Episode 15 Crimewatch Roadshow

We're live and waiting for your calls.

the robber who targetted a disabled student.

He barged into me and threatened to put it into my head if I did not

give him my phone. And handling the most serious

of situations, we'll see how armed response units

train to protect lives. Hello and welcome to the last

Crimewatch Roadshow of the week. We're relying on your calls,

so keep them coming. Who would steal bikes

from a charity? People with autism rely heavily

on routine, and for them to have that taken away,

it's just catastrophic. we're out with police trying

to protect our wildlife. And Michelle is in a rather unusual

street in Gateshead... Good morning... On the surface, it

looks ordinary. But this is actually part

of Northumbria Police's In this street armed officers

prepare for the real-life Later on, we'll be

seeing them in action. First though, police

need your help to identify the man who robbed a disabled student

as he walked through his VOICEOVER: For any teenager,

starting out at University is a daunting time. Before I began

university, of course I had some level of anxiety, but I was really

excited because I knew so much about my life would change. We were both

very sad when he went off to university. I was in tears but we

thought, he is a young man, he has got to go out and enjoy life. When a

child has a disability, it is very hard. Alex has spina bifida, a

neurological condition which affects the spinal-cord. I have very poor

mobility, and doing any amount of walking is quite a challenge. I do

not have any feeling below the need. When we came to visit Newcastle, we

were pleased, we thought, his lectures, where he has got to go, it

is very close, he does not have far to walk. I felt very safe at

Newcastle University, never sensed any danger, never thought that

anything would realistically happen to me.

On a Sunday afternoon in February, Alex was on his way home. It was

around 3pm, I had just been to the Chinese New Year celebration. I

arrived back on campus. Alex was picked up on CCTV as he crossed

through the campus. I walked back through campus, actually, I took a

different route to what I normally take. Alex was being followed.

Walking slowly, the man kept his distance, never letting Alex out of

his sight. Even when he stopped to tie his shoes, his eyes were fixed

on Alex. As they walked through the campus, Alex had no idea that he was

being watched. Then, things turned nasty. Jumping over a wall, he

easily caught up with Alex. Just as Alex got his phone out, the

man struck. He barged into me, he came up in front of me and

threatened to put a gun to my head if I did not give him my phone.

Terrified, Alex immediately handed over the phone. I did look at him

directly in the eyes, to make it clear that I was not resisting. -- I

didn't. The man turns to go, but not before demanding Alex's PIN. After I

gave the mother my password, I did not turn to look at him again. The

man left, going through the phone. As he left, it was like an

adrenaline rush, as if you were very anxious and nervous, my body

changed, my emotions changed. I tried to escape as fast as I can.

When we got the phone call I was in tears, I felt so sick inside. I was

livid, absolutely livid. He had found independence, and somebody had

taken that away in a flash. It is frightening. Although physically

unharmed by his ordeal, for Alex, being away from home has become much

more difficult. When I first came to university, I felt very free. Now,

every few metres I looked behind me, I try not to use my phone in public.

He is more vulnerable now, he's frightened to walk out to the city

centre. The phone can be replaced but what they have done to Alex,

that cannot be replaced. What we know about this robber? This

offender has been captured on CCTV, we have located in Newcastle city

centre, from this, and the description I have from the victim,

we know that this offender is a male, mixed race, aged 25 to 30, at

the time of the offence, he was wearing a blue coloured half the

style jacket, dark trousers and white trainers. -- blue coloured

puffa-style. He seems to have targeted Alex's disability? Sadly,

yes, this has not been a snap decision, he has watched and

followed Alex, through the University campus, by doing this, he

will have seen that Alex walks in a distinct manner, with a limp, and

slowly, because of his disability. Were there any witnesses? I do not

know if there is witnesses to the actual offence, the offender has

waited for an opportune moment to commit the offence in a secluded

area but what I am confident about is that witnesses and students in

the area at the time will have seen the offender walking through the

University campus, prior to and immediately after the offence, and

also, it is worth noting, this occurred on a Sunday afternoon,

February 14, this year, Valentine's Day. People locally were celebrating

the Chinese New Year. I am hoping this will trigger people to remember

this mail, and hopefully identify him for us. -- male. This has

clearly affected Alex and his family.

Take a last look at him, do you know who this person is, if so, you know

what to do. Next, more crooks caught on camera

in today's CCTV round-up. Watch carefully.

Give me the keys... Drive it CCTV picks up the sound as these men

break into the home of an 88-year-old inwardness, last year,

searching through the pension's possessions, a third man joins them.

They take war medals and thousands of pounds worth of other valuables,

leaving the victim extremely distressed. Do you recognise the

lowlife thieves responsible? Attention enters a bank in Surrey,

is followed closely behind by a man and a woman, both wearing hats. As

the man approaches the cash machines, they keep a very close eye

on him. Police believe this is the moment they spied the Victor's --

Vic Tim's PIN. -- victim. They run to keep the target insight. They

distract him by saying that he dropped ?5. The card is

pickpocketed, the relentless parent make a quick exit. -- the relentless

pair. That same man is seen back at the bank minutes later, withdrawing

?2000 from the account, and taking another 300 quid. They then of

course go on a shopping spree. When the pension checks his bank account,

he finds nearly ?3000 has been taken. Police believe this is not

the first time this dust of the duo have distracted to steal. Picked up

the phone now. -- dastardly duo. STUDIO: Anyone there that you know?

If so, get in touch. If we walk through this door, we are

into a very unusual street, this is part of the firearm support unit,

with me, Chief Inspector Simon Holt, the man in charge, we have a

scenario going on. Tell us about the situation you are training for. We

have a man who is wanted for a serious assault, armed with a

samurai sword, we have found him, containing him in the building. We

are negotiating a surrender. He still has a sword, we have a range

of options open, one of those is the dogs. We will continue negotiating

with him, try to get a peaceful surrender, taken into custody, if he

will not comply, if he still presents a threat, we may use the

dog on him. How important is this street for the training of your

offices? Hugely important... The dog going up... Detaining the suspect.

Now we will move forward and we will arrest him. This street gives you

the facility to practice these real-life emergency situations. We

are immensely proud of what we do here in Northumbria, proud to

protect the public, this facility gives us the opportunity to train

for a range of scenarios and threats, from the type of scenario

you have seen involving someone with a sword but right up to and

including terrorist threats, which since the attacks in Paris has

become more prevalent. A whole range of things. We are all about public

protection. This is an environment where we consistently challenge

offices to perform well in a training environment. Absolutely

fantastic. The military use this as a training ground as well? Great

relationship with the Royal Marines commandos, mainly, they train you,

also the Royal Netherlands Marines have trained here and the US Marine

Corps, along with a load of other law enforcement agencies as well. It

is a really great place, it is fantastic. Good to see. Join me

later, we will be looking at the police's collection of confiscated

and handmade guns. The work of a charity in Sunderland

is in jeopardy after its valuable equipment was swiped during the

night, can you help police put the brakes on these bicycle thieves?

VOICEOVER: For the past 12 years, Ian Paterson and his charity have

been providing cycling therapy sessions for people with autism.

Adults over the age of 18, they have told us that they want to do this,

you can see the enjoyment on their face, they really enjoy themselves.

Over the years, Ian built up a collection of 11 specially adapted

bikes, ranging from ?150 up to ?3000 each, they did not country. It took

a long time to raise the money. They are quite expensive. For the

families who come here every day, it was worth all of the effort. I think

the service is amazing, does a lot of good for a lot of children and

adults. It is very social for them. It is very difficult free young

people with autism to get into team games and things. The value of these

bikes had not done unnoticed. In March, Ian packed up all the

bicycles after a busy afternoon. We finished laps for the day, and then

I put the bikes back into the container. Ian made sure that they

were securely locked away for the evening. That was not enough to

deter thieves, they struck using a grinder to put through the lot. --

lock. When I first saw that the container

had been broken into, instantly felt devastated, the amount of damage

that was done, it was definitely people targeting it. To his horror,

every bike had gone. I feel like somebody had been watching us for a

few weeks, they will have seen how expensive

these bikes are, and somebody has taken the opportunity and pinched

them. The loss has been felt deeply by all the families that use the

service. People with autism rely heavily upon routine, for them to

have that taken away from them is catastrophic. Routine is essential,

that is the hard part, they were all looking forward to going on their

bike ride, and the bikes were stolen, and it is very difficult to

explain to them. They don't comprehend why they cannot go and do

something that they like to do. In total, ?6,000 worth of bicycles were

stolen, equipment the charity will struggle to replace. I have spent 12

years building up this project, fundraising, charity donations, it

will be a real shame if they have to stop because of the actions of the

burglars, this was a particularly callous crime, clearly preplanned,

targeting a charity that does so much good work in the community.

Having the bikes stolen has put the group's future in doubt, there are

daily cycling sessions have had to be cut, to just once a week, using

borrowed bicycles. Someone has been so low as to pinch bikes from people

who have disabilities. Seeing the enjoyment on the faces of the

people, day in, day out, it is fantastic, to have that taken away,

absolutely disgusting. Inspector Anthony Carty is with me

now. What descriptions do we have of these thieves? Renault Scenic

expression was seen on the 18th of March stuck in the mud. One of the

thieves is described as having a bald had with it camel coloured

jacket on. What else do we know about the vehicles? The time the

Renault Scenic was involved, there were two go-karts on the vehicle. It

was also with cloned plates and later found abandoned. But because

of the number of bikes stolen, we strongly suspect van or similar

vehicle was used in the theft. We appeal for any witnesses who have

seen the Renault Scenic or transit type van on the night of the theft.

Tell me about the bikes stolen, we have one here. This is a side bike,

ridden by two people. It is substantial and heavy to lift,

that's why we suspect van must have been used in the theft. There were

also four go-karts stolen and six mountain bikes. This has had a big

impact on Ian and everyone at the charity.

Rav. How low can you go. These bikes and go-karts are pretty hard to miss

so get in touch if you have any information on their whereabouts.

Still to come this morning... The summer months the rising doorstep

crying. Can you spot the Cowboys? They gain your trust, take your

money and they are way, you never see them again. And one of Britain's

biggest operations to tackle gun crime, we will see how firearms are

taken off the streets permanently. Before that, we spent the night with

North Yorkshire Police to see how they deal with illegal poachers on

some of our most beautiful waterways. It is 8pm on Sunday

night, and North Yorkshire's rural task force is being briefed.

Supported by volunteers, the aim of this new task force is to crack down

on wildlife crime. Tonight, PC Tom Rollinson is heading up Operation

Traverse, targeting poachers. In the rivers, there's salmon and sea

trout. On the land, various deer, there's a black market for these

things and a lot of money can be made. With the briefing over, it is

time to hit the road. Tonight, Tom is partnered with PC Hannah McPeak.

North Yorkshire is the largest policing area in England and a lot

of that area is rural. They will have to keep their eyes peeled for

any signs of poachers. Indicators might be such things if they have

dogs nominally used for poaching. They usually go with the lurcher

styled dog. May be a group of men in a 4x4 that look out of place, it is

that simple. Over on the River, these volunteers are patrolling the

banks. We are looking for activity around the river bank, maybe people

in the water that half put something in there to try and drop some fish.

You have to get into the mind of a poacher. Poachers contribute to the

decline of salmon and sea trout stocks in the river, something

Steven and Giles want to stop. We are only passing through and it's

important we preserve and protect whatever we can for the next

generation. I'm looking for pathways through the undergrowth where people

have walked, flattened the grass and bushes. It's not long before they

find evidence. This has been pushed down, allowing a greater gap that

would allow a body to go through. It is a sign somebody has been there.

We don't know what they have been doing but it shows someone has

opened up the fence, allowed access, trampled on the grass and be next to

the river. A single salmon can sell for up to ?40 on the black market.

It's not unusual for poachers to take up to 50 in one night. Stephen

and Giles think they have heard one at work. What we are doing now is we

have stopped, we are going to take some time to listen. Did you hear

that? I'm sure that was someone up there. We have just heard some

voices as well. There's nothing by the river at present but just be

aware. Down at the river, PC Rollinson has arrived to

investigate. It looks like the only thing taking fish at the moment is

the heron, and that's how it should be. That's how we like it. We

haven't heard any more voices, I must admit. Hoping they have scared

away any potential poachers, Stephen and Giles call it a night, but there

is still work to do. It's not long before the Jeep catches their eye.

We are going to stop the vehicle, find out who is driving it. It looks

like it has two occupants in it so we are going to find out what they

are doing in this area. The officers pulled the vehicle over and on

searching Discover a weapon. It is evident now there is a firearm in

the vehicle so we will be doing checks to make sure it is legal. We

have an operation running tonight so we are looking for any potential

rural crime. It soon becomes apparent that the weapon is in fact

an air rifle. On stopping the vehicle we found out they have been

rabbiting, as we call it. They have permission from the farmer to do so.

Everything is legal and above board, we will let them crack on. The men

are free to go and for our officers it is time to head back to base.

Police forces around the UK need your help to find these four people.

He failed to turn up at court in connection with an attack

in which a man was kicked several times in the head.

Originally from Poland, Bak now has friends and family

She was due to appear in court in connection with a number

of distraction thefts against people in railway stations,

Rafaelova is 35 and originally from the Czech Republic.

Next up today is George Ahmed Nourri, though

Detectives in Cheshire want to question him

after a pensioner's bank card was stolen and later used to buy

Nourri is 21 but is said to look much older.

He's overweight and often has long side burns.

Originally from France, he now has links to London,

He was charged in connection with a burglary at a house

in which jewellery and a Jaguar car were stolen.

McCarthy was released on bail but failed to turn up to court.

He has links to Ireland, Coventry and North London.

If you know where any of these faces are, please call and text

We are in a very special part of the Firearms Support Unit, this is

called the reference room, and joining me is Inspector Mick Hall.

Where are these weapons from? They have all been seized by the police

over the last 25 years. They have been found in house searches or

donated. You have the real or not real wall, how does this work? They

are pairs of weapons, one is real and one is fake and it is important

to train the officers to find out which is which and as you can see it

is extremely difficult. I would have no idea, which is scary, isn't it?

Yes, it shows the dangers of carrying an imitation weapon on the

street. People really do struggle to identify which is real and fake.

These don't look like guns at all. Yes, they are all capable of firing

so they are all viable firearms. Some have been made, like this one,

made in people's homes, and this is old mobile phone that will fire

around which has the potential to kill you. That is shocking. In a few

minutes, we will be training with some armed response vehicles and

seeing how officers deal with criminals with guns and knives.

Back in December the Metropolitan Police launched one of their biggest

ever operations against gun crime in the capital. Detectives were

responding to a spike in firearms offences. So far the operation has

proved hugely successful but what happens to those weapons when they

have been seized? I'm joined by Detective Superintendent Damian

Allain for the Trident and Area Crime Command who has been involved

in operation Castrol. How was it going so far? Fantastically

successful. A range of operations, most recently Castrol. It is all

about getting them off the streets, and one of the success stories

involves this guy here. This is Ashley Hutchinson, it was arrested

in Hertfordshire last year, recovered six comes one of which was

used in the murder. What you have proved is that very often firearms

are linked to other offences as well. Absolutely, typically guns are

used, laid down for a few years and re-emerge, we can link them via

forensics but we are determined to take more guns off the street. What

happens to the firearms after you seize them? We look for trace

evidence DNA, think the prince, but more crucially ballistic

intelligence so we test fired the weapon and that's how we can link

them to other crime scenes and build up an intelligence picture. Working

with our colleagues within the National ballistic intelligence

service and National Crime Agency. Once you have taken the evidence you

need, if you are convinced that this gun has not been used for anything

else, you can destroy them, as we saw in the clip, and they can never

re-emerge on the street. Yes, once it comes here it is here to stay so

once we seize them, we destroy them. Talk me through what we have in the

studio. This is a deactivated Mac ten. It's important to mention gun

crime is half what it was ten years ago, but we do see is on occasions

this type of weapon. You just touched on it, it is very rare, but

one of these sorts of things is too many to have on the streets so what

can the public do to help? I would urge the public to call us. Do you

know of a gun that has been laid down somewhere, buried? There is an

enhanced crime reward of ?2000 as well. That has got to be an

incentive for people to get in touch. For that they will have to

give their details to police. Yes, and we will protect their identity.

But if they didn't want to give any information, you still want them to

call? Yes, call the police and provide the information. We do need

people to get in touch and get these guns off the street. If you believe

you have any information, call this number or you can also call

Crimestoppers anonymously. Their number is 0800 555 111.

Doorstep crying can affect anyone but it is often the elderly and the

vulnerable that are targeted. The summer months see a rise in reports

of rogue traders and shortly we will be giving you some tips on how to

avoid being scammed. Firstly here is an example of a particular scam to

watch out for. They turn up at your home promising to fix your drive,

your roof or your garden but what they are after is as much cash as

they can squeeze out of you for shoddy, dangerous or even

nonexistent work. Doorstep crime is big business with 170,000 incidents

across England and Wales every year. Most of the victims are pensioners,

like 73-year-old Marguerite from Sunderland. This is Sunday, and that

is bossy. She likes to keep everything is big and spun but as

she lives alone, she sometimes needs a bit of help.

My drive was in a bad break, a lot of marks, we thought it was from

seagulls, my neighbour and I, we could not scrub it off. When a

leaflet came through the door offering help, she jumped at the

chance. It looks professional, it had telephone numbers and office

numbers, and it mentioned drives and pathways how war washed and sealed

with Thompson 's water seal. The company called itself Alliance home

improvements, they claimed that ceiling driveways was there I shall

do. We discussed it, he said that the normal price is ?240, in your

area, we will do it for 200, because we are in your area. He gave the

impression of being plausible, affable, chatty... I just said, when

can you come. He said, tomorrow. Thinking she had struck a good

price, the following day, Margarita welcomed the man back. They have

another man with them, who was doing the work. Everything was going to

plan, it seemed it was thirsty work. He asked for a couple of cold

drinks, I came in. When I went out, I saw the second man pouring what I

thought was the sealant into an ordinary watering can. In fact, the

sealant looked suspiciously like water, and I said, that is not

Thompson 's water sealant... I knew that there was something wrong but I

felt that because I was on my own, I could not argue with them. After

pouring the contents of the cannon onto the drive, the men demanded

payment. Thanks a lot. Leaving Margarete feeling suspicious. In the

morning, when the drive was dry, I realised it had not been sealed, I

knew really all the time it was not applied properly, but I think I felt

under pressure. Police believe the men had tricked her using just

water, rather than the sealant that she paid for. They say that the

address on the leaflet was fourth, and others may have been targeted. A

classic doorstep crime. There is a number of different doorstep scams,

by far the most common, rogue traders, as we close them, people

who pose as legitimate small businesses, who will deliberately

target elderly people, vulnerable people. Our advice to people is, do

not deal with door-to-door traders, 100%, full stop. I have been robbed,

I suppose. They gain your trust, and, they take your money, and they

are away, you never see them again. With me now, Detective Sergeant Alan

Turner from the north-east region crime investigation team, you have

seen some nasty crimes. They named themselves Alliance home

improvements, which is similar to some genuine businesses out there,

do you find that a lot, these scammers, assuming similar names?

Investigating this type of crime over a number of years, one thing

the criminals need to do when they commit this kind of crime is gained

trust of the victims, one way to do that is to pose as the jet amid

businesses in order to gain the trust, they're basically get a foot

in the door and they can carry out the work, massively overcharged the

victims. Definitely, these victims, signs -- leaflets, signs on the side

of fans, that is how they use the scam. -- pose as legitimate

businesses. These are quite serious crimes. Doorstep crime comes under

two categories firstly, what I would say is rogue traders, fraud. I do

not like the term rogue trader, it almost decriminalising it, this is

fraud, it is theft. This is where people may be will come to do

gardening work, property repairs, minor property repairs, are quite

common one is fixing guttering, fixing loose tiles. May well cause

damage to fix it when there was nothing wrong in the first place.

Another category, which I deal with in particular, distraction burglary.

That is quite a serious crime, it tends to be committed by criminals

who travel long distances. That consists of a number of criminals

working together, they usually travel in a vehicle, they will call

on the door of a vulnerable vehicle, posing as a police officer or

someone from an energy company when in fact they are not. What can we do

to better protect ourselves? Most simple and clear message I can give,

don't do business with doorstep traders, full stop. There will be

cases where people need work done to their homes, I will give them the

advice, think carefully about it. Get advice from friends, neighbours,

family. Get a number of quotes. Another important factor, for

viewers to note, it is actually a criminal offence if a doorstep

trader does not give a cancellation notice, to a resident, if they have

entered into a contract, lasting for 14 days. They must give written

notice to a resident. Really good advice, thank you very much. He

points to note. Detectives in the Met burgeoning

need your help in the next case. A 13-year-old girl was walking to

school in Highbury, North London, when she was subjected to a

terrifying attack, at 8:20am, as she walked, a man put his hand over her

throat and her into this line, where he attempted to rate her -- rape

her. -- On Wednesday eighth June a 13-year-old girl was walking to

school in Highbury, North London when she was subjected to a

terrifying attack. It happened at about twenty past eight in the

morning. As she walked, a man put his hand over her mouth and forced

her here into Coach House Lane, where he attempted to rape her.

Luckily a member of the public confronted him and he fled. After

the attack, he stole a bike from a teenage boy and escaped along

Highbury Hill. He rode the bike a short distance before abandoning it.

Police have issued an efit. The young victim has been left severely

traumatised by the attack, as you can imagine. If you recognise him,

you know what to do. Now, let's go back to Michelle at Northumbria

Police's tactical training centre. We are about to see another

important training exercise, I'm joined by Inspector Louise

Galliott-Thornton. The officers will be in vehicles and trying to stop a

suspect that may be of risk to them, we will look at how they use their

decision-making skills to resolve the situation as quickly and safely

as possible, thinking about the risk to the public and the person

involved. We will watch the scenario and look at how they are training in

an environment like this, which we are very proud of, how that helps

them make decisions on a day-to-day basis depending upon what they are

presented with. Cars will be coming in now, it is a decision-making

process. This is the vehicle. We have intelligent -- intelligence

that he may have a weapon. They use their blue lights to get the car to

stop, they will communicate with them and we will see them speaking

as they get out of the vehicles. We want them to use their communication

skills as well as possible to resolve the situation. They will

wait and see what threat he poses. Communication is key, thinking about

the next step. News coming out of the car, they will continue to use

communication skills to persuade him to come to a safe resolution. That

is what they are doing now, continuing with engagement. The

minute he is not posing a threat. He is complying. It is all about the

dialogue. It is, they are given clear instructions to listen.

SHOUTING The threat increases, so the officer

is using non-lethal force, Neil has disarmed him, he will be restrained

and detained, that is reducing the significant threat he can have the

public and also himself as well. They handcuffed him. It is a safe

resolution. He's not injured, the officers are safe, they have used

their training and decision-making skills to see how that situation has

evolved. Really interesting to see, all about innovation in the first

place, trying to prevent this situation from happening in the

first place. Thank you so much. Intense training, really important

for these guys, hopefully they do not get into too many extreme

scenarios like this. Going to the updates of what has

come in on the phone, after we showed you the footage yesterday of

the disorder at the European Fulwood Championships in France, many people

calling in and giving possible names for those responsible which police

are now chasing up. You may remember that the CCTV we showed you on

Wednesday of a burglary at a shop in Ballard 's Lane, London, thousands

of pounds worth of tobacco stolen, some really promising sounding leads

have come in on that as well, we have passed that on to the police

and they are following that up. Great work. Keep phone calls and

text messages coming in. Michelle, where will you be on Monday? I'm

heading to Lincolnshire, I will be getting some very realistic training

with the Fire Service as they rescue injured passengers from on-board a

smoky aeroplane, with pretty much zero visibility. I'm imagining it is

going to be a very challenging situation, so make sure you join me

then. In the meantime, have a lovely weekend. A bit dramatic! For more

details about the crimes on today's programme, go to the website. E'll

be back on Monday at our usual time of 9.15 back over on BBC One. Before

we go, here's another look at today's wanted faces. If you know

any of them, pick up the phone now and tell us where they are. Have a

great weekend, take care. See you Monday.

Hello. Today we're road-testing the BBC iPlayer Kids app.

You just pop in your age when you set it up, and look.

All their favourite CBeebies programmes are in one place.

It's a whole family of woolly mammoths! Wow! Yes!