Episode 16 Crimewatch Roadshow

put a few more criminals behind bars. We hunt for a gang stealing

gold bullion. This is a new level for us. A pensioner who is not

prepared to take a burglary lying down. I want that money back. And an

escape route for abuse. We are out with the domestic violence team. If

you are at home and you think we have nowhere to go, you will put up

with it. We can say, actually, we can help you. You are watching

Crimewatch road show. Hello and welcome to

Crimewatch Roadshow. It's the start

of our final week travelling the country tackling the kind of

crime which blights all our lives. The Athe cruel thief who hoodwinked

a pensioner and stole a family heirloom. -- the cruel these. And a

neighbour who came to the rescue. I knew something serious was going on.

Today the Roadshow's reached London and Sian is at the Olympic Park

Yes, we're in the shadow of the famous orbital,

where the Metropolitan Police's rope team is waiting to descend nearly

First up, a pensioner who's up in arms after a couple of bogus

How dare these men come into my home and do what they have done? I want

them punished. I do not care how long it takes. As far as I am

concerned, they have to go to prison. This man has always enjoyed

a spot of gardening. Before his wife died, they spent many hours in the

garden together. We had our tea out there, or just sat that and read a

book. Very happy times. At 81, doing all the pruning and cutting back is

not as easy as it used to be. I am restricted to certain things I can

do in the garden. Height is one of them. On 5th of August last year,

when a man turned up offering to cut his head, it seemed to be just the

helping hand Roy look for. When I looked at the card that was flashed

at me, I thought, this is it. They were genuine people. I agreed to

have the trees cut back. A deal was struck at ?180. The men appeared

professional and got on with the job. Every now and again I looked

out to see what they were doing. Then I found they were doing the

side of the hedge, which I did not want them to do. I thought, I will

wait till they come in and I will confront them. These men gave the

appearance they were professional. Once they had finished, one of the

men came in for the money. Roy had agreed to pay ?180 and had the cash

ready. Having downed the extra work, the man wanted more. I said, you

were not asked to do the side of the hedge. They said, we have done it

now. That will be ?400. I thought, I will only get 100 out. I pulled the

money out of the safe, but it onto the bed and then rushed downstairs

to give them the money to get rid of them. I did not lock the safe and

the money was on the bed. One of the men insisted he go outside to

inspect the handiwork. Whilst he was being distracted in the garden, the

other man was upstairs, helping himself to the contents of the safe.

Outside, his accomplice suddenly seemed more open to negotiation. I

said to him, I will give you only ?100. He said, all right, I will

give you ?100. I never saw the boss after that. He had gone. Roy went

back upstairs to lock the safe, relieved they have left. He found

the thieves had taken ?6,000 in cash as well as irreplaceable pieces of

jewellery. There was no money and two rings, one belonged to my aunt

and that was a wedding ring, and my wife 's engagement ring had gone as

well. It is not just financial loss, it is that someone had invaded his

home uninvited and gone into intimate areas of the house. I feel

these people are fairly professional and proficient at this. Boy is

trying to come to terms with the fact he was conned in this way. I

was very angry. I really was. I want them punished and as harshly as they

can get punished. They will have to pay the money back whatever happens.

Roy is certainly not taking this lying down.

These people target the elderly because they think they

But you do have a few lines of investigation in this case.

Going back to the man who did not at the door, what other clues could

there be? I believe by the party they used at the scene in order to

get the confidence of the victim, these people are pretty professional

gardeners. They arrived in a vehicle, had the requisite tools for

the job. I think these people would have done this before and probably

work in the local area. ?6,000 was taken. Roy is very security

conscious but they did manage to trick him. It really is a shocking

case. Now for the wanted faces. This is Michael Nolan. He was jailed for

seven years for robbery and was released in 2010. He has failed to

stick to the conditions and is now wanted back in prison. Our next

wanted face is 60-year-old Keith Turner. He served 19 years in prison

for the manslaughter of his mother and sister and was released on

licence. His licence was revoked. That was in the year 2000 and he is

now on the round. This photo was taken around 20 years ago but police

have produced this age progression image of what he may look like now.

Originally from Newcastle, he is known to have connections across the

UK, as well as to Spain, France and South Africa. Use a hazard had two

with his name on the right forearm. Next -- he also has a tad too with

his name on his right forearm. Higgins is around five tall and of

stocky build. It is believed he has grown a full beard and has dyed his

hair blond. He is linked with Essex and London. Next, was wanted --

next, Karim Hama-Amin was wanted for a serious sexual assault. He often

worked as a barber and has links to Morecambe, London, Sheffield and

Manchester. If you recognise any of these faces, make sure you pick up

the phone. Some network an mobile operators

will charge for these calls. Text CW,

space and then your message. Texts will be charged

at your standard message rate. The police are always keen to make

use of any special talents officers And those who never forget

a face are no exception. Chief Inspector Gareth

Davies is with me now. First of all,

what is a super recogniser ? Within The Met, it is someone who

has the ability to recognise a person 's face above a normal person

's ability. They can recognise them in a crowd. You have been tapping

into that ability quite successfully. Yes, we have. At Earls

Court, we have large-scale events. One event, we had over 120 mobile

phone stolen by pickpockets in one night. We designed an operation

using a super recogniser. The next big one was the Arctic monkeys gig.

We had 20,000 people attending a night. We deployed them and they

identified persons committing the crime. At that gig, we only had 12

mobile phones stolen. There was only four at another one. The message to

the pickpockets is beware because The Met bulletin police are out

there using super recogniser is. -- the Metropolitan police. We do not

believe you can learn this. It seems to be an innate capacity. They can

absorb and learn new faces very quickly and distinguish between

sometimes very highly similar individuals. I wish I had this

ability. We cannot teach it. I do not know whether I have this

ability. We have disguised these faces of very famous people by

getting rid of the external features and the hairstyle to see if you can

recognise them. I think it makes it a bit harder. You have to focus on

the features. Give me some time. I will look at these faces. Get back

to me later. Gold bullion and fake currency is

not something we come usually across often on Roadshow,

but this next crime combines both These two men are about to carry out

a classic con, where hundreds of thousands of pounds. This is the

kind of thing you would see in Hollywood. It is not something we

would deal with day-to-day. It is a new level of fraud for us. It is not

Vegas or a film set. This is a real scam that takes place in a real

hotel in Central London. This is our first player. A conman who goes by

the name of Stephan. Waiting for him is his target, a reputable gold

bullion dealer. She is about to be drawn into a high-stakes scan. She

has met with him on a number of occasions. He originally approached

her as a legitimate customer and her as a legitimate customer and

doing so, there is a level of trust. White tapping here is our

next player. The victim has trust. White tapping here is our

to trade 20 kilos of gold for hard cash. Stephan has introduced her to

Alberto and the lady, she has -- he has said it is Alberto 's wife. The

deal is split into two stages. Money will change hands at the hotel while

the gold is being kept across town. Stephan had insisted he would only

pay for the gold in cash. The victim agreed but has brought her own

counting machine to make sure all the money is genuine. Alberto had

refused to let anybody else into the room other than himself and the

victim. She had also taken somebody room other than himself and the

victim. She had also taken with her to act as a bit of security. There

was only the two of them in the room when the exchange took place. The

deal was worth more than ?600,000. The money is then sealed in plastic

bags. When the counting is over, all the cash is transferred to a

briefcase. Now that the payment is being made, the dealer makes

arrangements to release the gold. Once the money had been exchanged,

Alberto 's wife was to go to a separate venue to meet up with the

big team 's brother. Only once there was proof the money had changed

hands would he hand over the money in gold. This is what happened. The

victim is oblivious to the scam. The fraudsters have the gold and have

swung told her out the cash. -- swindled. When the victim got

home, there was only the equivalent of ?200,000 and not half a million

she was expecting to find. The dealer had fallen for an

elaborate and well-planned hustle. How did they do it?

Well, hours before the meeting took place, CCTV shows them setting the

trap. They arrive with ?800,000 corruption under 800,000 genuine

currencies macro and the same amount in false cash.

We have CCTV footage inside the hotel, the bars, corridors,

everywhere they went except the one room where the exchange took place.

They were careful to find somewhere where we would not be able to see

them actually making the switch. The victim is sure the cash is

genuine. But between putting the money into bundles and placing it in

the briefcase, it was stored in a sideboard. This is where she

believes the switch took place. These are clearly very sophisticated

criminals, people who know that trade and have been doing it for a

long time. We need to stop them. They have got all of this gold,

creating more money, getting bigger and better scams will stop it could

spiral out of control. The fraudsters got away

with over ?600,000. The victim must have

been devastated. The victim was very well deceived.

The suspects gained her confidence. She thought it was legitimate

business. Tell us about the men, especially the ringleaders?

The first one is called Stephan. About six years old. Slim build. He

was wearing a light blue suit with a pink shirt, pink tie, Surrey, and a

pink handkerchief in the pocket. The second man gave his name as Alberto.

About 45 years old, five, quite stocky. Both men were eastern

European, Mediterranean looking. You have brought along the money in

a bag, fake euros, pretty weighty. You're covered these.

That was the money handed over to the victim. They have been seized by

the police. We have some gold here, two very

pretty gold bars. Worth ?25,000 each. What has happened to the gold

in this case? There is a possibility it has been

melted down and is being used for other matters. All it could still be

out there in bullion. Hard to believe that those

fraudsters could be so brazen. These were taken from the Exhibitionist

Gallery in Notting Hill in west London in the early hours of Monday

9th December. The pieces are valued at more than ?33,000. They'd only

been on display for four days when The theft was captured on CCTV.

After breaking into the gallery, he removes the first picture. He

started it in the front of his car. The second picture is bigger. It

proves to be a little bit more problematic. You can see there, the

deep end up stuffing it through the boot of the car, before eventually

making his getaway. Police want to trace the vehicle he was driving.

Now, this next thief has a real cheek.

He managed to convince a pensioner to help him steal her

I handed this picture to somebody I really did not know.

I need not have done it. Saturday the 18th of January was an evening

like no other four are similar, she was settling down for the night,

catching up with some reading, when the phone rang.

Well, he immediately said he was calling from the police station. And

that they were holding to people in custody.

The man on the phone told Cylla two people had been arrested are taking

money from her bank account. He advised her to put down the phone

and call the fraud department immediately. She had no idea she was

about to fall victim to an elaborate fraud.

And it did occur to me that it was quite strange. But, however, I just

went on because I felt I simply had to give this my best attention.

Cylla was on the phone for over two and a half hours. In that time,

whilst she believed she had made two separate calls to her bag and

insurance company, she was quizzed about other valuables in the house.

I did in the end admit I had some quite nice pictures, and also, I

mentioned jewellery. She also mentioned one painting in

particular which had been in her family for generations. It was

priceless to her. The man came up with a solution to keep it safe.

Anyway, they said, we will send someone round from what they called

the rapid response team. To collect the picture, and the jewellery and

credit cards. Oh, hello, do come in.

And the young man appeared, and I said, I can't get that picture down

from the wall. He said, I will help you. So we got it down from the

wall. And he said, I think we had better wrap it up. So I went and got

an old bath towel and be wrapped it up together. And he took it away.

And I gave him also my credit cards, and a little bag of jewellery

which I kept partially hidden, in another room.

But he wasn't from the rapid response team. She hadn't been

speaking to her bank or insurance. She had in fact just been conned.

When she picks up the phone, she thinks she is on the line to a

police officer. He advises her what had happened. And advises her to

call the NatWest fraud department. She puts down the phone, thinking

she has disconnected the call but, actually, the suspects are still on

the end of the line, the call is never disconnected.

After a little while, I went to bed. It was then after midnight. And

I suddenly thought, this is not right. And that is when I got up and

phoned the police. She had handed

phoned the police. painting worth a staggering

?100,000. The artwork had hung in her family

home for decades, but had also been displayed in exhibitions worldwide.

It relates to my father and his family. And I felt it was, in a

sense, entrusted to me. I want to get it back. And I shall see that it

is in safe hands immediately it comes to me.

I feel terribly guilty that I was responsible for something of worth.

I don't mean monetary worth. But of value. And I have not looked after

it properly. She has been really upset

about the loss of that painting. DC Victoria L'Oste-Brown, who

you saw in the film, is with me. Do you think she has much chance

of getting it back? That is why we are here today. It is

a distinctive painting as you can see from this copy. It is worth

about ?100,000. It is a good copy, very handy for us to have for the

purposes of this programme. You are hoping someone might have

seen this man leaving the home. We told he left at 10:30pm.

Described as white, 35, slight build, short, dark hair and a

moustache. There is CCTV of a man using a

cashpoint nearby. That is vital. As well as the

painting, they have stolen her credit cards and debit cards and

used one of those cards at the bank and still ?500.

Let us talk about what we can do to protect our valuables.

Detective Sergeant Claire Hutcheon's an expert on art and antiques

Claire, a lot of people have heirlooms or

How can we make sure we can get it back if it's stolen?

Record the measurements and materials. Good quality photographs

are essential. Take your photo in clear, natural light, with a plain

background. Take more than one photo, take a picture of the whole,

concentrate on signatures and other marks or descriptions. Look at the

rear, are there stickers, more writing? Take photos.

We have this phone, this is life, can you take a couple? I know it is

not the best conditions. A photograph from the front. And from

the side. The other tip is to make sure you keep documentation handy as

well. A neighbour who put his own safety

at risk. He pulled a knife on me. And, do you have a good memory

for faces? Stay with us to find out whether

you could be a super-recogniser. Dealing with the fallout from

domestic violence is a significant and sometimes controversial part of

the day-to-day work of the police. But, now, a groundbreaking unit in

Greenwich is trying to prevent it One in every ten emergency calls is

about domestic violence. Thousands face daily abuse.

Every week in Britain, two women are killed by their partners.

But a team of detectives in Greenwich are out to stop the

attacks before they even happen. Grease paint and Tony Hannon are

part of a ground-breaking domestic violence intervention unit which

helps people escape from abusive relationships.

They think they have to put up with the abuse because they don't realise

what is happening for them. If you are at home and you think, I have

nowhere to go, my children have nowhere to go, then you are going to

put up with it. But we can help you. They have found, by working with the

victims, they can drastically cut repeat domestic violence offences.

With 2500 instances a year in Greenwich, the phone never stops

ringing. When was the last incident? Wendy

want this injunction? As soon as possible?

They head to a shelter to check on one of their cases. When they get

another call for help. We will come and move all your stuff

in and help you. You haven't got to worry about getting on buses with

your stuff and your baby. We will sort that out for you.

Helping people move away from a violent partner is just one of the

ways they have helped 300 victims over the past year.

But the domestic violence team isn't only about keeping abusive couples

apart. It keeps others together with a specialised counselling service.

Has there been any change? Have you been kinder to one another?

Definitely kinder. Mark and Amanda were the first to try the service

which has been running since Easter. We used to punch each other, slap

each other, I used to scratch him, kick him. And spit at him.

These sessions have transformed their lives.

It helps a lot. We don't argue indoors now. We won't talk until

counselling and discuss it there and then and it is sorted.

The scheme has been so successful the couple now plan to get married.

Back on the road, they are off to check on another success story.

We are going to visit one of the ladies we have been with recently.

She has been having problems with her ex-partner. We recently helped

to get a nonpolitician order. The woman who can't be named for legal

reasons used to live in fear. if your partner has had a drink. You

are standing there, nervous. You always have that worry on your mind.

With police help, she has been able to get away from her partner. It has

been brilliant. I have been to my solicitors and the courts.

Previously I have not had the help. It gave me that bit more confidence.

Now there is no way I would put myself in that situation because I

have got my life back. Domestic violence is a tough crime to police

will stop it takes its toll. You'll Asometimes you spend the whole day

with a victory. -- sometimes you spend the whole day with a big Tim

and it gets quite heavy. The best things with us, when do you spend

the day with someone and they are happy, it is a bit of a cliche but

it makes it all worthwhile. Some very important work there

and there's a list of organisations on the Crimewatch

website who can help if you yourself Today we're talking

about police who try to stop crimes And there's one group

of officers who go to extreme lengths - or should I say heights -

to make sure big events The Olympic Park has let

this structure. Why do you need a rope team? It makes sure that

buildings are safe prior to big events. There is a lot

buildings are safe prior to big work going on here at the moment.

Important evidentially as well. Historically, why was it setup? It

was set up when the IRA were operating in the UK. There were

concerns about in century devices on bridges. Last year we had that awful

helicopter crash and they were involved in that operation. They

were putting together pieces of evidence to make sure the

investigation could take place. Do they all have to be good climbers?

They are marine officers and they are trained to climb. We hope to

have a chat with Pete, one of the officers at the moment. You have

been going up and down a few times this morning. It is fantastic to

watch. Thank you. You must have done this all over the place. What is

your favourite? We are very privileged. My favourite is

Westminster Abbey or the Palace of Westminster, just because of the

history and that sort of thing. You have to be so careful because any

evidence you find is absolutely crucial. Absolutely. It is the same

job as if you are on the ground that it is more, located. Slightly more

complicated and you need a good head in their home, making off with ten

grand's worth of jewellery. I have never heard anything quite

like it. Not even the movies could portray a scream like that. It must

have been a terrifying experience. This businessman was spending the

afternoon at home with his family when the door bell rang. His wife

answered. When the man asked for an unfamiliar name, she assumed he must

have made a mistake. She said no one here. I said, sorry, the wrong

address. 15 minutes later, he returned. This time with a mate. He

said, sorry, someone has called for electric work in your house. I

said, no one has called. He said, I have to come and fix the electric

work. I refused again. He was completely unprepared for what

happened next. At that point, he was brutally attacked. He was punched,

pushed and forced back inside the premises. It was shocking. I do not

know why he came and punched me. Totally I am confused. The second

suspect had made his way upstairs and had started to search the

premises. He had found jewellery, gold jewellery. Downstairs, he tried

to fight back. I could not see any weapon or anything. I thought I

could fight with him. I did not have any other way. Then I punched him

passed a message to my wife to run away. The other rubber chased her

into the garden. Her screams immediately alerted their neighbour

to the month -- the nightmare unfolding next door. The hairs on

the back of my neck stood up. I knew something serious was going on. He

had her pinned up against the wall. I think he was trying to rip off her

necklace. He leapt over the fence to confront the violent attacker. The

robber made his way down the road with the neighbour in hot suit. I

got about 50 metres down the road and he stopped and pulled a knife on

me. At that point, I thought, let him go. As he got back to the house,

the other rubber pushed Sassi into the garden. He had been badly beaten

and his attackers had got away with nearly ?10,000 worth of gold

jewellery. This is a callous and clearly unprovoked attack. This must

have been an absolutely terrifying experience. This kind of thing does

not go on here. No one could believe what happened. It is shocking,

absolutely shocking. What do you know

about the people who did it? The first thing is the top with

goggles fitted into the herd. The first suspect was wearing

goggles fitted into the herd. The different, a sweatshirt material. A

pretty frightening outfit. There is some CCTV that could help. We have

footage of a suspect fleeing the scene over neighbouring gardens.

Anybody who would have seen someone running around, you want to hear

from them. It is quite distinctive. Hopefully you would recognise them.

What about the car? We are looking for a loo Audi which was seen

driving at speed at the time. -- blue.

Now today we've been looking at how the police are able to spot

faces in a crowd and DC Kezia Khan from Lancashire Constabulary would

like your help in identifying some football hooligans

Welcome. Tell me about this case you are looking at. Following the

Burnley, Sheffield Wednesday fixture at Burnley' at home ground, some of

the fans went to the Burnley miners club for some drinks. Shortly after

6pm, a disturbance broke out. The violence spread and there were 60

people fighting in the Fourier. That is massive disorder. There were lots

of women, children, normal people having a drink and enjoying

themselves. This must have been absolutely terrifying. Absolutely.

There were women, children, people with disabilities. They have

witnessed people sustaining injuries and damage to property. Lets have a

look at five people who have been caught on CCTV. These are five

people that you really do want to identify. I urge people to have a

look. They will recognise them. We have to say football violence, there

is no place for it for whatsoever. You will come down on them. These

people know who they are. The public know who they are. Thank you for

joining us. Well, if you think you know who

these five are then get in touch Or you can call Crimestoppers

anonymously on 0800 555 111. Now, earlier in the programme, we

heard about how police officers with a very good knack of recognising

people had been working to cut crime One of those super-recognisers is

PC Dale Nufer. That is what they say. When did you

realise you had the talent? I did not. I was told I was getting a lot

of hits with recognition. Is that good at remembering names and faces?

No, I am just good at remembering faces. Once it is committed to

memory, I do not tend to forget it. If it is a nasty crime, I will never

forget them. I do not remember all the faces. It sticks in my head. I

do not know why. You have had success. Tell me how it has been

working in practice? Better than people expected. I will find a crime

being committed and I will see it again on CCTV. The same person

another crime and I will build that up. Eventually I will have ten

crimes committed by one person. Instead of being on trial for one

defence, it is all of them. I know it is having a big impact with the

Metropolitan police. Earlier, I was set a test. I have not had much time

to study it. It is difficult without the hair and just a phase. I think

that is Billy Connelly. He is very, very well-known. I guess I should

known that. The one with the freckles is a bit more tricky.

Prince Harry? Well done. Well done. This one, Oprah Winfrey. I am not

sure of that one on the end. I am not a super recogniser. Please tell

us they are following up a very strong lead as a result of your

information. Lots have offered to help after the charity was broken

into in Northumbria. ?7,000 worth of equipment stolen and people offering

to replace it. One man has offered to replace everything stolen.

Tomorrow we are heading to the heart of the London Docklands where we

will be following police divers as they cracked down on gang crime. I

am preparing to get my feet a little bit wet. If you want to test out

your super recogniser skills, take another look at the CCTV on the

website. Finally believe you at another look at today's wanted

faces. Somebody knows where these people are. If you do then call us.

Thank you for watching. Take care.