Car crime and robbery have been slashed in Oxford - but the number of break-ins to homes increased, despite a clampdown by police.

Figures from Oxford police for the year to April 1 showed total crime fell by four per cent.

The number of car thefts and thefts of items from vehicles fell to 2,583 - a reduction of 426 offences (14 per cent).

There were 298 robberies, compared to 323 in 2002-03, a reduction of eight per cent.

But burglary to homes - which was halved in the previous five years - rose by five per cent.

There were 1,330 break-ins to houses and flats, 61 more than last year.

Thames Valley Police has made dwelling burglary its top priority, and Oxford police had aimed to reduce it by seven per cent in the last year.

Susan Brown, Oxford City Council's executive member for crime and community safety, said the increase was partly due to theft from university student accommodation, which was seen as a soft target by some burglars. She called for greater security.

"There are blips in these figures, and one of those is poor security in a number of university college buildings, which is causing both the council and police considerable concern," she said.

Supt Keith Ringsell, of Oxford police, said: "I'm very pleased that yet again we have achieved our objective of reducing crime overall. I'm particularly pleased with respect to our performance reducing robbery, which remains a priority crime for both the Government and Thames Valley Police. "I'm disappointed that we have not continued our success in being able to reduce burglary of people's homes. We understand the reasons for that. We believe performance is back on track, and we will be working to achieve a five per cent reduction over the next 12 months."

Burglary had shown a sharp reduction in the first eight months of the year, but there was a big increase in December and January. Mr Ringsell said a small number of prolific offenders were to blame for the increase. He said those responsible had been arrested and were being dealt with by the courts.

There were typically fewer than four dwelling burglaries each day in Oxford, and previous reductions made it tougher to achieve large drops, he said.

It also meant a drug-addicted offender on a crime spree to pay for their habit could have a significant effect on statistics.

As a result of the burglary increase, police carried out Operation Blitz in February to remove offenders from the streets. In under two weeks, 65 people were arrested for burglary and other crimes.

The crime-reduction targets for both robbery and car crime were 10 per cent in 2003-04.

An Oxford University spokesman said the university realised its students were a target for burglars, and it cooperated closely with Thames Valley Police, the city council and the city's ATMOSPhere crime and disorder reduction partnership, to reduce crime.