Caught on Camera Break-in Britain - The Crackdown

'Every minute of every day,

'someone somewhere is getting burgled.'

Doesn't sound good.

'With an average of 92 break-ins an hour, it's a huge problem.'

It never ceases to amaze me how much mess these burglars cause for people.

'For the victims of these crimes,

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

How dare they?! Out of order. Out of order!

I felt sick. Somebody's been in my house.

I don't want to drive up to a building and see it trashed again.

'But in this series, we're fighting back against the burglar...'

Police forcing entry! Police!

'..helping you to beef up your security...'

Here we go.

'..while the police catch the criminals.'

-How are you feeling about things now?

-Oh, I feel loads better.

Loads better.

'This is Break-In Britain...

'The Crackdown.'

-Hello again.

-Now, who would stoop so low as to steal from a blind man?

Today, I'm meeting Martin,

who returned home to find a burglar in his flat in Leeds.

So, how did it make you feel, knowing that someone had been in your house?

Very scared. Very uneasy. And very worried.

And I'm in South Wales with Dennis and Anne, who learned a hard

lesson when a thief stole their cash while they were in the house.

I can't get over it, you know, how easy it was for them to come in.

Not sleeping very well. A little bit paranoid now.

'There are nearly 10,000 burglaries in the UK every week,

'and in Leeds, two 999 calls are coming in

'reporting the same burglary.'

'The victim of the break-in is Martin.

'He's totally blind and had been for a day out with his friend Simon,

'who's also visually impaired.'

Me and my friend had just come back from town at about 15:00.

My friend unlocked the door.

As he was unlocking the door, we heard a bang.

We went through to the hallway, where the bathroom is

on the right-hand side, and we heard a voice saying, "You made me jump,"

and he locked the bathroom door.

At first I thought it was Maintenance in to fix something,

but then, when my friend knocked on the door and shouted, "Excuse me,"

no answer.

So I then assumed there was something wrong.

'Having been disturbed, the burglar left the same way he came in, leaving

'behind shards of shattered glass and the rock he used to smash the window.

'But has anything been stolen?'

Because they're blind, obviously they can't see the items,

but I've taken them round each room

and described the valuables in each room that are there and obviously

the state of the room,

and he's quite happy that nothing's been taken.

So on this occasion, we think that they've disturbed them

just as he's come in.

But he did have a rucksack on his back, so if the occupants

didn't come home, he would have, you know, taken items, I'm sure.

'So he hasn't managed to steal anything.

'But he's left some important evidence behind.'

So, the crime scene investigator's been round

and may have identified a footprint and a handprint, is that right?

They've identified a footprint and a handprint on the bath,

so she's just secured them to lift the prints

so we can try to identify who it is from them.

'Opposite Martin's flat,

'police quickly find some more crucial evidence.

'Not only has one of the 999 callers witnessed the break-in

'but a friend has filmed it on her mobile phone.

'It's an extraordinary stroke of luck.'

As I was coming up the stairs to the door, I heard a crack,

and as I looked up the hill,

somebody was breaking the glass of a bathroom window on the flat above.

As I've come in, we've then just carried on watching from the

bedroom window and recorded this guy as he's broken through the window.

-You've found the place.

-I've found the place as he was climbing through

and gave a description of what he was wearing

and the direction that he was then biking it back to.

'72% of burglaries are carried out by one person on their own,

'but it's rare for that person to be caught on camera so clearly.'

-So the witness has filmed this from a neighbouring flat.

-Yep.

It's really clear, isn't it?

And you can see quite clearly what he's wearing, what the bike's like.

And from this, you've got a pretty good idea of who this burglar is.

We can see a full facial shot of him on that,

and our imaging unit are fantastic at enhancing pictures and what

have you, so I'm pretty confident

that our suspect's going to be found.

I'm pretty impressed at the speed in which all of this has taken place.

In less than two hours since the original call came in,

officers have been to the property, taken statements,

crime scene investigators have been round, the whole mess has been

cleared up and Tony's already boarding the window up.

'While Tony from the housing association makes the window

'secure, Martin's feeling anything but secure.'

It just makes anyone feel unsafe in their home,

because it's like people breaking into houses, it makes you feel as

though you're unsafe,

you're not allowed to have a peaceful life in your own house.

It must be a relief that they've not taken anything.

It was a major relief.

Martin and Simon are clearly shaken up by what happened here this

afternoon, but the good news is police are already on their way

to arrest a suspect.

'This swift police action has been made possible by the excellent

'cameraphone footage.

'They now believe they know who they're looking for,

'and staff at the police control room are overseeing the whole operation.'

The NCT officers are currently at the address.

The suspect hasn't returned yet,

so they're just going to lie in wait until he does return.

'With the police clearly focused on their job,

'it's now time for our team to beef up Martin's security.

'It was way too easy to break into his flat.

'Martin needs some advice,

'and police community support officer Lee is just the man.'

So, you've looked round the property, Lee. What do you reckon?

Well, on first entering the property

you see a couple of vulnerable... entry point and exit point.

The locks are very vulnerable, they're basically of brass metal,

and they're very easy to get into.

-And what about an alarm?

-Yeah, definitely.

What we need is some friendly - or user-friendly - gadgets that

Martin can use easily without any issues and fumbling about.

'To make the bathroom window shatterproof, Lee suggests

'a special thin film of reinforced plastic could make a big difference.'

What happens is,

if you think of somebody trying to break in with a rock again,

the glass will shatter, but on the inside it just crumbles,

the glass, and no entry's gained.

So again, if we have an alarm system in the hallway,

-the alarm will go off, as well.

-Right.

-So it's very, very effective.

-So, Lee, we've looked round the property.

-Yep.

What would you give it as a mark out of ten for security?

-At the moment, it's a five out of ten.

-We can improve it, can't we?

We can improve it. It's still quite vulnerable, though, y'know.

But with the improvements, it's going to be fairly secure then.

They'll have to make a lot of noise

and go through a lot of pain to get in.

'So, great advice from Lee.

'Hopefully, Lee's improvements will make Martin feel much more

'secure in his own home.'

So, Martin, Lee's had a look round your flat

and he's given it a five out of ten.

So not rubbish, but we could get it better,

and we want to get it better. We want to improve the doors, the windows,

get an alarm fitted and see what else we can do for you, as well.

-What do you reckon?

-Excellent.

-Yeah?

-Excellent, yeah. Brilliant.

'So now it's time to call in our security team.'

PHONE RINGS DOWN THE LINE

Hello, Neil, it's Keeley here.

Hello. We need your help.

We've had a burglary, only it's a bit of an unusual case

because the occupier's actually blind,

so we're going to need to bear that in mind

when we upgrade his security, the stuff we use. How does that sound?

That sounds spot-on. Thanks, Neil. I'll send the details over to you.

Lovely. Thanks. See you later.

Neil's confident that he's got some extra bits that he can

put in place so that we can help Martin out.

'We'll be back in Leeds a bit later to get

'an update on the security upgrade at Martin's flat

'and to see how the police investigation is shaping up.'

'240 miles away, in Bridgend,

'another 999 call is coming in to police control.'

'In 53% of burglaries, the residents are in the house

'when the break-in happens.'

So, a call's come in to the police this morning.

A couple have been burgled in the Port Talbot area.

I'm going to go and find out what's going on.

'Dennis and Anne have been married for more than half a century.

'She was a postmistress and he was a postman.

'In the 35 years they've lived in their current house,

'they've known no trouble.

'But all of that has now changed.'

What happened here, then?

It appears overnight someone has broken into an elderly couple's home.

We're not too sure how they've got in as yet.

We're making inquiries into that at the moment.

There are some tool marks on the back kitchen window.

It's possible someone's got in through an insecure door.

The suspect then has entered,

and it's obviously not a nice feeling for the victims.

-Right, so you sleep at the front of the house.

-Yeah.

-Did you have a good sleep last night?

-I always sleep heavy.

My wife is a very light sleeper. She's up and down all night.

'The police are unclear how the burglar got in,

'so I'm going to talk to Dennis and Anne

'to get their version of events.'

So, I went down for the paper at half past six,

got down the paper shop, opened my purse, which is

usually on the table, anyway, and found that there was no money in it.

So I come back from the paper shop and I said to her,

"Look, there's no money in my purse.

"That's strange." She said, "I haven't taken it."

Well, of course, when she looked in the drawer at her purse,

her money had gone.

She then went and looked in the cupboard,

in which we had two little boxes of loose change

which we normally keep for savings, and found that they were gone.

How did you feel when the penny dropped that someone had been in?

Oh, I started shaking. I just couldn't believe it.

You know, I thought, "Well, how could they get in?

"Was any doors left open?" We went round, checking,

you know? And nothing. I was just shaking. I couldn't believe it.

I mean, my rings were left, and the laptop, everything was there.

-But cash had gone.

-Mm.

You know? And it's really, really frightening then,

to think that someone has been in your house.

I've got a security light in the passageway,

which is a motion sensor,

and that had been turned around.

So obviously somebody had seen it

and turned it back round to face the wall so it wouldn't come on.

So someone knew what they were doing.

Somebody knew what they were doing, obviously.

'Crime scene officers are busy dusting for fingerprints, and

'on the kitchen floor they find what could be a vital piece of evidence.'

So, we believe the suspects have entered in here, into the kitchen.

We've discovered some footwear patterns here which...doesn't

appear to match any of the trainers or slippers or footwear in the house.

'Finding a clear footprint can be almost as valuable as finding

'a clear fingerprint.'

This gets sealed and packaged here, and then it'll be sent off to the

footwear department at headquarters, where they'll analyse this more

and see if we can match it to a trainer mark.

'While Dennis thinks he locked the doors before going to bed,

'the police are less sure.

'No forced entry can be found,

'and they believe the back door could have been left unlocked,

'allowing the burglar to get away with £85 in cash.'

How are you feeling now? What's on your mind?

It's just the thought of someone coming, you know,

would they come back,

and how they got in, and, oh, my stomach is turning so bad.

-Mm.

-You know?

Part of our job is to try and make sure it doesn't happen again,

so if it helps you out, we can have a look around,

see where any weak points are and see if we can fix them up for you,

-try and make sure it doesn't happen again.

-Yeah.

-Would that help you out?

-Thank you, yes.

'Anne's really shaken up, so I'm going to put in a call to crime

'reduction officer Mary Williams to try and make their home safer.'

Hello, Mary, it's Dan.

I'm all right, yeah. Listen, I've come out to a call for a burglary.

It's an older couple.

The lady's really worried about the burglar coming back, so, really,

I'd be keen for you to have a look

at this place as soon as possible. Are you around?

Fantastic. OK, then, I'll see you in a bit.

-Bye.

-See you, Dan. Bye.

-Cheers. Bye.

Great. She's coming round.

'Back in Leeds, Martin has disturbed a burglar at his flat.

'It seems he arrived just in time before the intruder started

'to help himself to his valuables.'

It just makes you feel as though you're unsafe,

you're not allowed to have a peaceful life in your own house.

'A neighbour's cameraphone footage has got the police

'investigation off to a flying start, and they already think

'they know who the man is and have gone to his house to arrest him.

'Having your home broken into can be a traumatic experience for anyone,

'but for Martin, who is completely blind,

'it's even more disorientating.'

It's not quite as straightforward as if somebody who was sighted

was burgled, because they could immediately see.

They could see and write things down. A blind person can't do that.

If you've got sight, you could just grab a pen and paper

and write stuff down, what was taken...

..if you know it, what the value of it was

and then just show it to the police.

But if you're blind, you've got to get the police to do it for you.

So how did it make you feel, knowing that someone had been in your house?

Very scared. Very uneasy. And very worried.

'81% of burglary victims, like Martin,

'say they feel emotionally affected by the break-in.

'But the impact of this crime spreads further into the community,

'and police have a job to do putting neighbours at ease, as well.'

We call it a super cocoon, where we try

and cocoon the area what's been affected, because it's not just

the chap down here who was burgled yesterday,

it affects the neighbours, as well. A lot of them are vulnerable,

they could be scared about what's been going on,

so we try and get round, knock on the doors,

offer advice regarding security.

'Martin, who's 35 years old, originally hails from Edinburgh.

'Blind from birth, he's a huge football fan.

'His team is Heart of Midlothian.

'Since arriving in Leeds last year,

'he's been helped by visual impairment specialist

'Linden Wrigglesworth. They've become good friends.'

For anybody, obviously, being burgled is a traumatic event.

I mean, I think it would be fair

to say for somebody with no sight at all, it's magnified.

I'm sure it would knock his confidence.

And he's worked really, really hard to achieve what he has achieved,

you know, he's got a good network of support,

and hopefully he'll bounce back and continue with the good work.

'Back with the police investigation,

'they've now arrested the man they believe burgled Martin's flat.

'He's in custody.

'And officers at the suspect's house are greeted by a whopping

'great clue in the kitchen.'

The suspect has returned to this address riding this very same

bike that you've seen quite clearly in the footage.

Fantastic evidence from this mobile phone,

and it's put the suspect at the place at the time.

This is what the job's all about.

You know, we're not guaranteed results,

but when we work as a good team, pass the information out,

as you can see, the result's there, we've got our man today.

It's another morning,

and we're back at Martin's to begin the improvements on his flat.

The housing association are here to replace the window,

and Neil is already hard at work.

You're cleaning the windows for him. You're a nice chap, aren't you?

I am, a very nice chap. I do all sorts.

No, I'm just preparing this window to put some security film on

because the back window was obviously smashed,

so we try and smash it again. It keeps the glass in place.

So it doesn't shatter, it keeps it sturdy.

-What else are we doing today?

-We're going to change the locks,

upgrade the locks on the doors to break-secure ones,

we're going to put an alarm system in

and I'm going to change all the window handles so they lock.

The mechanisms on the window are great, but there's no keys for them,

so I'm going to replace the handles so they're nice and secure.

-Go on, then, I'll give you a hand.

-Great. Thank you.

'So, while a new window is installed in the bathroom,

'I get to prep all the other windows for the new security film.'

I don't even clean the windows in my own house!

'And the windows need to be absolutely spotless,

'because any dirt left behind will be trapped under the toughened

'plastic forever, and we don't want that.'

Look at that, how clean it is. You could eat your dinner off that.

'Now it's time to put the special security film to the test.'

It's not been put on properly. It's not smoothed out,

it's just been put on there so we can try it out now,

see what it's like.

Right, and it will break, we're just not expecting it to shatter,

so it'll stay in one piece.

It will still probably crack,

-but the glass will stay in the same place.

-So, do your worst.

Oh, yeah!

Well, look at that.

If that was in situ, it's much harder for them.

And you still get the noise, as well, so it's still all going to be over,

-they're going to have to give it a right good going to get in.

-Yeah.

'This plastic film costs around £45 a square metre.

'Now we've got our work cut out,

'strengthening all of the windows in Martin's flat.'

-And you can't even tell that it's on, can you?

-No.

I mean, it's not finished 100% yet, but as I say,

it's just like having an ordinary piece of glass in.

'Brilliant. Next up, Neil fits the alarm...

'..while I install the wireless sensors around the flat and,

'most importantly, on the bathroom window.'

-Right, Martin, I've put your new alarm system in for you.

-OK.

I'll just let you hold this. That's your key fob.

You'll feel that there's four buttons on there.

-The top button is to arm your alarm.

-KEY FOB BEEPS ONCE

-That's it.

-Yeah.

-To disarm it, if you go to the bottom button...

-KEY FOB BEEPS TWICE

-..you'll hear it beep twice outside.

So what we'll do now, we'll do a little test run. I'll set the alarm.

YOU set the alarm, close the door, we'll open it up

and it's going to make a high-pitched noise.

-So, are you ready for this?

-Yep.

DOOR CREAKS

-KEY FOB BEEPS ONCE

-Are you ready? Here we go.

ALARM BLARES

-Right.

-Wow.

-To disarm it, press your bottom button.

-ALARM STOPS

-There you go.

MARTIN LAUGHS

'Finally, with a brand-new lock on the front door, our work is done.'

'Back in Port Talbot, crime reduction officer Mary Williams

'is busy looking for flaws in Anne and Dennis's security.

'On the surface, the house looks pretty solid,

'but she soon delivers

'a whole shopping list of potential pitfalls.'

So, you've had a good look around the place.

Where would the burglar have targeted?

Well, if you look in this garden, we've got

loads of things that can help Burglar Bill or Burglar Betty.

We've got lots of tools here. I can do a lot of damage with a tool -

I can prise something open quite easily.

Ladders at the back, more tools.

Some of the windows here, I can get a little tool under there

and I can pop those.

Now, Anne and Dennis were in at the time,

but they weren't alerted to the burglar coming through the house.

-Mm.

-What can be done about that?

We've got a little saying in our area -

"Use your paw and lock that door".

And my message to everybody is lock your doors, because it's so easy.

You're sitting in the house, you're watching a bit of television,

you may not hear somebody coming in.

Just that one opportunist burglar popped in

and caused a lot of heartache for that lovely couple.

-Would an alarm help here?

-An alarm would help, providing they use it.

There's no point having an alarm if you don't set it.

It's the same, you can have the best locks in the world,

but if you don't use them, no point.

Let's get the boys in.

'So, the boys from the security company get busy with Mary's

'wish list of improvements,

'and it's amazing how much you can achieve in a few short hours.

'And I'll earn my crust putting away those tools.'

Good. Tidy.

'And as the lads finish the job,

'I can catch up with Anne and Dennis.'

-How have you been since we last seen you?

-Erm, not sleeping very well.

A little bit paranoid now.

-I can't get over it, you know, how easy it was for them to come in.

-Mm.

It's surprising how much worry you've got in the back of your mind,

thinking to yourself, "Oh, somebody's come in," you know?

It's a day-to-day thing now, isn't it, you know?

'So clearly Anne and Dennis are still spooked by the burglary.

'Let's hope that as Mary the crime reduction officer

'returns to their home, we've done enough to really reassure them.'

OK, so, Mary, you've had a look at the place since we've done the work.

-Yes.

-What do you make of it now?

-Really pleased with the work.

It's made a big difference to the security of this family.

-All those horrible tools are away.

-I put the tools away.

-Well done.

We've got the extra locks on the conservatory, we've got

the alarm, we've got a light out the front, numerous things.

I think Anne will be a lot more peaceful in her own mind.

She definitely will, and that's good. I'm happy.

Well, pleased with that!

'So, Mary's happy. What about Anne and Dennis?'

Right, so, Tony's done a cracking job for you in here.

-Oh, I see it now. Brilliant.

-Oh, that's marvellous.

Brand-new bolts, so it's really strengthened up the patio door.

-Yeah.

-And then these have all been replaced,

all of the catches on them, and they're lockable now, as well.

-Oh, brilliant.

-Oh, good.

I can't fault them. They've been working hard.

Oh, they're grafters, aren't they?

They haven't stopped all day. Fair play.

OK, I'll show you the alarm.

All you do - one switch goes on, one switch goes off.

That's brilliant, that is easy for us to remember, isn't it,

at our age?

-So there you go.

-Lovely. Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

-So, overall, do you feel a little happier now?

-Oh, definitely.

-We can sleep tonight now.

-Oh, fantastic.

We can, because we know now we're secure, and it's all thanks to you.

-Oh, that's part of the job.

-Ah, thank you.

'So, a few simple fixes to their security

'and they're both feeling a whole lot safer. Tremendous.'

The thing is, you know, we feel violated, in a lot of ways,

that people came in here.

But the thing is, since your people came here, your team,

they've put at rest the worries that we've had

and, you know, we feel safe in our own house.

So, a happy household in Port Talbot.

But has there been a result in Leeds? Over to Keeley.

'The suspect police arrested in connection with

'the burglary at Martin's flat was a man called Christian Shaw.

'He was charged with burglary at Leeds Crown Court

'and was sentenced to ten months in prison.

'Life for Martin is getting back to normal, and today he's out for

'a pub lunch with his friend Linden, and he's busy making travel plans.'

When might you go to Edinburgh again, then?

We're going up on Friday on the overnight coach,

so overnight into Edinburgh for the day,

then back again on Friday night.

He's great to work with. He is a real character.

I mean, it never fails to amaze me, the level of confidence that he has.

'I mean, considering he can't see anything, it's amazing.

'He's got a really good sense of humour,

'and he gets around and functions incredibly well.'

He's got a lot of confidence and things are improving for him.

'So, Martin's on the mend, and he might gain even more confidence

'if we've managed to fix the security flaws at his flat.

'Time to check in with support officer Lee.'

So, you gave it a five out of ten initially.

We wanted to get that figure up. What do you reckon now?

Definitely a nine out of ten with the measures that Neil's fitted.

We've now got the anti-snap locks, we've got

an alarm system with a fob that Martin can use

and all the security film in the windows. A very good job.

It's very, very hard and they'd have to make a lot of noise now to get

into the property, and they'll alert people if they do that.

A lot more happy, and Martin will be a lot less vulnerable now.

'Brilliant news. And I can't wait to tell Martin.'

Now, when Lee first came round to the house,

he looked round at your windows and your doors and the security

and he only gave you a five out of ten.

-Mm-hm.

-Now...

-it's a nine out of ten.

-Oh, that's better.

-Yeah?

-Better.

-How do you feel about that? Is that good news?

-Yeah, it's good news,

yeah, nine out of ten for security, yeah.

I feel very safe and very secure

now that all the work's been carried out.

'Just a few days ago,

'Martin was feeling vulnerable after the break-in.

'But now, following a few simple improvements,

'his confidence has returned. It's really heart-warming.'

So, I'd just like to say a big thank you to everybody that's helped,

including the police, my neighbours, for all their support.

Another great result for the police, another burglar jailed.

That's what we want to see.

That's right, and it's great to see Martin

so pleased with the job that we did for him beefing up his security.

-That's it from us for now. Until next time, bye-bye.

-Bye for now.