Barbara Break-in Britain - The Crackdown

In the UK, there's a burglary every 64 seconds.

But right across Britain, committed police forces

are leading the battle to stop the thieves in their tracks.

Police forcing entry!

Police!

For the victims of these crimes,

it can take months, or even years, to overcome the trauma.

It's not nice to think somebody's been in your house and violated it.

If I'd have disturbed them,

that's frightening.

In this series, we're fighting back against the burglars,

helping you beef up your security,

while the police catch the criminals.

Really good system.

Excellent door lock. All the windows have got lockable jammers on.

-Oh, I feel 100% safer now.

-Yeah. A lot more secure.

-Yeah.

This is Break In Britain -

the Crackdown.

Today, I'm on the trail of two burglars

who stole a grandmother's savings from under her nose.

And it were like that - psst! You know?

As I opened that door, he flew past.

And I get to test the latest technology

to identify and catch criminals.

I was really struggling, but actually, that's really close.

And our security team's hard work helps raise a smile.

How am I looking?

As gorgeous as ever!

SHE CHUCKLES

Every year, thieves steal more than £30 million-worth

of cash and goods by what's known as distraction burglary.

Today, a 999 call has just come in to the police

reporting one of these crimes.

This is Barbara, an 83-year-old grandmother of four.

She lives alone on a sheltered housing estate.

She's been a widow almost 30 years.

But today, her quiet life has been shattered by two conmen

who talked their way into her home.

Have a little drink of that.

Her friend and neighbour Bill rang the police

and he's looking after Barbara.

It's about ten to eight, I think.

I'm here with your mum and the neighbour now,

but we could do with a relative here.

And PC Laughton is first on the scene,

to start the investigation of this callous burglary.

Now, then, your daughter's on her way,

-but if I can make a start and get things down...

-Yeah.

-You said to me it was about half past six.

-Yes.

Is that right?

-So, you went straight to the door.

-Yeah.

Were there two people stood there or one?

Just one. I didn't know there were two until they ran out again.

And he says, "Can I check your taps?"

And he opened the door and he says, "Can you move these?"

And pretended to look at the bottles to see what they were like, you see.

Barbara didn't realise this man was keeping her distracted

in the kitchen while his accomplice was scouring her flat

for things to steal.

Did you see the second man at all?

No. Just a flash of brown jacket and a leg going up in the air as he ran.

And it were like that that - psst! You know?

As I opened that door, he flew past.

Who did you think they were, Barbara?

I'd no idea, it were just me impression,

at first, they're two workmen.

-Two workmen that were working on the water.

-Yeah.

Yeah.

I could kick meself!

In just a few minutes, the thieves had ransacked her flat,

stealing all her jewellery

and nearly £600 in cash that Barbara had been saving up to pay her bills.

-Was your bed made and ready to get into before?

-Yeah.

Just that row.

They've taken the items from the lounge and tipped them

out onto the bed and had a good search through.

It's gut-wrenching that someone could rob an elderly lady

like Barbara.

Now, the crooks used particularly underhand tactics

to con their way in. I want to find out how she is

and what we can do to make sure it doesn't happen again.

The first conman kept Barbara distracted in her kitchen

while his accomplice helped himself to her valuables.

-So, you were busy putting all of this stuff out?

-Yeah.

And what had he told you?

He just said, "I'm from Water Board and I've come to look at your taps."

-He says, "Put your fingers there and hold it tight."

-Right.

-Yeah.

And he said, "I'll just go and see the bathroom," and shut that door

and he went out there and then he come back

and he says, "Do it with that one." I thought, it's ridiculous, is this.

And then he says, "Oh, and you better do this."

-He were just keeping me busy, you see.

-He must have a heart of stone.

Standing there talking to you, while he knows his mate's

robbing the house. Cold-hearted, that.

I'm impressed how well Barbara is coping with losing her cash

and jewellery, but this robbery has definitely upset her.

How have you been feeling?

A bit shaky this morning when I get up, because I had tossed

and turned for quite a long while, you see.

When you look back at all the stuff taken, how did you feel?

I felt stupid, because I thought it was all my own stupid fault,

because I knew I shouldn't have done that.

-No, I mean, they're clever though, aren't they?

-Yeah, yeah.

-He always kept me doing something to occupy me.

-What were they like?

-Did he seem a nice guy or...?

-Yes, he was smiling and talking.

He was supposed to be helping me, you know? Which, that was his idea.

Keep me in a good mood and just talked to me, so I wouldn't notice.

He was just moving all the time and smiling, like. You know,

as though he were being friendly.

And all at once, it sort of hit me and I thought, "You stupid beggar!"

-You know.

-If possible, I'd like to get a Crime Reduction Officer round.

They can assess the security and see

-if we can make sure this can't happen again.

-Yeah.

You know, make some improvements to your security. How does that sound?

It sounds all right.

-OK, Barbara...

-Right, thanks very much.

-See you soon.

-Bye.

We'll get something sorted out for you. Ta-ra now.

It's a really difficult one. You can have the best locks in the world,

but if you're opening your door to a conman,

they are not going to do you any good.

I want to know if the Crime Reduction Officer's got a solution.

And while we are helping out Barbara,

the police are going round the estate to warn everybody else,

-in case those conmen try to strike again.

-Hi, are you all right?

Hello, love, yeah.

I'm just calling round to let you know there's been

-a burglary in the area.

-Has there, love?

Yeah, two men have gone round saying that they're from the Water Board.

They got into the property.

Basically, we're just letting people know there's been

a burglary in the area and I think it is important, as this is

-sheltered housing, that they are aware...

-He is saying they are going to change the meter.

-Can you have a look at that, love?

-..of the bogus burglar.

-That's a letter from the Water Board.

-Oh, yeah.

-Yorkshire Water.

Robbing elderly people like Barbara is bad enough.

Oh... What's wrong?

Are you OK?

But, to make it worse,

it has really frightened other residents in the area.

Someone of Barbara's age

shouldn't have to suffer being burgled in such a callous way,

so Crime Reduction Officer Richard Thornton is going to find

the best way to prevent this ever happening again.

Here we go, this is it.

It looks pretty solid, I mean, there's not many entry points.

No. Straightaway, they've got a good quality lock on.

It's an anti-snap lock, I can tell that just by looking at it.

That's very secure. Got a good spy hole in the door.

A big thing, certainly in this situation, you've not had

a forced entry, you had an entry by someone conning their way in.

We would recommend not opening the door, at all,

until you find out who that individual is.

So, literally, talking through the glass.

Older people do have older habits

and they are quite difficult to break.

What can we do, really, to stop them opening the door?

There are some simple measures that we use.

Putting a sticker on the back of the door to remind somebody.

It is like a traffic light sticker. You know, stop, don't open the door.

So, what can we fit, so that Barbara knows who's calling?

What we would probably be doing with this is a video entry system,

so they can establish who is stood at the door before they actually

have to unlock it. That's the key point. Do not open the door.

-Fantastic. Let's get on with it.

-OK.

So, Richard has been, he's given his assessment

and the building is actually pretty secure.

It's only going to take a few changes to make sure that

Barbara doesn't open the door again to the conman.

So, what I need to do first is get the security contractors in

and get the job started. I'm going to give Neil the call.

-'Neil speaking.'

-Hello, Neil, it's Dan. We've got a burglary.

It's an older lady, who has opened the door to a couple of conmen.

Can you pop round and have a look for us?

'Yeah, of course, I'll get round there and see what we can do.'

Fantastic. OK, see you soon, Neil. Ta-ra, mate.

Brilliant.

Now, it is time for me to find out how the investigation is going.

While Neil's boys get on with fixing Barbara's place,

a brand-new video intercom will mean that Barbara can speak to,

and see, any callers, without having to go anywhere near the front door.

BELL RINGS

Hello? SHE CHUCKLES

And if she does decide to go to the door,

that new, more-secure chain means no-one can force their way in.

Basically, what that does, it stops anyone reaching round

and actually undoing, taking that off.

-You can only get that off if the door is shut, OK?

-Yes.

Also, we've got a little mirror on the wall there.

-If you look in the mirror, you can actually see who is at the door.

-You don't notice that, do you?

No, just a little mirror, about head height so you will see their face. OK?

And while Barbara's new security gets its finishing touches,

Jacqui is finding out how the police are fighting the conmen.

It's estimated that there are more than 17,000 distraction burglaries in the UK every year.

Many of them go unreported because

the victims are so embarrassed about falling for the scam.

These burglaries prey on people's trust and kindness,

as a distraction to gain access to their homes.

Often, perpetrators will pose as an official,

say from a utility company or a labourer offering home improvements

and trick their victim to allowing them into the house.

Hello, would you be interested

in saving money on your electricity bills?

Once inside, they steal cash or valuables

whilst the person is distracted.

The average loss of these burglaries is estimated around £2,000.

Sadly, it's often the vulnerable and elderly householder who's targeted.

-No, I think were fine with our provider at the moment. Thanks.

-OK, thanks, bye.

Thankfully, there are steps you can take to avoid being

a victim of distraction burglary.

Detective Sgt Mark Reilly has come to talk me through them.

So, what can someone do to protect themselves from being conned in this way?

If you have one, put the keychain on, see who's at the door.

Ask them to show some identification.

Any normal company representative would expect an elderly

or vulnerable person to ask that question.

If at any time you're not sure, just close the door

and go back into the property.

Perhaps speak to a relative or ring 101 and contact the police.

But Mark has one more surprising tip up his sleeve.

Make sure that the back door is locked before you go to the

-front door.

-Why would they go round the back?

By the time an elderly or vulnerable person gets to the front door,

that person then may well have gone round the back.

If the back door is not closed - quickly in, and quickly leave

the premises, steal the items,

and the person may well not be aware they've been the victim of a burglary.

So, what can the police do if somebody has been

a victim of distraction burglary?

In Lancashire, as in many forces around the UK,

police are using technology to track down the perpetrators.

Here in Preston, they use a facial composite system called EvoFIT,

which creates images of suspects based on witness descriptions.

Earlier on, I had an unexpected call at the door.

Now, with the help of Kevin Kearley, the head of Digital Forensics,

I'm going to create an image of his face from memory.

I only saw him for seconds.

-Is that a problem?

-Nope, because

you just need split seconds to recognise somebody.

-Would you be able to put a rough age?

-Early to mid '40s. White male.

OK.

Traditionally Photofits have been produced by building

a section of the eyes, a section of the nose,

a section of the mouth.

People would find it very difficult to even explain the face,

even of loved ones. We're not very good at it.

EvoFIT is a software which is heavily based on recognition.

We don't tend to focus on individual features.

We tend to look at the face as a whole

and the relationship between the eyes, nose and mouth.

Recognition is very much an unconscious decision.

We'll show you a series of faces and, then, you pick faces

which look most like the person you're trying to describe.

Now, we're looking on this screen for the best two likenesses.

-That one's best.

-There?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Again, refresh your memory and we're looking for a further two.

Probably that one's better than that one, just because it's narrower in the face.

Let's go for that one.

-Tell me to stop.

-I think, sort of, fair.

-OK.

Just a few final tweaks and it's time to see how I have done.

The image of the person you've seen this morning,

it's on the back of this phone, so I'll turn it over and hold it

-next to the image you produced...

-I'm quite nervous actually.

-OK?

-OK.

Ahh!

Crikey.

That's not bad. Do you know, I thought I wouldn't be able to do it.

I was really struggling, but actually, that's really close.

This method takes a lot of the stress away from the witness

and witnesses tend to be really pleased with the result

they've come up with - and surprised.

With such an effective way of putting faces to those

distraction burglary suspects, police are getting more

and more successful at beating those doorstep burglars.

In Leeds, a smooth-talking thief managed to worm his way into

Barbara's home, pretending he was an official from the water company.

Meanwhile, his partner was stealing her cash and jewellery.

So, to help Barbara, we've beefed up security on her flat,

to make sure no-one can pull the wool over her eyes again.

Now, we want to find out how the investigation is progressing

and speak to Detective Andy Queen.

I'm really glad we got the security improvements in so quickly,

because it seems these type of con men aren't afraid to strike twice.

Is that likely to happen?

They've done it once, you'd think they'd think,

"Not doing that place again."

It's in the past happened where they have come back. Maybe realised

this particular elderly person has their money on a particular

day of the week or day of the month and they realise that it does work.

-Does the method or description sound at all familiar?

-Very familiar.

It's a very common MO, purporting to be from water boards

or the gas company or selling things.

Personally, what you think of the people who can do that?

Well, you can't get very much lower, can you? It's the lowest of the low.

In a lot of cases, it can be seriously detrimental to their health

and I'd hazard a guess that, in some cases, it's shortened life span,

because people have become so stressed by it.

So, forensically, is there anything to go on?

The main avenue we're looking at forensically is this sink area

where the offenders have gone in. It's an area they've touched. It's been swabbed

and we'll get that swab examined and see if there's DNA on it.

If there is, they'll have to explain why it's in Barbara's house.

Well, that's definitely good news.

I really hope there's some DNA evidence the police can use

to identify those two burglars.

The new security we fitted for Barbara is going to be

great to keep out the criminals.

But these smooth-talking con men could still talk their way in.

Leeds police have a new scheme that helps the community

come together to beat the burglars.

I've come to talk to you about the Nominated Neighbour Scheme,

-which I'd like you to be part of.

-Yes.

OK? It's to prevent bogus and distraction burglaries.

We've had it up and running for the last year, over a year, now.

It's mainly about people looking after one another. It's very simple.

When somebody comes to the door that you don't know, you don't

recognise, you hold it at your window and it says, "I don't recognise you.

"The police have told me not to let you in.

-"Please contact my nominated neighbour."

-Yeah.

If they're genuine, they'll be fine with that. They won't mind.

You don't open the door to anyone.

You just hold at the window, tell them to read it

and it stops you opening that door,

and having that face-to-face contact.

You just tell them to read it

and then they'll go away and contact your nominated neighbour. OK?

-Right, dear.

-What do you think?

-I think it's good, yeah.

-Right, OK.

Brilliant.

I like that. Dead simple, but effective.

And Barbara has got plenty of friends nearby

she can use as the nominated neighbour.

One of the worst things

about burglars is, they will steal from anywhere.

It could be our houses, workplaces or even our holiday destinations.

As a nation, we're increasingly taking our annual holiday

here in the UK and, according to the National Caravan Council,

1.5 million of us are spending them in these - caravans and motor homes.

Must be something to do with our glorious summers(!)

Whether your preference is for touring

our beautiful country or relaxing in a holiday park, these little

homes from home can prove a tempting prospect for thieves.

In 2012, Caroline Jones's family caravan was targeted by a thief,

who had carried out a spate of burglaries across Lancashire.

He managed to steal at least £20,000, from at least 21 break-ins,

before being caught and imprisoned.

We came up in the July. It was summer, we came up.

I went to open the door, like I usually do, opened the door,

let grandad in.

As I'm taking the key out of the door,

I can hear my husband saying, "Someone has been in and took your telly."

And then it started sinking in that somebody had been in.

I remembered that, when I opened the caravan door,

the key didn't turn and it clicked that the door wasn't locked.

Where the en-suite window is, they've used the bin and then straight

through, take the telly and, once you're inside, you can let

yourself out anyway, because they're not secured with a locking key.

Then, it was a case of ringing the police, which...

The police came out, I think it was the morning after.

They was able to get forensics out,

because there was a footprint on the toilet seat.

I don't know, it just makes you wonder

what sort of people it is that feel

they need to break into a caravan that is just like a weekend holiday

for everybody else.

They came the week after and fixed the window.

We just carried on coming down every weekend, then,

but with a little bit of a slur on it every time you turn up,

it was like, "Oh, I wonder what they've took this week".

The biggest problem for caravan owners is that

it's easy for burglars to spot one that's unattended.

Here at the Caravan and Camping Show at Birmingham's NEC,

there are a plethora of up-to-date security products available

to caravan owners.

I'm here to meet Tim Booth, from the Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service

who's going to show me some hi tech options for protecting your caravan.

So, this is a beautiful caravan.

Presumably, even though you've managed to cut the numbers down,

-this is still rich pickings for thieves?

-It is.

This particular caravan has got equipment fitted to it,

so if somebody did come in after your personal items,

it will activate an alarm system. This caravan is fitted with a sensor.

That sensor picks up that person's presence in here,

sends a signal to a monitoring station.

They contact you, the owner, and say we've got an activation

of your alarm, can you go and check the caravan, that everything is OK?

That green flashing light indicates that it's picked up us moving.

Yes, that's saying it's seen us and, as soon as it's seen us,

-it sent a message to the monitoring company.

-Brilliant.

But that's built-in. What do people do if they haven't got it built-in?

Thankfully, there are things that you can put in retrospectively.

I've actually got a little device here, that if we take this,

and we sit it up here...

..that is now watching the caravan.

-How is it doing that?

-It's a little infrared detector in there.

It talks, or will talk, to your phone, if it activates.

We now go out the caravan, shut the door,

if anybody comes in, that will tell us that somebody

has come into the caravan - we need to do something.

We now take the mobile phone...

Mobile phone, obviously, is linked to the unit in there.

-We press the button here.

-That's it, now?

-That's it.

-Caravan secure.

Yep.

And I've asked a couple of little helpers to play

the role of burglars, to pinch my phone and tablet.

-Oh, wow! So, that's it!

-There you go.

You know somebody's gone into the caravan and you need to visit,

whatever, to make sure everything is OK.

Thank you very much for being our actor and actress today.

And for stealing my stuff so beautifully!

Thanks to hi tech deterrents like these, it means people can enjoy

their caravan and motorhome holidays with a greater peace of mind.

Back at Barbara's home, our upgraded security measures are all in place.

Barbara lost nearly £600 of savings

and a lot of irreplaceable jewellery.

I really want our improvements to stop it happening again.

So, do they meet Richard's high standards?

The moment of truth.

So, here we are.

Straightaway you see we've got an intercom system.

Excellent.

-Is that the video one?

-A video one, yeah. There's the little camera.

Very good. Give her a call.

-Hello, Barbara. It's Dan again.

-Right.

Just brought the Crime Reduction Officer.

He wants to have a look at your new toy!

Right, love.

-Hiya.

-Hello, how are you doing, all right?

-Yes, thank you.

Good. Can I come in? Is it all right?

I'm going to stay outside, so Richard can test the kit.

And how are you coping with the new intercom?

-Can we have a look at how that works?

-You press that.

-It shows you who's outside.

-Looks like we've got Dan outside.

-That's great. So, you pick your phone bit up to find out who that is?

-Yes.

Brilliant! That's really good.

Hopefully, Barbara's callers will be a bit taller than me!

All this security depends on Barbara being able to use it.

What do you do now, then, when the doorbell goes?

-What's the first thing you do?

-I'll look to see who is first.

-Right.

-I'll act more sensible than last time!

-Yeah.

-So we've got a nice new set-up, to keep you a lot safer.

-Thank you.

I'll see you again soon. Thank you, bye-bye.

-So, Rich, what do you reckon?

-Massive improvement.

The video entry system is really good.

It's far enough away from the door,

so if she's not happy with the individual the other

side of the door, it doesn't get opened. It's as simple as that.

And we've sorted out Bill as the nominated neighbour now, as well.

That's great, because if you've got somebody very close,

if she ain't happy with whoever it is at the door, she can give him a call.

The neighbour can come round

and make a decision on who that individual is and, once again,

if they're still not happy with them, they can ring the police.

Are you happy this is as secure as it could possibly get for Barbara?

I don't think you can improve it very much more now.

-It's a really good job.

-Great.

-Nice one.

Well, that's a ten out of ten, in my book.

It's important that Barbara feels safe and in control in her own home.

-Hello.

-Hello, Barbara - it's me, Dan.

-Hello, Dan.

-Can you see me?

-Yes, I can see you.

-How am I looking?

-As gorgeous as ever!

THEY LAUGH

That seems to be working. Is it easy to use?

Very easy, yes.

"You look a bit of a rum do, you can clear off.

"Ta-ra!"

-So, it does look the part, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

You don't have to go messing around looking through the spy hole.

-Are you happy with this one, then?

-Yes, very happy, thank you.

And the other thing is, it doesn't even need someone

to press the doorbell, really.

If someone just bangs on the door,

you can just...turn it on.

-It's easier.

-Yeah.

-And you feel more secure.

-Feel more secure now?

-Yes.

Yeah.

Fantastic. Bye-bye.

I'm glad you're happy with it. Thanks a lot.

Thank you.

Hopefully, our security improvements have given Barbara peace of mind.

The worst thing about distraction burglars is that they prey

on vulnerable people, making them feel ill at ease in their own home.

It's so great to see how well Barbara is doing after such

an unpleasant experience. She's really not letting it get her down.

And with the measures we've put in,

Barbara doesn't have to feel ill at ease in her own home ever again.

That's it for now. See you next time.