Episode 17 Crimewatch Roadshow

This morning on the Crimewatch Roadshow has. Can you help us catch

this con woman using a stolen credit card to NT's somebody else's

bank account of thousands of Welcome to Crimewatch Roadshow. The

programme that offers you the chance to catch the crooks

affecting all our lives. We're on the trail of the con artists this

morning. The confidence tricksters who prey on the vulnerable and the

naive. We'll hear from the vicar who

handed over more than �1,000 to a trickster wanted by police all over

the UK. We've got an update on our

exclusive investigation into the gang targeting NHS staff.

And, ever wondered just what those CSI white suits are up to? We've

got the inside story. Today, we're working with

Gloucestershire Constabulary, and we've moved on to the village of

Frampton on Severn, Miriam, it It really is gorgeous here, Rav.

Where I'm standing is reputed to be the longest village green in

England. But, as we know by now, even somewhere as peaceful as this

can be hit by some very distressing crime. We've got the story of how a

local care home assistant was fleeced by a con man who took her

bank details and emptied her account. With me again today is the

BBC's man in Gloucestershire, Steve Knibbs. Steve.

Thanks, Miriam. You might think this rural part of the world

doesn't use high tech forensics as much as the big cities. But later

in the programme, I will be showing you how this, and it looks like a

strip of cellophane, can help lift Take a good look at this face. This

is Robert Kerr. On last month's Crimewatch, I asked for your help

to track him down. He's a con man who rips off Christians with a

convincing sob story. Let's just remind you what I told you about

On 10th November 2010, Reverend Alan Neil was preparing his church

for an Armistice service. The next few days would be memorable, but

for all the wrong reasons. I saw a man that was looking at our

notice board on the church, and I Excuse me, are you all right?

Not really, no, I've just lost my wallet and my ticket and everything,

and I need to get back to my unit in Ireland, I've got to get up to

Manchester, I've got no train ticket. I've got no money, I've got

no food. Despite his dishevelled appearance,

the man claimed to have a connection to the military in

Northern Ireland. I've got to get back to my unit,

otherwise I'm going to be on a charge.

Oh you're a military man? Well, I would try and help in any

situation when people come. My faith is very important to me, I've

always been of that sort of nature. If I could help in any situation, I

would try and help. And you've got to get from here?

From here to Manchester, yes, then to Ireland.

I decided I would give him the money for the fare.

I think we can possibly help you. Come with me, I think I might be

able to help you. To get him back to Northern Ireland,

the reverend gave Kerr �40 for a train ticket to Manchester airport.

But it was all part of an elaborate con that was only just beginning.

Hello, is that the reverend there? At 8am in the morning, I had a

phone call from a voice that said he was a Major in the Armed Forces

in Ireland. I just wanted to thank you for

helping our man there, Andrew. Andrew? Yes, that's right, Andrew,

you helped him. Gave him money for the flight.

yes. But the phone call was a ruse to

make the next stage of Kerr's scam seem more believable. It was to

unfold the next morning. As I came to the church, I saw this

figure, and immediately I thought, that's the chap I helped yesterday

that was supposed to be going to Andrew?

How do you know my name? Someone from the Army phoned here

last night. He explained to me he had a history

of diabetes, and he had an attack last night, and he hadn't made the

train. What are you doing here now?

He subsequently told me he had been to a B&B in the town. And he only

had �10 left. So it was back to the cash machine

for a second time. With the kind hearted reverend believing he was

helping Kerr back to Northern Ireland with another �40 train

ticket. But that still wasn't the end of this con.

I was at home, and I got this phone call.

Hello, is that the reverend there? It was the voice he had heard the

previous day, this time telling him that Kerr had missed his plane, and

would need to catch a special military flight the next day.

He said: Can you please go to the station and pick this Andrew up.

I went to the station to pick him up. He was waiting at the station.

I brought him back home. It was at this point, Kerr made his

most audacious move. Asking the reverend to lend him �800 for this

military flight home. As it happened, I had money in the

house. So, with the money I had in the house, and I also had some

church money, I was able to sort In the final stage of the scam,

Kerr claimed he would ensure a courier would bring the reverend

all the money he was owed. And provided him with a military

security code to further reassure him. But, like every other part of

this con, it was a complete fabrication.

He said: "Write this down." Alpha, Victor, Charlie, one six nine.

He said: "You have got a security number and name now." You'll need

that, otherwise he won't give you the money.

A courier would come and bring me this money, and I had to make sure

I was in when the courier came. I waited three days, and the

courier never came. With one final train ticket paid

for, in total, the reverend gave more than �1,000 to Robert Kerr.

But it wasn't long before this conman was targeting unsuspecting

Christians in another part of the country.

The story of Robert Kerr leads to Gloucestershire later in the

programme. We almost got him last Time now for a quick look at our

For this man seemed to be popping it into this pub in London's

Victoria Station. Once inside it is clear it is not boos he is after as

it picks up a customer's bag. The pub staff give chase. He end up

dropping the bag on the concourse. Let us call time on this brief,

tell us who hears. -- he is. The kick arise honest man

in a green T-shirt. As he goes about his business

withdrawing cash, he is surrounded by three men. 1 distracts the lady

in line, while the others stand side-by-side. Before the cash pops

out, one thief attacked him on the solder tells -- telling him he has

dropped some money, while the other takes his cash. Give us their names.

We have all heard of shoplifting, but making the shop fittings,

that's a new one. These two had decided to take advantage of the

Highways scrap prices by steering this fruit and veg stand from the

back of this supermarket in Kent. They are going to the shop and

steal some alcohol. Tell us who they are. Remember if you know any

thing about any of those incidents. Do the right thing and get in touch.

The numbers are on your screen. Just time for a quick update on our

appeals so far. On yesterday's show, we featured an

armed robbery of a shop in Coney Hill, Gloucester, in which the

offenders threatened a member of staff with an axe and a gun. A

couple of callers have put forward potential names for the violent

pair. Keep the calls coming. We want to bring them to justice.

Also yesterday, we featured an appeal to catch a violent robber

who targeted a pensioner in his own home. One of our callers has

provided us with information on a man who may fit the attacker's

description, and we've passed this on to police.

We have had more through on our Wanted Faces. Yesterday, we

featured James Fielder, wanted for conspiracy to supply class A drugs

and handling stolen property. A number of callers claim to have

seen him. Also, Benjamin James Reeve, who

failed to keep the conditions of his release from prison, may have

been spotted by one of our viewers. Still to come on today's programme.

Of the AA con man who fleeced care home staff and tried the same trick

on a GP's surgery on the same day. Find out how I got on when we put

the latest facial imagery technology to the test.

And, the moment the con man Robert Kerr came calling and fleeced a

couple out of hundreds of pounds. Before all that, here's Steve in

Gloucestershire, with a touch of CSI in the States stands for Crime

Scene Investigation. But we have SOCOs here, Scenes of Crime

Officers. The work these guys do remains a mystery. So when I was

offered a chance to take a closer look at the world of forensics, I

couldn't resist the opportunity to Pieces of material, flakes of skin,

a single strand of hair or a speck of blood. All of these are

invaluable to the forensics team, and can be the key to solving

crimes. But ever since it became a part of police work over 100 years

ago, there is one element is just A lot of our time is spent at crime

scenes trying to find evidence. And quite often, you'll see our scenes

of crime officers involved actually looking at the evidence trying to

find fingerprints, DNA, all sorts of trace evidence with which to

link the person who committed the My day-to-day job involves

attending crime scenes, burglaries, cars, trying to detect forensic

evidence. But it's not as simple as it looks. Most officers carry four

different types of powder with them. Which one to use depends on the

surface. And there's a real art to the brushing, flicking the powder

rather than smearing it. We've got a car you're going to demonstrate

You can see just here. They're really clear. Absolutely. We'd

always like to find results like that on a vehicle that's been

broken into. But brushing and powder aren't the only ways to

track down fingerprints. And today's high-tech methods even

include using precious metals to lift those all-important

This is a Vacuum Metal Deposition. How does that help? It gets

fingerprints from plastic bags and other items. We insert into the

Here, we've got little bits of zinc and gold. We evaporate the zinc and

gold, and we get a raised film on top of the plastic bag, and we get

a finger print from that. It may look like a giant tumble drier. But

this equipment allows the team to lift prints from almost anything.

This is the bag that's been through the VMD process. What can we see?

They are quite fragile finger prints, and you can see areas of

There are more than 20 million fingerprints in the national

database. What police are after is This is a match we've just created

today. On the left is the crime scene mark, and on the right is the

file print. What I've done is mark the little deviations in the ridge.

Every human fingerprint is completely unique. These red

circles capture the tiniest detail. And this one's a match. We are more

than happy to say this is absolutely the person.

Julia Robertshaw. You work with the Forensics Unit. There is a lot more

to it than that, we might look for fibres and decrying saying where a

criminal has come into a premises. We can match that to clothing. If a

window is smashed, you might have the last from that window you can

compare and match up to the suspect, from their hair or clothing. And

for its work is a big part of what We have a more Cup crime scene.

What are we looking for? scenario is the cricket club has

been broken into and this window has been left insecure which is a

problem. The offender has come through and stepped onto the table.

So we are going to try to look for a footprint with black plastic?

That's right. Because it is a latent Mark and we can't see it

with the naked eye, Simon is using a flake which will bring up the

pattern features. That has come through really clearly. That is a

good print, obviously. They are often not that good in the field.

Now we put downbeat gel that we showed you earlier. -- we put down

the daily. That looks fantastic. That is a good match? That is a

good print. How unique are these that Prince though? The soul of the

issue has pretty unique characteristics. They are cold

"class characteristics" but as you walk, you walk a certain way and

those features are a unique. want to get a match. We have some

suspect's from the crew. Tell us who you think this could be?

have different types of shoes - bits and trainers. If we lift up

the first sue I saw, you can see the marks on here match that Sue.

Who is are suspect? It is Miriam. When we have anyone in custody, we

can take their issue marks and put them on the database and match them

with crime scene marks. You are getting good successes? Yes, just

recently we had a conviction based solely on the third where from a

scene of crime. Thank you for sharing as that. I am afraid CSI

will never be the same again! Usually, we show you a collection

of people the police are keen to track down. These faces are from

the Serious Organised Crime Agency. You are in charge of the operation,

tell us more. This is all about tracking British fugitives we think

are in the Netherlands. The initiative is to focus on six faces.

We think they are in the Netherlands and we are looking to

launch an initiative with Crimestoppers and a Dutch

colleagues. Why do thing they are targeting the Netherlands, as

opposed to Spain? There is a beat expat community. We have big

successes in Spain. Since 2008, we have arranged -- arrested over 200

fugitives and we have displaced some fugitives to the Netherlands

because now Spain is a hostile environment. We are trying to

replicate that in the Netherlands and the - authorities are keen to

try and emulate what we have succeeded in doing so far. How long

has it been running? This initiative was launched last March

but we have done a lot of preliminary work around this and

the Dutch have changed the legislation to get these images in

the media. The privacy laws did not allow it area. Briefly, a lot of

these people are very dangerous so if people see them, what should

they do? The important thing is to do it in partnership with

Crimestoppers. People can phone in anonymously and not approach the

individuals. Whether they are travelling or living in the

community, it is a fantastic opportunity to try and help us find

them. Let us look at them. First, we have the Albanian, Belino

Gripshi, wanted for conspiracy to supply a class A drugs and money-

laundering offences. He is believed to be part of the criminal network

trafficking cocaine into the Netherlands. Have you seen him?

Secondly, James Nicholas Tarrant who has been convicted of supplying

cocaine and cannabis and possession of a firearm. Two years ago he was

granted conditional bail but has gone on the run. It is believed he

travels between the Netherlands and Spain.

Do you know this man? Paul Christopher -- Christopher

Finnighan who is believed to be in connection with a crime gang. He

was bailed to report to police in Liverpool but went on the run. He

has a Liverpudlian accent. It is believed he spent time in Amsterdam.

Do you know where he is? This is Mark Anthony Fitzgibbon who

was wanted by police since 2005 for supplying cannabis and amphetamines.

He also has a Liverpudlian accent and police believe he is currently

in the Netherlands. If you have seen any of this lot on your

travels, please get in touch. Back to Miriam in Frampton.

In our very first programme we brought to a special investigation

into a gang stealing bank cards from NHS staff and conning them

into revealing their pink numbers. Here in Frampton, we have come

across a con targeting a care home which bears the same hallmarks.

I don't know how they can do it to anybody. They obviously do not have

a heart. From the job I do, all I want to do is help people and they

have violated that. I was so devastated and I was angry at

myself for giving over my pain. -- PIN number. Kelly spends her numbed

-- life looking after elderly patients in a care home. I love my

job. It is so rewarding helping the residents and going home knowing

that the simple things of being clean and dressed properly are so

rewarding. You think you have done your job. Last month, one phone

call doing an ordinary day cost her thousands of pounds. I arrived at

work, changed over from the morning shift to the afternoon Shift. I was

bathing a resident and that is when a colleague said there was a phone

call for me. I went to answer the phone call. I didn't know what it

was at the time. The person on the other end of the friend said he was

from Lloyds Bank and that someone was trying to use my card in

Evesham. I looked and noticed my purse was gone so I started to

panic. Kelly was unaware an hour earlier at a con man had visited

her work place. The man went to it at the driveway to the nursing home.

He Black his way in by claiming he was called an organisation selling

books. He was always with a staff member. They took him to the staff

room area where the books are normally kept. The staff personal

equipment, handbags and coats are left in there. Quite a high value

area. He was shown from the nursing home and seeing it through the

front door. Unfortunately, it is unclear how he has then got back

into the nursing home but he has obviously gone back into the

He has then stolen to purses belonging to staff members. He then

left the care home again and was seen by a member of staff walking

down the driveway. But stealing purses was the beginning. Next, he

called the victims. He started to Roelof transactions I had made in

recent days which were all correct to my knowledge. He said that the

police were on their way to arrest the Women as they confirmed it

wasn't me in the branch. All my cards would need to be stopped

straightaway. But he asked me if I knew the last three numbers of my

cards. Obviously I said no. So he said the only way he would be able

to stop my cards would be to use my PIN number. Unfortunately, I gave

them over because I genuinely believed that he was going to help

make and he would be able to stop my cards. Minutes after she handed

over how PIN number, nearby, a woman was caught on CCTV using a

stolen cards. -- the stolen cars. It wasn't until my manager said,

something doesn't seem quite right, don't give though there any more

information, I realised, "Bono" -- Bono. The account was empty of over

�2,000. I'm getting married soon and I'm saving really hard for it.

I thought I wouldn't be able to get married this year. I was just so

devastated and I was angry at myself for giving over my PIN

Being conned is never a nice thing. It is such a horrible crime. For

someone to suffer and I can imagine they feel quite foolish. I knew I

shouldn't give my PIN number over but you put yourself in the

position I was in and knowing your purse was gone. You have somebody

saying somebody is trying to use your card and they will be able to

help you and stop it. You are in a panic anyway, you would do anything

and give over anything for them to help you. They obviously do not

have a heart at all. It makes me angry that they could go and do

that. Sergeant Phillipa Rawlings is working on the case. This chap

tried to carry out the same Kong somewhere else on the same day. --

corner. Yes, he said he was a book man at the local surgery and was

shown into the staff area where the books are kept. He had a look

around the staff room, just gazing around. Asked the receptionist for

a plastic bag but she said she didn't have one. He was not left

alone so he picked up books and left with them. Was this after the

care home? Yes, in the afternoon. He was hoping he would be

successful again obviously? Yes. You have an E-fit. He is a white

man, about five feet 11 inches tall. Medium build with a bald head,

clean-shaven. He has a Westcountry accent, protruding ears and an

earring in his left ear. That is quite distinctive. He had an

accomplice at the bank, didn't he? Yes, there was a female who went

into a bank later in the Stonehouse area. We believed she worked --

they worked as a team. She was able to secured an overdraft and took

out a large amount of money from the account. They must have been

raised and to pass themselves off as someone else and get an

overdraft? Yes, a brazen act and an awful thing to happen to someone.

Thank you. If you have any information on this, please do get

in touch. Now there is more information on possible

similarities to this case and our own investigation.

As Mary and said, the gang known as the Coventry Falcons took hundreds

of thousands of pounds from NHS staff. They made their way into

Secure areas where they stole wallets and purses be court --

before calling bear witness -- victims and making them panic into

revealing their PIN numbers. Tell It could involve theft. Theft,

fraud, the whole range. You are keen to ask for help on this CCTV

image. This fellow was in a clinic in at Lancaster or, in April 2010.

He was there at the same time as a purse was stolen in similar

circumstances This is the Frampton care home con man, we can see his

e-fit now. I'm very interested in the e-fit for the con in

Gloucestershire, because it is similar to some CCTV we have of a

suspected member of the Coventry Falcons. He was captured on camera

at a GP surgery in Lancashire. me about this man? Garry Francis

O'Neill, who we appealed for last time. We still want to talk to him

in connection with the theft of bank cards from hospitals in

Cambridgeshire and Kent. And this man with the red tie? I'm very

pleased to say the fantastic response from the public on this

one in particular, in fact we got calls from two police officers

giving a name for this man. And a full statement of identification.

If anyone out there does know anything, or recognise any of these

images, please get in touch. There's already been an arrest of

one alleged gang member. Let's see how many more suspects we can track

down. The numbers are on your screen. Now back to Steve.

Earlier, we told you about a different con man called Robert

Kerr targeting a church in Scarborough. His scam has extended

to this part of the world as well. Robert Kerr is a merciless conman

who targets Christians. He's wanted by forces across the UK. And in

January this year, he struck again. Ripping off a couple in Gloucester,

who were so distraught after what happened, they want to protect

their identity. We thought we were doing a favour

for another Christian. But as it turns out, I don't think we were.

It started with a phone call from a gentleman who was phoning from the

Ministry of Defence. Hello, I'm calling from the MOD. A member of

the church has just been discharged this morning from the Royal

Gloucester Hospital. He's gone to the station, and he doesn't really

know. I was wondering whether you might be able to do me a favour.

wanted us to make sure that he'd got on the correct train. Would you

be able to go there just to greet him really. A friendly face would

mean so much to him. We went up to the train station and met the chap,

and it just all started from there. When Kerr met the couple, he asked

for a small amount of money. He wanted a train fare. But his

deception was only just beginning. His train ticket that he had was

out of date, because he said he'd been in the hospital too long. And

he wanted to go to a cash point to get some money out to get another

one. My husband took him up to the bank. When he put his card in,

there were no funds available. So he asked if he could borrow some

money until the following day. claimed it was too late to catch

his train. And back at their house, the couple lent him more money,

completely unaware he was drawing them into another of his elaborate

cons. Because he said there were no more trains, we gave him all that

we had, and drove him to a Travelodge. He wanted something for

an evening meal, and breakfast the next morning. So we gave him �120.

That was all the cash I had. went inside the Travelodge, and

came back out, said they haven't got any rooms. The couple drove him

to another hotel in the area. They thought this was the end of it, but

sadly, there was worse to come. About an hour later, there was a

knock on the door. He was extremely distressed. I've had a bit of

trouble again. And he needed some more money. As unbelievable as it

sounds, Kerr claimed to have left the �160 they had given him in a

taxi, and he was penniless again. So I turned round and said well I

haven't got any more money. I've only got my credit card. He said,

well, take me to your ATM and get some money out of there. So it was

off to the cash machine where Kerr was given �200. And then to a

supermarket to use cash back for even more money. It's during this

part of his con, that Kerr was I turned round and said goodbye to

him. And off I went and got back in the car and went home. Kerr

promised to return at a later date, and reimburse the �460 he owed. But,

like all his other victims, the couple would never hear from Kerr

again. He said he was coming back. And we waited until then. As soon

as the time passed, I then contacted the police. I was very

cross when we realised what had happened, and that we'd been taken

in. Robert Kerr is a despicable man. We believe Kerr travels the country

committing these offences. He's targeting the vulnerable, and the

people that need this money that he is taking off them. He needs

stopping, and he needs stopping Leigh Bickerdyke. You're the

officer trying to track down Kerr. What else can you tell us about how

he operates? From the information we have received so far, we don't

believe he has a permanent residence. He uses B&Bs and public

transport, so he's hard to track down. He has made reference to

money for train fares, so we think he may not have access to his own

personal vehicle. We have seen he may be using somebody else as part

of the scam. On the whole, we think he is a lone man. However, on some

of the occasions, there has been a phone call for seed by the victims.

From that, the voice is described diffin lay. It may be him

disguising his voice. Or he may on occasion be acquiring an accomplice.

You have expense of working on similar cases. His Robert Kerr

preying on these people because they are naturally generous? That

is a true. They are known to be open and generous with their

hospitality. Also, their information is publicly available,

appearing on noticeboards, and we're working with the churches to

limit the amount of information available. A witness in

Gloucestershire have reported seeing someone matching Roberts's

description looking at a noticeboard, and later asking for

directions to a particular parish members home. Do think there are

more victims? I think a small amount has been reported. People

may feel embarrassed that they have been conned, I urge them to come

forward because the information they may have about where he has

been committing crimes will help us identify the roots of trouble he

has been taking. Dear thing he has been operating recently? We had a

report two weeks ago from Lancashire police of a similar

offence. We think that was Robert. You are working with forces all

over the country. Yes, Avon and Somerset police, Lancashire police,

and Northern Ireland are interested. If you know where Kerr is now, or

if he's approached you, please give us a call. Con men like him have to

be caught. The numbers are on your Yesterday, we set a test for Rav.

We showed him this man, Paul, who's our totally innocent satellite

engineer for just a few seconds. Rav then had to pass on a

description to an expert working on a new system of facial imagery to

help crack crime. Take a look at If you can explain the system to me

and I will try my best to relay what I can remember. I will ask you

described the person's face. Then we will use this system. I will

show you screens of faces and ask Some are more distinctively rounder.

I would say this one is about right for me. About there. At the moment,

I think that is pretty good from what I can remember. That hair is

definitely too long. It just needs to come forward a tiny bit. The

We have a bold the face, worked on the hair, pulled all the elements

together, what you think of the lightness? I think that is as close

as I can get, I am happy with that. That was yesterday. This is the man

I saw yesterday. How do you think we did? From what you gave me, it

was quite hard, because he didn't have any distinguishing features.

But I think the likeness isn't too bad. The hairline and the outside

of the face has worked out quite well. The image has stretched out a

bit more but overall a pretty good job. What I found difficult was I

could not remember really well find details. That is way a system

really helps. It was merging different faces together as opposed

to an artist's impression way you would have to give details. Is that

where this comes into its own? have trouble remembering the

features, you can give me a description of the mouth, so we had

to do it in a different way. I was showing you screens of faces and

you worked with that. It is still relatively early days for this

system, how is it going with his trial period? We have been selling

the system for a couple of years. 14 police forces are using the

system. The performance of the system is quite good. We find

people produce composites other people recognise about 40% of the

time. When we give this to the pleas for far more -- for formal

field trials, we are getting an arrest rate of 40%. Briefly, the

beauty about this system is it is on your laptop, you can go to a

vulnerable person's home and do it there. Portable equipment. Just

time for a quick update. We have had some calls already on

one of today's cases, Robert Kerr, a possible sake -- sighting.

Per these are following up strong leads on another Wanted Face, Pawel

Jakub Koperski, wanting for drugs offences. Some possible sightings

of him. He a distinctive looking chap. Miriam, what are you up to

tomorrow? We're heading into Wales. For the

rest of the week, we're with Gwent and South Wales Police. Tomorrow,

we might get wet. The police diving team are joining us. Steve, it's

your last day with us. It's been a busy two days. It's been great

working with you here in my home patch. Let's just hope we get some

good leads on the cases. We featured the attack on an 83-year-

old man on the local news last night. Let's hope we catch somebody

for that. That's it from us. For more details