EDITOR'S CHOICE NEWS House price drop recorded Residents welcome proposed drinking ban Acclaimed restaurant to close OXFORD UNITED Patto salutes his battlers! Away joy for United CRICKET CRICKET: Vale's title hopes crushed CRICKET: Marcham crushed by Cyrus ton NEWS Struck-off nurse seeks reprieve VOTE Should struck-off nurse Borry Jatta be granted a fresh hearing by the Nursing and Midwifery Council? Yes No GET OUR NEWS BY E-MAIL Just register

Most read Comments 1 Dig uncovers possibility of tannery 2 Healthy food is new rock 'n' roll 3 Spray-paint vandals attack cars 4 Not suitable 5 Land deal splits village 6 For the record 7 Uni scientists hope for 'lifetime' flu jab 8 Injured worker wants £200,000 9 Crash closes road 10 Million journeys put strain on budget Today | 7 Days 1 U's denied by last-minute equaliser 2 Struck-off nurse seeks reprieve 3 Have your say on 20mph plan 4 Alcohol ban plan to cut trouble 5 Injured worker wants £200,000 6 Severe weather warning issued 7 Debbie is UK's oldest female rugby player 8 Anger at paint vandals 9 Acclaimed restaurant to close 10 Town to reveal history

Comment

Oxfordshire's chief police officer is retiring after presiding over a drop in burglaries, car crime and robbery.

Chief Supt Shaun Morley, 51, has stepped down after spending 30 years with Thames Valley Police.

For the past two years, the father-of-four has been the commander of policing in Oxfordshire, and witnessed a dramatic fall in the numbers of "acquisitive crime".

But Mr Morley said policing late night drunken violence remained one of the biggest challenges facing the police in Oxfordshire.

He said: "Cops work much harder now than when I joined, but it is a lot more professional.

"The pressure and expectation is also far greater. The paperwork is immense.

"I am quite proud about the big reductions we seen in acquisitive crime such as burglaries, car crime and robbery. These are things that affect people's lives.

"Oxfordshire is seen around the country as quite innovative.

"We've seen huge falls and will continue to see big reductions across the county."

In the past two years, police have developed a referral system which sees criminals given help to stop committing crime.

Many burglars, car thieves and robbers have been diverted away from crime through the Intensive Recidivist Intervention Scheme - which is now being copied around the country.

But in the past two years, drunken and violent crime - mainly outside pubs and clubs - has increased.

Mr Morley said: "Violence around the night time economy is one of things that has not been successful.

"We struggle to get enough police officers on the streets at times.

"The night time is changing.

"Crimes are going on until 5am in Oxford, and 3am or 4am in the market towns.

"This is now not just Friday and Saturday, but stretches to Thursdays too.

"This is one of the greatest challenges facing the force in the next few years."

Mr Morley joined Thames Valley Police in 1978 and was a regular on the beat in Reading before joining the fraud squad.

6:08pm Thursday 24th July 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login