs of predatory behaviour like harassment or inappropriate touching and loitering.

They will alert officers in uniform who will intervene and arrest people.

The new initiative is called Project Vigilant and has been set up after a rise in the number of sexual offences recorded by police.

Thus year there has been 413 reported incidents to Thames Valley Police in Oxford city centre, a 12 per cent spike on last years figures when only 368 crimes were recorded.

Detective inspector James Senior of Oxford CID based at Oxford Police Station said: "Just one sexual offence in Oxford is too many.

"My team and I are committed to ensuring that the local community can have an enjoyable night out without the dear of being sexually assaulted.

"We have found that utilising undercover officers and deploying them on the street has meant that we have been able to witness this behaviour first hand and intervene more quickly.

"We are aware that perpetrators will often target people walking home from bars and clubs. Our patrols reflect this and I am keen to make this a hostile place for perpetrators wanting to commit sexual offences."

Read in full: Rape in Oxford

On November 10 police launched a witness appeal after a 17-year-old girl woke up in an alleyway to find a man raping her.

The teenager had met the man on a night out in The Bridge Night Club, on Hythe Bridge Street in Oxford, and left with him at 2.40am on Saturday.

The next thing she remembers is waking up in a passageway beside Castle Mill Stream, believed to be Fisher Row, to a man raping her.

Call 101 quoting 43190350147.