Episode 18 Crimewatch Roadshow

waiting for your call. We need your help to get criminals bang to

rights. Today, a top of the range car stolen from right under the

owner's knows. It was a lovely car. And move over, Lewis Hamilton.

The Met's top driving instructor puts Sian through her paces. Too

slow on the turn. You got it round. You are watching Crimewatch roved

show -- you are watching Crimewatch road show.

Hello and welcome. Coming up on today's programme: A wife trapped in

a hallway hoping for her husband's aid. I hoped he would come down when

he heard muffled screaming. And a cashpoint con carried out at the

expense of a former priest. I thought I was a wise old owl that

this could not happen to. Sian is that the police College in Hendon at

their driving school. Good morning. Today, I will be

finding out how to avoid car scams and learning about expert driving.

Take it away, Jim. Amazing! Show-off!

The Internet is the go to place when it comes to buying and selling cars

these days, but whenever there are large sums of money changing hands,

there are conmen. Can you help us catch this one?

I thought it was a little joke. Then I knew it was a reality. He is never

going to come back. I would be surprised if this was the first time

the suspect has used that method of stealing vehicles. This man loves

his motors. I am a fan of BMWs. They are very good cars. Sadly, the time

had come to say goodbye to his car. We had a baby. The car only had four

seats and we needed a family car. Like thousands of other people,

Serhiy decided to sell his car online. He used Autotrader via the

Internet. People contact you directly to come and view the

vehicle. I had some interest but not much. On the 17th of January last

year, when a prospective buyer got in touch, he was feeling hopeful. He

was interested in the car to come over and have a look at it. We

arranged the meeting. I was really happy, yes. The man who got in touch

arrived at Serhiy's home a couple of hours later. To be honest, the

person looked very promising and I had noses missions at all. He was

asking all the right questions, making all the right noises. He

asked where we had bought it, whether we had insurance, a mobile

tracking device and an alarm. He asked why we were selling it. I

explained we had a baby. He looked very convincing. Serhiy began to

feel confident about making a sale. He admitted that the tracking device

had not been activated and forgot to make a few basic checks. I did not

even ask him for his driving licence which was very unusual. There are

certain things you can put in place to safeguard how you sell the

vehicle. Genuine people wanting to purchase the car will not have a

problem in showing identification. Having gained Serhiy's trust, it was

time for a test drive. Before long, Serhiy had pulled into a lay-by so

the buyer could switch places and take over the wheel. I came out and

he was going round the car, round the back. He bent down to listen to

the sound of the exhaust. He said, there is a popping sound from the

exhaust. I came to have a listen. But ten three macro had fallen into

this trickster's trap. Having reassured him that the engine was

found, he went to jump into the passenger seat, but before he made

it to the door, the car sped away. Maybe a little bit naive, I did not

know what was going on. I thought it was a little joke but I knew it was

a reality. He is never going to come back. Serhiy was left stranded

because his mobile phone was in the car but luckily, he was able to flag

down a passing taxi and call the police. I never thought this would

happen. It was a silly mistake. But a costly one. Ten three macro's

insurers refused to pay, leaving him ?20,000 out of pocket -- Serhiy's

insurers refused to pay. I did not have much income. It was pretty bad.

I loved it! It was a lovely car. If you recognise that man, give us a

call on the usual numbers. If you do not know him, take a look at these

other crooks captured on CCTV. Just a warning, some of them are bit

nasty. It is late at night and someone is

lurking outside this McDonald's restaurant near Peterborough.

Dressed in a disguise, he's not planning on having the usual sort of

takeaway. In fact, he's part of a criminal gang and he has got the

place under surveillance. He waits until the restaurant closes and then

he and two other men forced their way inside and overpower a member of

staff. They march the employees through the kitchen where one

brandishes a meat cleaver. Cornering the staff in a small cashier's

office, one robber steals ?800. Police say the rest of the money was

in a time locked safe which the men could not get out. They left in a 51

plate Boxall this era which belonged to a staff member and was later

found abandoned in old Linton Road in Clinton. -- Clinton.

You have heard of a smash and grab. This man has his own version in a

Richmond shop. He hammers the counter while demanding cash and

cigarettes. The terrified shopkeeper throws money at him but the robber

wants more. He leans over and helps himself to the till drawer. He takes

almost 80 quid and ?50 worth of tobacco. Tell us who this hammer

wielding Houdini is. -- we are in Sparkbrook in Birmingham.

Two men are lurking below some flats. A woman with dementia is

upstairs. The man comes down the stairs, talking to someone on the

phone, perhaps the third man who soon joins them. One of the three

appears to be holding a hammer as he goes back upstairs. Police say the

woman's son and daughter-in-law hear the woman's screams from a ground

floor flat. As the men scarper, one threatens the shopkeeper with the

hammer who throws a chair back at him. These men invaded the home of a

vulnerable woman and need to be caught.

Call us now. The car chase sequences in dramas from the Sweeney and the

Italian Job are often the bit we enjoy watching the most. Here at the

Met, the drivers get to do some extreme driving for real. They have

agreed to show me some of the more advanced moves.

Driving a police car through traffic with sirens blaring may look like

great fun. In fact, it is a very serious and skilled job. Not just

anyone can do it. For the past 80 years, police officers have come to

this driving school to learn how to cut through the traffic without

causing accidents. Today, I am with one of the Met's

most experienced driving instructors. He is going to put me

through my paces. If I needed to do fast response drive myself, what

skills would I need? It is about planning. We tried to use our skills

for what we think might happen and start planning nice and early. All

of this is about one key thing, driving safely. What sort of speed

are we at now? We are travelling at 110 mph now. There are certain calls

we go to which are important to get too quickly but if you drive too

fast and have a collision, you will not get there at all. Safety is the

prime objective. I am just sucking my stomach in now. I have just had

the car cleaned! Now Jim is taking me to Bovingdon airfield. This is

where drivers get training for situations like terrorist incidents

and riots. I think it is safe enough here for me to have a go as well.

I'm going to show you some techniques we use for anti-hijack

driver training. What does it involve? I will take you forwards

and backwards. We have a car here which I don't mind if you damage.

OK! Here we go them. Jim is making this look really easy.

Now in reverse. I am holding on to my seat! Identical look! I had

better not close my eyes when I do it! Now it is my turn in the hot

seat. Are you ready for this? Lets get in the right direction. That is

a good start! You have knocked one, now two. Now backwards, go for it.

The cones, where are they? I cannot do this in reverse! I think you are

making up your own course! I have lost the plot here! I had better

find it fast as we are about to step it up a gear with AJ turn. It is a

move straight out of James Bond, used as an anti-Jack measure. --

anti-Jack measure. How was that for you? You obviously

know what you're doing. This is about as much fun as you can have in

the car, apparently. Throw it the other way! Not bad at all! Practice

makes perfect. Time for one more go. Right hand over. Action drive. Throw

it the other way! Too slow on the turn! You got it

round. I do feel sick. Well done. That really was quite a challenge.

It was an amazing experience. Remember those Minis from the

Italian Job? Very cute but they can do fantastic tricks. The Hollywood

film industry has not fallen out of love with them. Anthony Hines is a

writer and producer and I am told your passion for Minis is second

only to your passion for the movies is that probably the other way

round. Work sometimes gets in the way of Minis! Unfortunately, your

Mini was stolen. Tell us what happened. It was stolen from central

London, Islington, on the 19th of May this year, probably around 3pm

in quite an upmarket part of town. Overstating for you, I know. It is

not the same Mini here, I know. It was Cooper three S, this one has a

sunroof, and why doesn't. It is such a cute car. What about the back,

does that give us any clues? Another way of telling this apart from the

standard minicar, it has filler caps on the right and left. Anything else

distinctive? Want more detail is that the wheels have holes drilled

in them, where as a normal Mini doesn't. We hope we can find the car

for you because we know it is a huge loss. Let's talk to the officer

investigating the case, Simon Whitbread. Tell us what you are

doing to find his car, because there is a description of the man we want

to get out there. We know on the day in question that the car was seen

driving erratically by a white male aged between 35 to 45. We have

trawled the CCTV and we want to take other enquiries and we are going

through social media as a last push. We will really help with the push.

Show if this registration plate. This is the number. On the Mini it

would have been reversed, a black background with white lettering

because it is a classic car. That is something you want people to look

out for. I would quickly like some advice for people out there who have

these classic cars that mean so much. How can they protect them?

They are a magnet for thieves. Park it securely if you can, put a wheel

lock on it to make it as difficult as possible for thieves. Good advice

there. If you haven't got an eye for cars,

maybe you can help us find this lot. He's been wanted for questioning

by detectives from Police Scotland since June 2007

in connection with the death The 50 year old is five feet 2

inches tall with receding hair. He has tattoos of a heart, an arrow

and a dagger on his left arm. Part of Ferguson's left

ear is also missing. Police say he is dangerous

and should not be approached, just This man might be using a different

name. Detectives in Avon and Somerset want to question him in

connection with a serious sexual assault on a woman.

He has links to the Easton area of Bristol and London,

This man is wanted for questioning by officers in connection with a

robbery where a couple were threatened in the home and

high-value items were stolen. The 34 year old has links to Preston

and Manchester and is described And finally today, this man Kevin

Charles Schruyers. He is known to been living in the Aberdeen area

but he also has links to Liverpool. If you recognise any of these men

make sure you pick up the phone. You can call us on 08000 468999

Calls are free from most landlines. Some network and mobile operators

will charge for these calls. Text CW,

space and then your message. And that space is really important -

if you don't put it in your message Texts will be charged

at your standard message rate. Earlier we heard about a man whose

sports car was stolen when he tried to sell it online, but there are

plenty of scams as well attracting those buyers, and Jerry Bull can

tell us about one. This was in Northern Ireland and ?3000 was lost.

Gerri Bullock. He contacted a man by e-mail and made arrangements to

purchase the vehicle. Little did he know at the time that the advert was

fake and had been copied from a genuine advert. So he handed over

the cash? He did. They communicated via e-mail on a number of occasions

and arrangements were made him to transfer the money into a bank

account and he did so. There is CCTV footage, because he did not vanish

into thin air. No, he didn't. You can see he walks into the bank and

that he withdraws the cash. We believe he is Eastern European and

he has been using a fake name. Auto Trader tell as they do work with the

police and other authorities to try to combat this type of crime. I know

Brad Wilding has someone in the studio together some advice. -- Rav.

I guess the first point you will make is not just trust the photos

you've seen online. Absolutely. You need to make sure the car exists, it

belongs to the person selling it and it comes up to the description in

the advert. Why is where the car is so important? If somebody offers to

meet in the station car park, don't do that. Insist on meeting them at

the address where the car is registered. That is found on the

vehicle logbook. There are a couple of documents we will mention. This

is the logbook, and what is important about it? Before you even

look at the car, check the paperwork. Look at the paperwork in

the logbook and the VIN number is what uni will find on the engine.

That proves it is legitimate. That should be the same as the V5? It

will also be on the MOT certificate, and that is really useful, because

if you go to their website, you can check the entire MOT history

including the mileage recorded every time the car was submitted for an

MOT so you can make sure it has not been clocked. What about trades men

posing as private sellers? Whenever you ring up, ask about the car. If

somebody says which car are you talking about, put the phone down

and walk away, because they are Trader. Trader men are subject to

consumer law. If you buy a car from a private individual you have little

protection, and they know that, so if they are posing as a private

seller, they're doing something suspicious, so walk away. What about

physically paying for the vehicle? The safest way is a bank transfer.

You've established that the person has a right to sell it and you can

do more than check the logbook. It says that it's not a tradesman. It

establishes they have the right to sell, Astro bank transfer, and try

and avoid carrying several thousand pounds in cash. If they insist on

cash, take someone with you and get something in writing that says you

have paid -- ask for a bank transfer. Great advice. Still to

come today. The sneaky thieves who dropped ten on the floor steal

hundreds more. He was insistent that it was mine. I said no, I didn't

drop it, because I didn't have any money. And the doorstep robbers who

wore diamond rings from their victim's fingers. By the way he held

me there was nothing I could do. Now, later we will be seeing the

police smash through a roadblock. Not only do they practice their

driving skills here, the site is also a collection -- the home of a

collection of classic cars. Let's start with this old one. It is a

beauty, Richard. This is a 1948 commissioners car, and it seemed

such events like the coronation of the Queen and the recent diamond

jubilee. So loads of history. Let's look inside the car. It is pretty

plush and luxurious. You've done a fantastic job of restoring the star.

When we look inside it, it doesn't really look like a police car --

restoring this car. It has got basic warning equipment, and I think you

know where the button is. Yes, I've been practising. Fantastic. That has

been the highlight for me. Let's talk about this one down here, the

motorbike, which looks like something straight out of Heartbeat.

This is the late 40s novella set motorcycle and these were in service

until the 70s. It was commonly known as the noddy bike. When officers

were on foot patrol they had to salute ranks above them, so they had

to just nod to acknowledge the senior officers. Everything has a

story. Let's look at this one. The Austin, people will remember this

one. It does look like a police car, doesn't it? It does. This is the

Austin 1100, which was a panda car. It has no warming equipment and

would be used to report burglaries and thefts. -- warning. A very dated

radio, but that would have been used to communicate with station. Let's

have a look at the radio in there hand-held device. What about this

one behind us? I guess a lot of people will remember this. 1980s?

This is a 1983 Rover. This would have been used to patrol the

motorways around the capital. Inside, looking at some of the

equipment, that you dial, the speedometer, what was that used for?

We did not have video technology then so we could not film people

speeding. So that is a calibrated speedometer used to measure speed

over certain distances and the officers could write their notes

based on that. Thanks so much for showing me that. Next, police want

your help to track down a pair of doorstep robbers who made off with

?20,000 worth of diamond rings. It's about the last thing you would ever

imagine. I thought that this was somebody doing a joke. I couldn't

believe it. It changes your whole view of life.

It was the afternoon of Friday the 8th of November when Vicky Chadwick

returns to her home in Battersea. I had driven to the country and I only

got back at about 4pm in the afternoon. Her husband Tim had made

it home early, so the couple decided to head out to the cinema for the

evening. We were just going out to the film, at about 5:30 p.m., the

bell rang. I ran down the stairs. On the way, Tim said, shall I open the

door? I said, no, don't worry, I'll go. As I opened the latch, the door

was open. And this very large man grabbed me, and then his other hand

was over my mouth. I could not screen properly. -- screen

properly. Her husband was oblivious to the horror unfolding downstairs.

The man behind me just kept saying, take your rings off, take your rings

off. So I actually took of -- took one off and gave in. By the way he

held me, there was absolutely nothing I could do. I knew that Tim

was upstairs, so I was hoping that he would come down when he heard

this muffled screaming. And that's exactly what he did. And I looked

down the landing, and Vicky was struggling with these two

characters. I can see the smaller man, in his eyes, this look of

shock, which I knew must be the factor that Tim was coming down the

stairs. He was lucky that I ran down in my socked feet, shouting at these

guys. They refuse to let big ego. One of them ran out first, and the

other one was still trying to pull her out and keep her between me and

them. As we went through, he hit my head against a brick wall and then

he just ran. The robbers got away with Vicky's watch and several

diamond rings. Tim briefly gave chase but knew he had to tend to

Vicky who was left stunned and bleeding on the doorstep. Just the

most horrible thing, to see your wife lying in a pool of blood on the

street. Thanks to these mindless bugs. I had half a dozen stitches up

there and on my eyebrow here -- mindless bugs. My hand is still

pretty swollen from where he was trying to get my rings. Vicky is a

very feisty, brave girl, and it has knocked the wind out of her for a

while. She is still jumpy. Noises are the worst. I am really nervous

of noises, unexpected noises. I was not the one that was attacked, and

now I think twice before I unlock the door. It's just a sad, new

chapter in our lives. I'd always thought that it seemed rude to smash

open the door. -- do not open a door, but now I have learned that it

is not. You just have to, unfortunately, protect yourself.

This really was a frightening attack, and Jason McEvoy joins me,

who is investigating the case. Jewellery stolen worth ?20,000 here.

You have brought along some pictures of the rings in question. Yes, what

we have is a Victorian three stone ring. It's a unique ring with old

cut diamonds in it. It specifically had work done on the clawing around

the diamonds to keep them in place which would make it quite

distinguish to people. And obviously detail on the side as well. Yes,

that would be noticeable. What about the other ring? It is a single,

solitaire diamond ring with a very unusual band around the side. You

can see there are diamond settings all around the band. What can you

tell us about the men? We are looking for two men. The first man

is a black man aged between 18 and 20 years old, about six foot three

in height, a muscular build. On the day in question he was wearing black

clothing, black hooded top and a dark scarf over his mouth. The

second man we are looking for is a mixed-race man, approximately 16 up

to 18, about five foot six, and he was wearing a navy blue anorak with

the hood up and a scar across his mouth. Both of these men were

speaking in a London accent. If you recognise these rings, please get in

touch. Now for another disturbing crime we

start in Coventry last year. Take a look at the guy in the baseball cap

loitering by the cash machines. He sees a Chinese student with money to

pay for his tuition. He follows the young man to Alma Street. He grabs

his victim, threatens him with a knife and then throws into the floor

before making his escape. Check out this photo taken by a quick thinking

witness taken with his phone. Cash in one hand, nice in the other. If

you know him, give us a call. Back I used a pretty blunt tactic. This

next lot use far more subtle techniques.

I was annoyed that it had happened to me. I thought I was a wise old

owl who it could not happen too. I hope it does not happen again to me

or to anyone else. On the 10th of September last year, in Blackheath

south London, 83 rolled former Anglican priest James Smith was

making his usual trip to the cashpoint at his usual bank. I go to

the cashpoint and get about ?50 out. There was not a queue at all. I was

up to the cashpoint, put my card in the machine. I felt very safe at the

cashpoint. But James was not alone. Just behind him, the man in the

light jacket was getting ready to con him. I put my credit card into

the machine and tapped in my PIN number. You can see here that James

was completely unaware that he was being spied on. Watch now is the guy

in the jacket takes a good look. Once he has got the number, he nods

to his mate at the left of the screen. A third man in a blue jacket

acts as a lookout. Did you see that? The second man just threw something

on the ground. This man suddenly appeared behind me and tapped me on

the shoulder. He said, you dropped this. There was a ?10 note on the

ground. Caught off-guard, James turned to speak to the man. I said,

I did not drop that, I did not have any money. He said it is. He was

insistent that it was mine. It is all part of the destruction. Look

how quickly the first man reappears and grabs his card. A slick

operation. When I looked up, I saw the card had gone. Thinking the

machine was faulty, James went into the bank to ask for his card back

and give the ?10 note back. The lady said to me you have been

conned. We had better call the police. When James was in the bank,

look who was back with his card stealing ?250 from his account. I

did not believe that I could have been fooled in that way. We are all

apt to be distracted. Since then, James has become more nervous about

taking his money out. I have used the cashpoint since but I was

careful to look around and make sure nobody was behind me. I was kind of

shaken after this. At my age, you do not expect this sort of thing to

happen to you. It has never happened before and I hope it never happens

again. I am with DC Kevin Ricketts now. A

very carefully researched scam, this one. They are standing some distance

away but they can still see the PIN number. The mistake they made, well,

they committed this crime writing front of the cameras. What can you

tell us about the men? There are three men believed to be involved.

The first person goes to the cashpoint machine, has a look at the

PIN number, you can see them squatting down. The second male

approaches. You can see him throw a ten month low on the floor -- a ?10

note on the floor. He taps the victim on the shoulder to say he has

dropped it on the ground. Then the first person elected the card from

the machine. They were very smartly dressed. One male had a strong

Eastern European accent. Let's hope that helps.

It is not just when you are a cash machine that criminals are trying to

hold off your card and pin numbers. PC Annabelle Britain is from

Gloucestershire Constabulary. Tell me this trend you have found at

supermarket checkouts. You will have somebody behind you in the tills.

You put your PIN number in the chip and pin machine. They do not have to

be standing that close to you, they can see the pattern straightaway.

You go out to the car park. Another member of the gang distracts you,

maybe by asking for directions or saying there is something wrong with

your car. While you are doing that, another member of the gang is

getting your purse out. They have got your card and your PIN number

and they can go shopping. You have an example which is caught on CCTV.

This is a chap who has been loitering in the till area. He is

not obvious to other customers. His accomplice is asking for directions.

He is a skier in the view of the boot. He has the card out, straight

to the cashpoint before she has a chance to notice it is missing. --

he is of skier in the view at the car. The person we saw is one of the

guys we want to identify. He has a light-coloured jacket and hat. He is

described as being a European gentleman with a bit of an accent.

Quite tanned skin, mid-40s and medium-size and builds. The other

person who was distracting the victim, have you got a description?

He was smartly dressed, dark hair, glasses and he was carrying an

umbrella and a briefcase. What tips can you give us to make sure we are

safe? Whether you are after cashpoint or in a shop, cover your

number. If anyone is standing behind you or not, whether you cover it

with your wallet or your hand so no one can see you enter it. When you

are outside, don't be distracted, make sure you know where your

valuables are. If you are returning your trolley, make sure you know

where things are. Great advice there. You do recognise this guy,

you know what to do. The numbers are on screen now.

Police drivers need to be ready for any eventuality and also they need

to be able to drive all sorts of vehicles. This is an armoured car

and a digger. They are part of the fleet at the Met. Let's have a look

at this one. Pretty specialised. This is a Jankel. It has a very

small window there. It is very heavily armoured. They are heavily

armoured with thickened glass. Let's take a look at the back. Special

features on the inside? There are four seats in the offices two years.

There are portholes left and right so they go into a situation where

they need to use baton guns of firearms, they can bring those down.

These were used in the riots, when they? Yes, these vehicles were on

the streets of Clapham. There was large-scale disorder going on and

they felt in that time, this is where the vehicles needed to be to

get rid of the crowd. Let's have a look at the JCB. That was an

unexpected sight for me. What would this be used for? These are used in

public order situations to get rid of large barricades where cars are

stacked up or to get rid of debris from the roadside. They can also be

used to access fortified premises like drug dens. You get a sense of

how big they are when you are standing next to them. They also

have specialist driving skills. Sergeant Jim Widdick was my

instructor. He is about to demonstrate something. He is going

to show you a couple of the tactics we deploy. He will use a reverse

away from the danger and he will use a break-out. Let's see him in

action. Absolutely amazing! That is what

they sometimes have to do operationally.

A quick update for you now. We asked for your help after a number of sex

attacks on buses in the West Midlands. They have now made an

arrest. Yesterday, we told you about 90-year-old won Ord Green who was

mugged in the hallway of his sheltered accommodation. -- Ron

Nord. We have some information about who the mugger might be. And now we

have information about a mugger in Swansea. Sian, where are you heading

tomorrow? Tomorrow we will be swapping the streets of London for

the commuter countryside of Surrey. We will be in hot pursuit of the

criminals as they tried to make their own escape from the capital.

See you then, goodbye. For more details on staples that

programme, head to the website. Finally, we will leave you with

another look at the Wanted Faces. If you know where they are, pick up the

phone. Thank you for watching, take care.