Episode 5 Thief Trackers

According to police figures, more than 3,500 theft incidents

are reported every day in the UK.

I knew it was bad but I didn't think it was that bad.

But have you ever wondered what happens to our belongings

when they're stolen?

Thief Trackers tells the story of where they go.

We're hiding satellite tracking devices inside a range of

desirable everyday items like cameras, smartphones and bicycles

to trace the looters' footsteps.

The thieves may think they've got away with it,

but we're tracking their every move.

With secret filming, CCTV and police raid footage,

we'll get an insight into the criminal mind-set...

No, honestly, I don't know!

..and uncover the unseen journey that our treasured possessions

take when they're stolen.

Today, we're on the trail of an opportunist thief who's stolen

our tablet computer - not realising there's a GPS tracker inside.

This bloke's sneaky. He doesn't look like a pro -

he's seen it and he's gone for it.

Plus, we're on the case with the tracking experts

and the police as they bring crooks to book...

I think we've got it.

20 seconds of movement.

It's in that thing - they've opened it.

..and it'll be no teddy bear's picnic for one heartless graveside robber

who's in for a big surprise.

I hate him.

I really hate him.

And I just hope he can't live with himself.

The last few years have seen a rising trend in personal electronic devices

and now, almost half the UK population owns a tablet computer.

But sadly, the popularity of these fashionable media devices

also makes them a prime target for petty thieves.

Former Metropolitan Police Inspector Keith Farquharson

is helping us with our investigation.

The value from the average theft of a person has just topped £250.

This is because of the higher cost of the items

that we're carrying on us, like tablets and smartphones.

The difficulty is, once property is stolen,

it is very difficult to trace its whereabouts...

unless, of course,

you've fitted your tablet with a GPS tracker like this one.

Professor Marek Ziebart is an expert in the field of satellite technology.

It uses a technology known as GPS - the global positioning system -

and the core of that technology is the ability of this device to

measure the range from here to orbiting satellites.

Those satellites will be about 20,000km away.

Actual GPS data is used in a forensic sense -

we call it forensic GPS. Actually, it's a way of putting

criminals directly behind bars because we can prove that they

were at a particular place at a particular time.

That's all well and good,

but even a small tracker like that is a bit big for a slimline tablet.

We've had this one specially made with a tracking device

inserted inside the electronics of the tablet.

So, by integrating the tracker, it will send out a signal

whenever someone turns on the tablet.

Now it's fitted, we're heading off to a suitable testing ground.

We've chosen to run this tablet scenario in the neighbourhood

of Soho - part of the London Borough of Westminster - the borough

with the highest crime rate in London.

In fact, this warren of streets also boasts the capital's highest figure

for thefts from the person, with almost 900 such crimes per year.

We're setting up our surveillance at a cafe in the heart of the West End.

It's a very busy area, lots of people passing through

and lots of opportunity for theft.

One of our team settles down outside, posing as a customer.

She'll be chatting on her phone

and using the tablet computer at the table.

This is an all too familiar sight in cafes and bars across the country.

This is not entrapment, since we don't want to confront a thief.

All we want to do is find out where our possessions go

once they're stolen.

We have two hidden cameras ready to catch the action -

one inside the cafe and one across the street.

All that's left for us to do now is wait.

Our researcher is joined by a friend and the two young women

are soon enjoying a good natter, just like we all do at our local cafe.

It's at moments of distraction like this

when our possessions are at their most vulnerable.

The afternoon passes by.

So far, there's been no attempt to snatch the tablet.

As we head into early evening,

one character wanders around the corner and slowly up the street.

Now he doubles back and here he is again, just metres from the table.

He's mingling in with the crowd, asking for a cigarette

and trying not to look too conspicuous.

But he definitely has his eye on the tablet.

He looks shifty as he sidles up to the girls.

As he gets closer, he blocks the view from our cafe camera...

..but we can still see him here waiting

until the girls are completely distracted.

There - he's gone for it...

..and he's off into the twilight.

Using the GPS tracker, we can now pick up the trail

of the tablet computer as the thief strides away.

Later on Thief Trackers - our close encounter with the tablet thief...

My guess is he's looking for a buyer for the tablet.

..and we trace its footsteps on a journey to the outskirts of London.

Theft of any kind can leave emotional scars on its victims,

but some acts of robbery go beyond the pale.

This is Farnworth, near Bolton in Lancashire.

The scene of a callous and petty theft.

I don't think you can get any lower

than stealing off a grave.

A crime so deplorable it broke a mother's heart.

I felt really sick and it made me feel poorly.

But she was determined to bring the thief to justice

with the help of a tracking device and a teddy bear.

That was like, wow, we've got him!

Joan Holland's teenage son Andrew was murdered in 2007,

stabbed during a row outside a takeaway shop in Farnworth.

As he lay dying,

the killer walked back into the takeaway to collect his pizza.

He was arrested and given a life sentence.

Andrew was 16 when he died.

Loved his animals. He loved his family...

..fishing.

Full of life - he'd speak to anybody.

Just a really nice, outgoing lad.

Joan had always taken great comfort

from tending her late son's graveside.

We put on Andrew's grave, like, ornaments, flowers,

his nieces and nephews would take toys down,

solar lights, cos I never wanted him to be left in the dark.

We even put his fishing reel on.

While still in the early days of grieving,

Joan suffered another nasty shock.

Things started going missing off Andrew's grave

about six months after he died,

and that was his fishing reel.

That really sickened me.

It made me feel angry that somebody could even do that.

It's just something you don't even think about.

It's certainly an appalling crime, but this was not an isolated case.

Across the UK, bereaved families have suffered the shock of having

tributes stolen from their loved ones' graves.

What's extraordinary about Joan's family is that they decided to

fight back when the thief went too far.

The last straw was...

..Mother's Day.

I got to the grave and there was nothing left on it at all.

I was devastated, I was heart-broke.

So my son Martin decided that's it -

we're not losing anything else off Andrew's grave,

so he went out and bought a tracker.

Their plan was to use a GPS tracker to identify the thief.

In fact, Joan still has the very one that caught

the despicable crook red-handed.

With it being set up onto a computer and onto a mobile phone,

it shows you a map of where it's being moved to.

The question was, where should they hide it?

We came up with the idea to put it in a teddy bear,

which I thought was an absolutely brilliant idea.

It was easy to disguise

if whoever picked it up wouldn't be able to shake it and feel it.

The family set their trap one Friday afternoon in April 2014

and now it was just a waiting game.

But by the Saturday, the stress of the situation was affecting Joan.

I just felt really ill, so I'd gone to bed and turned my phone off.

After about two hours, I got up and switched my phone back on

and my friend Michaela had been ringing me -

I had about 15 missed phone calls off her.

It seems while Joan was resting,

the Bolton graverobber had struck once again...

..totally unaware that by moving the bear he'd activated a motion sensor

that triggered the GPS tracker.

The family could now follow his every step, right to his door.

He took a route out of St Michael's Church onto Green Lane...

onto Harper Green Road.

He's passed my house with the teddy bear,

onto Market Street,

up to where he lives.

The thief's meandering route took him

through Farnworth to the neighbouring town.

I had a phone call from Joan's sons to say the tracking device

had gone to a house in Kearsley and did I know where it was.

I couldn't get up to Kearsley fast enough, because I knew

if I didn't turn up there, then the lads would've just gone

through the door and God knows what would've happened.

We got there and we were knocking on the door, banging on the door.

He just wouldn't open it,

but we knew that the teddy bear with the tracker in it was definitely

in there, because it was just pointing to his house and flashing.

There was three or four bins outside of his house,

so I decided to have a look in one.

There was wreaths, solar lights,

flowers off graves...

Um, it just knocked me sick.

That's when I phoned the police

and I said somebody needs to get down there ASAP.

Joan's teddy bear tracker seemed to have done its job,

gathering useful evidence.

When the police went in and found the teddy bear,

they said it was like an Aladdin's cave - full of ornaments off graves.

Unbelievably, it seems the thief had used the graveside plunder

as bizarre romantic gestures.

He'd give his girlfriend the ornaments and that

off different people's graves as presents -

he said he got them from a car-boot sale.

Staggering, but you heard right -

he stole graveside ornaments and gave them

to his girlfriend as presents.

How dark is that?

I hate him.

I really hate him...

and I just hope he can't live with himself.

Thanks to Joan's initiative,

the teddy bear was the last of his somewhat inappropriate love tokens.

The crook was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

People were coming up to me and shaking me hand

and doing high fives and just really excited

that somebody had been caught for stealing off a grave.

Let's return to our very own surveillance operation

in London's hot spot for personal theft, the Borough of Westminster.

Earlier, we fitted a GPS tracker inside this tablet computer.

Then, a crafty Soho street thief pounced on it and snatched it,

unaware that our cameras captured his every move.

The thief in this particular crime scene,

he looks quite nervous, he's not prepared his crime, he's not walked

through to see the crime scene - it looks like he's just been a pure

opportunist who's looked, seen the tablet and decided to take it.

The tablet thief disappeared into the twilight, shortly followed by our

camera to see if he might try to pass on the stolen tablet to a handler.

But the crook took advantage of the Soho crowds

and melted into the background.

Even with the data, we weren't certain of his route.

Then, to our surprise, we came face-to-face with the thief.

We didn't want to confront him

and backed off to avoid raising suspicion.

Once again, he mingled with the crowds and gave us the slip.

Time to let the tracker do its job.

The tracking device has got onboard communications technology.

That means you can effectively talk to it.

You can send it a message saying, "Well, where are you right now?"

Provided the device is connected to 3G or a Wi-Fi network,

then the device can talk back to you, saying,

"This is where I am - come and get me."

We can see from the data that he continued his journey north,

towards the busy thoroughfare of Oxford Street.

Our crime expert Keith picks up the trail.

Half an hour after the theft, he's got to Tottenham Court Road.

Tottenham Court Road is well-known for electrical shops,

which both buy and sell electrical items.

The signal shows the thief walking up the road,

seemingly looking for a buyer or a shop to sell the tablet to.

Finally, he came to a halt.

Within an hour of the original theft, the data showed that

the tablet was in an electrical shop which is less than half a mile from

the original site of the theft.

Here the signal remains static.

We paid a discreet visit to the shop the next day and sure enough,

the stolen tablet was on display.

Clearly the thief had been successful in selling it on for a quick profit.

Ideally, when buying it, they'd ask for proof of ownership - a receipt,

perhaps a credit card bill that they were bought on, and certainly take

the serial number of that particular item for their books for re-sale.

As we hadn't reported the theft and the tablet didn't have

a password lock, the shop would have had no idea that it was stolen.

Four days after the theft, the tracker kicked into action again.

It moves to Norwood, which is an area in South London.

It stays there for a couple of weeks but the signal's intermittent,

showing that it's goes from building to building, which may be

in lawful possession - somebody just going about their lawful business.

It seems someone had innocently bought our tablet,

unaware that they were buying stolen goods.

We decided to return to the shop to find out who they had bought it from.

The first thing we check is if there is any lock on the product

or not and if there is a lock, then we'll ask the customer

to unlock the product first and if they can't unlock the product,

then we won't buy the product off them.

We had no password lock so there was nothing to stop him selling it.

We take their photo ID. It's either a driving licence or passport,

with proof of address as well, and we put all that data in the system.

Unless you've got the ID on you, we won't buy a product off you.

With an ID check complete, the staff looked up the tablet's serial number

on a database that gives background reports on consumer electronics.

We did do a serial check on that product on that particular day.

I've got that CheckMEND report on me as well.

It's got the serial number written on the top,

it identifies the manufacturer as Samsung

and then it tells you the history.

You see all these ticks there - ever been lost or ever been stolen,

insurance claim, and it says everything's clear.

The shop did all they could to establish

the legitimacy of the seller and the device.

But in an amazing twist, the tracker signalled one more time

that the tablet had in fact returned to the shop.

So, that's the Samsung tablet which was stolen off you.

The customer said that, basically,

the tablet wasn't turning on any more,

so we booked the tablet in, we refunded them, the customer,

their money and we took the tablet to Samsung.

They said that they can't work on the tablet

because the tablet was fiddled around with in the past.

Fiddled around with?

That's probably us when we had a tracker fitted inside!

Since it's possible for a shop in all innocence to sell a stolen item

to a new owner, what can we do as consumers to check that

second-hand electrical goods are legitimate?

You can check by asking the seller for proof of purchase,

a receipt, a credit card bill for when they originally brought it.

It's perfectly reasonably to do that from a seller.

Police recommend that consumers should consider registering

personal electrical items with online databases such as Immobilise

or CheckMEND, so if anything is ever stolen,

there's a better chance of it being tracked down.

Of course, the name,

address and photo ID of the man who sold the tablet to the shop

are still on record and are available to the authorities

along with our surveillance footage,

so there's a good chance that another crook could soon

be taken off the streets of London.

Technology is making a big difference in the fight against crime.

There are now dozens of tracking companies assisting

police in the search for stolen items.

Meet Bill Taylor,

a thief tracker whose company specialises in motorcycle recovery.

It's the only place I'm getting a signal.

He's close to the end of a very long search,

but with backup from the police, he's hoping to recover a stolen motorbike.

It's in that thing - they've opened it.

All being well, they'll catch the bike thieves

just when they think they've got away with it.

I don't know. No, honestly, I don't know.

But what brought Bill and the police to this location in the first place?

Let's rewind a few days.

Bill is on his way to Hackney, East London.

He's searching for a stolen motorbike worth £16,000.

On Friday, a BMW GS 1,200 Adventure was stolen.

We're heading down to a place just off the A10 where we believe

the bike's currently parked up at the moment.

Around 23,000 motorbikes are stolen each year in the UK.

It may be no surprise that half of them are pinched in London.

The bike was stolen from a parking bay in Islington, North London,

but thankfully, it was fitted with a hi-tech tracker.

The unit has lost GPS so it could be in a building.

Chances are it's going to be in a van.

This tracker is advanced.

It uses GPS, but if that signal is blocked or fails for any reason,

the motorbike can still be tracked via a radio signal.

It's this signal that's led Bill to the Hoxton area of the city.

He must now comb the streets, seeking out the radio frequency

using a hand-held tracking wand.

So, garages, vans, lock-ups...

..anything where a bike could be hidden at the moment.

Back at HQ, his colleague Andrew is helping to navigate

the maze of streets in the target zone.

I'm at the end...at the end of Weymouth Terrace.

TRACKER BLEEPS

Bill finally picks up the tracker's signal.

He narrows it down and the bleeps become stronger...

Oh, bloody hell, yes.

..eventually leading him to a set of garages.

That's quite loud, isn't it?

That's what we're looking for, so...

I reckon it's behind that door.

Time to continue the search on foot

and the cameras are advised to stay in the car

to avoid raising suspicion, just in case the thieves are about.

A few minutes later

and it looks like Bill might have the result he's after.

I've seen this before, so it'll be one big door and then,

when you get through that door, there'll be about 20, 25 garages.

Once I'm in there I can then pinpoint it down

to the right garage, but it's definitely in there.

Let's call the police.

As the motorbike is on private property,

Bill needs police backup to gain access.

And once they arrive, they begin a search of the underground car park.

The radio signal from the stolen motorbike is strong,

but the bike itself is not visible.

It's the other side of this wall.

The motorbike seems to be in a garage that's locked.

Frustrations and unexpected developments like these are all

part of the daily grind for trackers like Bill.

Unfortunately, there's more bad news to come.

The Magistrate won't authorise an out-of-hours warrant

for a stolen bike.

Different forces work different ways. OK.

-All right, buddy.

-Thank you.

There's little Bill can do now but wait and hope that

the stolen motorbike is moved so he can pick up its signal afresh.

A little bit frustrating at the minute,

because it takes time and I know I'm so close to the bike.

It's just being able to try and get that last five yards, so to speak.

Two days later and there's a new development.

Since we were on location in Hackney on Tuesday, we've had a bit

of a development where the bike was actually moved late last night.

It seems the bike has been moved from the garages overnight

and it's heading east towards Essex.

Often, motorbikes are stolen to order and shipped overseas.

Bill needs to act fast in case the bike is sent abroad,

perhaps from the docks at Tilbury or Harwich.

So, this first big building on my right?

'OK.'

After scouring the streets for half an hour,

he narrows down the signal to some stables.

Using the RF again, as we did in London, we've managed to, well,

pick up a signal again. So I'm just going to go out on foot

and see if I can get a stronger signal.

It's a risky move as the bike hasn't long been moved,

so it's possible the crooks may still be around.

It's the only place I'm getting a signal, so...

As searches of this kind often cross county borders,

trackers rely on the assistance of various different constabularies,

so the local police are providing backup.

I can sort of show you why I think it's there

and we can go from there, really.

To avoid trespassing, Bill rides with the officers in their car.

He's getting ever closer as the signal pinpoints the stolen bike

to a locked container.

But the police need a search warrant before they can open it up.

While they discuss the next move, the tracker starts up,

sending signals to Bill.

I think we've got it.

It's in that thing. They've opened it.

It seems the motorbike is on the move again. They need to act quickly.

Yeah, I think they've just stuck it in the back of the van.

I'll call you back.

Finally, Bill hits the jackpot.

Fantastic. Thank God he hadn't driven off.

And a search of the yard reveals quite a haul.

OK, the bike's been recovered in the back of a silver van.

We've also found two additional bikes -

we've got a BMW, which is confirmed to be stolen,

and we've also got a KTM Superduke,

which I don't believe the registration plate is theirs.

So we've got an absolute result.

This shipping container seems to be a makeshift workshop, with an engine,

various tools and an assortment of spare parts scattered about.

Two of the gang made their escape as the police swooped,

but a third wasn't quick enough.

Police showed up...

I think the police rattled their cages cos all of a sudden,

they decided to start moving the bike. They got the guy's

sat nav, so they've got the address of where the bike was

in Jeffrey's Street, so if that marries up onto

the sat nav, then we've found out how he got here.

So it's great news - absolutely fantastic result.

With a suspect cautioned and the stolen bike recovered,

Bill now has the happy job of calling the owner.

How are you? All right? Hello, sir.

You probably got a phone call last night that your bike had been moved.

-'Yes, I did.'

-Well, you'll be pleased to hear that I've found it.

As soon as the police have finished with it, you'll get your bike back.

Is that all right?

Eventually the bikes are collected and taken away for forensic analysis.

So, a good day's work for the police and the trackers.

To get more than one bike and a potential ring...

this is what I do my job for.

Over the moon. Over the moon.

Just want to beat the traffic now.