0:00:02 > 0:00:06Thieves will steal our cars, our valuables.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10Just about anything they can get their hands on.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13To cut down on crime and anti-social behaviour, the police are now
0:00:13 > 0:00:18using new tactics where the bad guys actually get caught in the act.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22They are launching covert operations...
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Pretend you're talking on the phone for a bit longer, OK, mate.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26..and setting clever traps...
0:00:26 > 0:00:29The laptop is equipped with a tracking device.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34..that deliver unsuspecting crooks right into their hands.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38And there are also ways that we, the public, and local businesses
0:00:38 > 0:00:40can fight back with some tricks of our own.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42I wasn't going to sit back and let them do this.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46We've caught you and we are sending you down.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50So, anyone who's up to no good had better think twice.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53They may just get caught red-handed.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Coming up today on Caught Red Handed -
0:01:04 > 0:01:09dramatic footage of people running towards a car to buy Class A drugs.
0:01:09 > 0:01:10Never in my policing experience
0:01:10 > 0:01:13have I experienced anything of this magnitude.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17The police launch a huge covert operation to catch the dealers.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22And in Essex, two men pretending to be from the Water Board
0:01:22 > 0:01:24have a more sinister purpose.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28It does make you feel quite sick to actually look at them
0:01:28 > 0:01:33and think, they're ransacking through my mum's sentimental stuff.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Also today - this guy is knowingly using a stolen laptop,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40but what he doesn't know is that it's secretly filming him.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57West Midlands Police,
0:01:57 > 0:02:01forcing their way into the home of a suspected drug dealer.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04SHOUTING
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Stay where you are!
0:02:06 > 0:02:09It's the final stages of an operation that began
0:02:09 > 0:02:12three months earlier in the suburb of Bordesley Green, Birmingham.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19When this astonishing piece of CCTV footage
0:02:19 > 0:02:24landed on the desk of Detective Chief Inspector Nick Walton.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Myself personally, an officer who's worked within West Midlands Police for 17 years now,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32never in my policing experience
0:02:32 > 0:02:35have I experienced anything of this magnitude.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40It's 8.30 in the morning and only a few metres away from a nursery,
0:02:40 > 0:02:42a car pulls up and blocks the road.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49The intention - the men inside are about to deal out Class A drugs.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55You will now see a group of people, a significant volume of people,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59start to run down the main road towards that vehicle.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02These people, we presume, have gathered at an agreed point,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04have waited for the vehicle.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06Perhaps waited for other drug users to go
0:03:06 > 0:03:10so they get that confidence this is actually the drug dealer.
0:03:10 > 0:03:11Away they go.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Like children running to an ice cream van,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17more than 30 drug users rush towards the car.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20The volume is unprecedented.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Clearly, within a residential street where at this time of day
0:03:23 > 0:03:26officers would be patrolling, there's a real confidence
0:03:26 > 0:03:28by this drug dealer to operate in this way.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32The dealers in the car have taken over control of this street.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34No other traffic can move up or down it.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Really concerning around the fact that is this normal business?
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Is this just something that's become acceptable?
0:03:40 > 0:03:44But the man who captured this footage was not going to put up with it.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46They just pounced in the car.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50All four corners like they were selling sweets.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52All running around and it was mayhem.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56At one stage, it was mayhem.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58Mothers and kids were just gone to school.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Hiding their kids, dropping them off to school. It was shocking.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05He watched the drug-dealing getting worse and worse
0:04:05 > 0:04:07over the 20 years he lived there.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10It was open. They were outside the bookies.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13You were going past people and you could smell the bud.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17And as the dealing increased, police began to worry about other crime.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22If you've got 30 people gathering in a location, ready to buy drugs,
0:04:22 > 0:04:27how have those 30 individuals gained that money at that time?
0:04:27 > 0:04:30It's quite possible that crime in that area has escalated
0:04:30 > 0:04:32as a consequence of them being there.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36That dealer is a catalyst for an increase in crime in that area.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39With a likely link between addiction and crime,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43the massive problem highlighted by the Bordesley Green CCTV footage
0:04:43 > 0:04:46needed to be dealt with urgently.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Nick Walton starts to mastermind a plan
0:04:48 > 0:04:51to put the drug dealers behind bars.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Enough was enough. We needed to do something.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55If we were going to gain the confidence of our community,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58we needed be seen to do something about what is clearly
0:04:58 > 0:05:00an endemic problem within the community.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Nick calls in a specialist team of undercover officers...
0:05:04 > 0:05:06like this man.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09We can't reveal his identity but we'll call him Paul.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Undercover officers, like Paul,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14first have to get close to the drug gangs.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16They get to know who to focus on
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and then they use miniature surveillance equipment
0:05:19 > 0:05:20to record the dealing.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24My function is to try and gain the best footage that I can
0:05:24 > 0:05:27of these people in order for the matter to go to court
0:05:27 > 0:05:31and for the jury to understand exactly what is going on.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35It is all about the patience but deep down you, sort of, know
0:05:35 > 0:05:37and hope that you will get that shot eventually,
0:05:37 > 0:05:38if you are patient enough.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42What he manages the film leaves no doubt that heroin
0:05:42 > 0:05:46and cocaine are being openly dealt throughout Bordesley Green.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Dealers have even taken over the local park
0:05:49 > 0:05:51and children's playground.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55We have been given access to the police surveillance footage.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57What you are about to see is a transaction that will take place.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01The man in the red top has handed a small amount of drugs
0:06:01 > 0:06:03to the man in the blue top, with whom he is working,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07and there you will see cash change hands from the drug user,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and in return for that cash, which is ordinarily £10, £20,
0:06:10 > 0:06:15they will receive a small amount of heroin or crack cocaine.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Gathering this covert footage is essential work
0:06:17 > 0:06:20but there are risks for the undercover officers.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Sometimes you have to take those chances.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Ultimately, if you get that footage then it's worthwhile
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and you just hope that the, when it's played in court,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30that the people see what's going on.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Look, this is a park area where children play.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35One of the dealers has gone into the bushes, has clearly recovered
0:06:35 > 0:06:39an amount and there we have just seen an exchange take place.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Where the drug user has put the item in his pocket
0:06:41 > 0:06:42and will then leave the area.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Filming goes on for weeks...
0:06:47 > 0:06:52..the dealers mobile phones give more evidence.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54The phone is effectively the business.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Mobile phones were taking somewhere in the region
0:06:57 > 0:06:59of 655 phone calls per day.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03When those calls are analysed it is estimated that, between them,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07the dealers are doing £8,000 worth of business a day.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13After weeks of intensive evidence gathering, the operation moves into
0:07:13 > 0:07:18the next stage, making the arrests, and is done on a huge scale.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22Around 80 offices a day will bring in the dealers.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25POLICE!
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- POLICE!- Stay where you are!
0:07:31 > 0:07:34'It's quite important, for us, to arrest them at the same time'
0:07:34 > 0:07:37to prevent them, potentially, giving accounts, leaving the police station
0:07:37 > 0:07:40and then telling other people what they have said to the police.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42So, we have an opportunity to undermine them
0:07:42 > 0:07:44by interviewing them all at the same time.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Also, we can catch them unawares.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48The operation is a massive success.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51They managed to get every one of the dealers they targeted.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54There's at least 28, 29 people who are currently in custody.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Really pleasing for us,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58the fact that those people felt that the evidential case against them
0:07:58 > 0:08:01is so strong that they pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03And the icing on the cake?
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Through work with other agencies, we've even managed to target
0:08:06 > 0:08:08the person who sat at the head of that network
0:08:08 > 0:08:10and he has also been convicted.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19All these drug dealers went down...
0:08:20 > 0:08:23..between them they will spend over 100 years in prison.
0:08:25 > 0:08:26And, since the arrests,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30burglaries and robberies have dropped locally by 20%.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33The man whose footage kicked off this whole operation
0:08:33 > 0:08:36has seen a big change in his neighbourhood.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38It has been sorted out.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43I've never seen no-one drug-dealing there no more.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46It's fundamentally improved the area tenfold.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48We went into that community shortly after
0:08:48 > 0:08:52and started to have face-to-face dialogue with local community members
0:08:52 > 0:08:53who clearly were telling us that the fact
0:08:53 > 0:08:55that these individuals had been arrested
0:08:55 > 0:08:57was key to them feeling more empowered
0:08:57 > 0:08:58within their own communities.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00The area was really rough.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03There was loads of crimes and I think it's much better now.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Like, you can walk around safe.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Yeah, there's a massive difference. We are happy with what we're seeing.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11What we've done is named and shamed, which, again,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14has been really well received by the community.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17We've even gone into local schools and had conversations with,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20you know, the youth in the area to say, "This is not something
0:09:20 > 0:09:23"you need to aspire to and if you do get involved in the drugs
0:09:23 > 0:09:27"supply market you will be enforced against and you will go to prison."
0:09:35 > 0:09:39The idea of naming and shaming is not just a police tactic.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43There are a lot of examples of ordinary people using social media
0:09:43 > 0:09:46and the internet to expose criminals,
0:09:46 > 0:09:48as with our next victim of crime.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Joshua Kaufmann, here, had his laptop stolen from his flat
0:09:57 > 0:09:58while he was at work.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Luckily, his laptop has a hidden secret -
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Joshua has special tracking software on it,
0:10:04 > 0:10:08which means if it's stolen it takes photos and sends them back
0:10:08 > 0:10:12to the owner, over the internet, which is good news for Joshua
0:10:12 > 0:10:17but very bad news for this guy, who, er, acquired it.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21He's got no idea he is being filmed as he goes about a range
0:10:21 > 0:10:25of activities with Joshua's computer watching him all the time.
0:10:25 > 0:10:31From sleeping to sitting up in bed and, er, driving?!
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Joshua received the pictures, set up a website
0:10:36 > 0:10:38and posted the images online,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42attracting a lot of attention from media and public.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Eventually, though, the laptop sends a vital clue -
0:10:45 > 0:10:49a screenshot of the mystery man logging into a e-mail account.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53The address links to a car service, for which he is a driver,
0:10:53 > 0:10:58and the police charge him with possession of stolen property.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Joshua was reunited with his beloved laptop,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05complete with a full set of holiday snaps covering its trip away.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17Photos I suspect Joshua has filed away - in the bin!
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Still to come on today's show - more rubbish.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25A beautiful park but within it an ugly scene.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29It's just not a nice thing to see. It destroys what beauty there is here.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32These fly-tipper's think only the ducks are watching
0:11:32 > 0:11:38as they dump rancid rubbish but their evil deed is caught on camera.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Also coming up, a bizarre burglary.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45This guy hides for 13 hours in this wardrobe to escape discovery
0:11:45 > 0:11:47but he's waited in vain.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57On Caught Red Handed we've seen how some thieves are opportunistic -
0:11:57 > 0:11:59an open door, an open window, perhaps?
0:12:01 > 0:12:03But some are more calculating.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07Like doorstep conmen who prey on society's most vulnerable.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Older people are less likely to be victims of crime, but there is
0:12:10 > 0:12:16one type of criminal that targets the elderly and that is the bogus caller.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Sometimes, ramps and handrails can be an indicator as to
0:12:20 > 0:12:22the vulnerability of people and that is why we suggest that
0:12:22 > 0:12:25if you are getting a cold caller, you check their identity,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28you ensure you have the chain on your door
0:12:28 > 0:12:31and you don't open the door unless the chain is secured.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35You ask them to pass through their identification which you then check,
0:12:35 > 0:12:40and check with the company to ensure that they are a bona fide caller from the company they are from.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44You shouldn't leave your front door and back open at the same time.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46They often operate in pairs
0:12:46 > 0:12:51and therefore whilst you are being held at the front door chatting to someone,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54the accomplice could be using your back door to enter your property.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Next thing they know they have lost their money
0:12:56 > 0:12:57they should have kept in the bank,
0:12:57 > 0:12:59that they have kept under the mattress,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01and it has a real impact on people.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Next, a cautionary tale of two conmen,
0:13:07 > 0:13:12that disturbingly underlines what those police officers were saying.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15This CCTV camera was installed in 86-year-old
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Irene's home by her daughter,
0:13:17 > 0:13:22and it earned its money the day it caught two callous criminals at work.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27When it was put in we certainly didn't expect to ever find something like this.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30While her mother Irene is distracted downstairs,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34these two men are upstairs invading her bedrooms.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38It has made my mum very frightened in her own home.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46Irene lives alone in Dagenham, Essex. Her daughter, Susan, had become
0:13:46 > 0:13:48increasingly concerned about her situation.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53Always been quite independent, but unfortunately
0:13:53 > 0:13:57in the last few months, she has been diagnosed with lung cancer.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00There's three of us now that care for her,
0:14:00 > 0:14:05and we try to do what we can, but you can't be there 24 hours a day.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10Worried, the family decided to install a camera to keep an eye on their mother.
0:14:10 > 0:14:16We put it in one of the smaller bedrooms to see how she was coping.
0:14:16 > 0:14:22The fixed camera was hidden in a pretend smoke alarm so nothing looked out of the ordinary.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25It picked up the whole of the landing in my mum's and you could not
0:14:25 > 0:14:29get off the top of the stairs without getting past this doorway.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35But the camera was about to catch something far more alarming
0:14:35 > 0:14:39when Irene, at home, alone, had an unexpected visitor.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41These people decided to knock at the door,
0:14:41 > 0:14:46there was just one, originally, he was in the suit.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48He said, "I am from the Water Board.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51"I need to check the quality of the water, can I come in?"
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Irene can't remember whether she asked for ID or not,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58but the man at the door was very convincing.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03They told my mum they were testing water quality and she would need
0:15:03 > 0:15:05to fill up a saucepan
0:15:05 > 0:15:09because if they cut the water off, she would want to make a cup of tea,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13and she just filled one saucepan and put it on the cooker.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16He said, "You better start clearing out that cupboard
0:15:16 > 0:15:21"because we might need to fiddle around because that is where the pipes are."
0:15:21 > 0:15:25As far as Irene can remember, the men inspected both sinks
0:15:25 > 0:15:27and left shortly after.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31It was only when she casually mentioned their visit later
0:15:31 > 0:15:34that her family's suspicions were aroused.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38My sister popped out the tape that accompanies this camera.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43Normally it is just very boring, nothing.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47But on that particular day, obviously, there was something.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51And this is what they saw.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55While their frail mum Irene is distracted downstairs
0:15:55 > 0:15:59in the kitchen, filling up pans and clearing out the cupboard,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03these two men, supposedly from the Water Board, sneak upstairs.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07On the top of this landing, the first guy has gone into my mum's
0:16:07 > 0:16:11room, the second one has gone into the second bedroom.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15It does make you feel quite sick to actually look at it and think,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18"They are ransacking through my mum's sentimental stuff."
0:16:18 > 0:16:23Stuff that she has had for years, stuff my dad brought her.
0:16:23 > 0:16:29That is her sanctuary, her domain. It is actually quite upsetting
0:16:29 > 0:16:34to look and see strangers wandering around your mother's house like that.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38And just in case there was any remaining doubt about what
0:16:38 > 0:16:41these men are up to, a call to the actual Water Board
0:16:41 > 0:16:47confirmed that these men were nothing to do with them. They were thieves.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50I can't be 100% sure what they took from the house,
0:16:50 > 0:16:55obviously, over the years, my mum has jewellery that my father had brought her.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58All we know definitely is that there is money.
0:16:58 > 0:17:04£200 in cash, her shopping and money for bills were stolen from the mantelpiece.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Susan handed the tape over to the police immediately,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11but despite their best efforts, these robbers remain at large.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17At Dagenham Police Station, PC Jodie Parish is dealing with
0:17:17 > 0:17:21the case and has seen too many people get conned in this way.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24The individuals are unscrupulous that carry out these crimes.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28They can be male, female, all different ages with different accents
0:17:28 > 0:17:31so it's important just if you're in doubt,
0:17:31 > 0:17:33keep them out. Ring 999.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36The police would much rather attend a false alarm
0:17:36 > 0:17:39than another victim of distraction burglary.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44If some good has come out of this, it is that the family
0:17:44 > 0:17:49and Irene have taken steps to ensure she is not targeted again.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51Most of utility companies,
0:17:51 > 0:17:56you can set up a password for older people and it is just a bit of safety
0:17:56 > 0:18:01that if somebody comes to your door you can say to them, "What is my password?"
0:18:01 > 0:18:04If they don't know it, then you don't have to let them in.
0:18:04 > 0:18:10Old folk do deserve more respect than this, quite truthfully,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12and they should have it.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24Many thefts are quick grab-and-gos but next, a burglary in Yelverton, Devon
0:18:24 > 0:18:30that starts in broad daylight but ends a long, long time later.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Not that this teenage thief knows that yet
0:18:34 > 0:18:37when he burst through the patio doors into somebody else's lounge.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Picking up a poker, he then starts poking around the house.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49But he is interrupted by the homeowner coming back.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Startled, he goes upstairs to hide in this wardrobe
0:18:54 > 0:18:55and sits on this shelf.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01And there, he hides while the owner calls the police.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03And although not recorded on these cameras,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06he was forced to stay hiding there while the police arrived
0:19:06 > 0:19:10to look around the house, including the very room was hiding in.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13But luckily for him, they didn't check the wardrobe.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18The police finally leave, but the house-owner stays,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21so the thief stays, too.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24In the wardrobe. For 13 hours.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Yes, a whole 13 hours later,
0:19:30 > 0:19:35he's picked up on night vision cameras, re-emerging at nearly 5am.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39You might think he would now want to get out of there as soon as
0:19:39 > 0:19:43possible, but whether being confined for so long has dulled his senses
0:19:43 > 0:19:47or he's been in the house so long that it now feels like home,
0:19:47 > 0:19:51he decides to pad around for the next hour, looking for stuff to steal.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57He even empties the homeowner's bag so he can fill it with loot.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05Pausing briefly to eat a chocolate bar - also stolen.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08My guess, 13 hours of hiding can make you hungry.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Eventually, just coming up to 6am, he finally decides to leave
0:20:14 > 0:20:17with a camera, laptop and cash in his possession.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Now he runs?
0:20:20 > 0:20:23But he didn't know that he had been secretly filmed the whole
0:20:23 > 0:20:26time as the homeowner had these cameras installed
0:20:26 > 0:20:28as a result of previous burglaries.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Understandably, very distressed to find that she had been
0:20:34 > 0:20:38sharing her house for so long with a poker-wielding intruder,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41she handed this footage over to the police.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43The 18-year-old thief was eventually caught
0:20:43 > 0:20:47and after admitting multiple other offences, he was sentenced
0:20:47 > 0:20:50to five years imprisonment at a young person's institution.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00As well as the obvious, like good locks and alarms,
0:21:00 > 0:21:05there are other ways to repel a robber before they reach the house.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07You need to create as many obstacles as you possibly can
0:21:07 > 0:21:09to prevent yourself from being a victim of crime.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Is there an opportunity to introduce gravel?
0:21:12 > 0:21:15A burglar cannot make a silent approach on gravel.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Consider having prickly hedges, spiky, thorny hedges that people
0:21:18 > 0:21:21don't want to climb through or they will get cut to ribbons.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25If you attach a trellis on top of the basic fence, it's harder
0:21:25 > 0:21:27to climb over, it's higher.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Also trellis can snap easily.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31A burglar does not want the threat of extra noise.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37But the next offenders we are going to see didn't
0:21:37 > 0:21:41worry about noise or being seen, will they committed their crime.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Queens Park, Bolton, established in 1887.
0:21:54 > 0:22:00This Victorian park is one of the city's most notable beauty spots, appreciated by all.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Well, almost all.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12To see people tipping, it is absolutely disgusting.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17It destroys what beauty there is here, it is not a nice thing to see.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28Over a two-year period, park wardens found an increasing amount of rotten
0:22:28 > 0:22:32food waste was being dumped, in particular, right by the duck pond.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36They contacted Bolton Council.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40The content of the waste was actually kebab meat,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42raw chicken carcasses,
0:22:42 > 0:22:47large quantities of bread, mainly chapatti and naan type bread,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51so it was generally the kind of waste that would be generated in a
0:22:51 > 0:22:53fast-food takeaway type business.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57Food outlets have to arrange special procedures to
0:22:57 > 0:22:59dispose of the extra waste they generate,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02and provide transfer notes to show they have done so.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04This can incur a charge.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Because there's a transaction passing waste
0:23:07 > 0:23:11and they wanted to avoid that because the waste came from a takeaway.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15While these phantom fly-tippers may have thought
0:23:15 > 0:23:18they have come up with a way to reduce their costs
0:23:18 > 0:23:23and dispose of the evidence, Chris Whitehead of the Wildfowl Wetlands Trust
0:23:23 > 0:23:27knew that the food they were dumping didn't fit a duck's bill, either.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30A lot of the processed food has additives in it, like salt
0:23:30 > 0:23:33and sugar, which would not do the birds any good.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38As for the ditched meat, such a large amount of it going
0:23:38 > 0:23:41rancid near the pond was a real menace.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Meat is one of the worst things to get into a pond like this,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47if you can imagine putting a piece of chicken in a bowl of water
0:23:47 > 0:23:52for a week and just leaving it, it would become really stinky.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57Also, potentially at risk, park user's pets.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00I have a dog, and my dog, they're all inquisitive, they always go over
0:24:00 > 0:24:04to things and it does worry me. I do not want to see my dog
0:24:04 > 0:24:07eating something and getting ill, because you cannot stop them.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10It's too late by the time they've got to it.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13We did receive reports from local dog-walking community
0:24:13 > 0:24:15that one or two of the dogs had fallen ill
0:24:15 > 0:24:17and it was suggested that could the possible link to
0:24:17 > 0:24:20the kind of waste that was thrown into the duck pond and closure.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25And with the illegal food waste continuing to be dumped,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27Bolton Council knew they had to act.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30We felt the best option would be to put a device in to monitor
0:24:30 > 0:24:35the area to see what activity was taking place over the weekend period.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Cleaning up the results of fly-tipping
0:24:37 > 0:24:41costs the council thousands of pounds each year, and they
0:24:41 > 0:24:46already possessed some hi tech equipment designed to catch persistent offenders in the act.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52The kit itself, which we actually use as part of this operation,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56was this device here. This is what we call the Merlin Device.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58It's actually designed to be buried underground.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00We try to conceal it, as best as possible.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03We attach cameras into the side of the device.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05There is a cartridge here.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08That will enable us to record up to three weeks,
0:25:08 > 0:25:14so we can leave the device in situ for a long period of time.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16So they had their gear... but where to put it?
0:25:17 > 0:25:20Most of the activity was taking place here,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22so what we felt the best situation
0:25:22 > 0:25:25would be was if we put a camera directly on the island itself.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30After concealing the device underground,
0:25:30 > 0:25:34we aimed the cameras back to shore, but there was some concerns, maybe,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37cos it's a favoured spot by the ducks, where they do congregate,
0:25:37 > 0:25:41whether they would block the shots, so we weren't sure how this would turn out.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47It actually turned out very well, indeed.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51The first weekend the secret cameras were running - a result.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Saturday morning, just coming up to 9am.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Ducks minding their own business,
0:25:58 > 0:26:00when two men come up to the fence
0:26:00 > 0:26:03and, in clear sight, start tipping food waste.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07It's just not right.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11It's not the kind of material or food
0:26:11 > 0:26:13that you would consider feeding to ducks.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16The two men disappear off camera for just under a minute,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18to dispose of their plastic bags.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23After all, you wouldn't want to make a mess, would you(?)
0:26:23 > 0:26:26But this time, they were unaware they're being caught on camera.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Somebody else had also taken exception.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Fortunately, a local dog walker did notice what was taking place.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38She felt it was necessary to take some information, by recording
0:26:38 > 0:26:40the registration number of the vehicle
0:26:40 > 0:26:43the two gentlemen had travelled to this park in.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45This was passed on to the council.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47They got the owners' details
0:26:47 > 0:26:50and asked him to attend an interview at the council offices.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55During the interview, the gentleman, initially, denied
0:26:55 > 0:26:57that he had ever been to Queen's Park,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00despite putting several questions to him.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05But when they showed him this film, he realised he couldn't, ahem,
0:27:05 > 0:27:07duck out of this one.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11At that point, he actually said it was him in the film
0:27:11 > 0:27:14and he did actually commit the offence.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Mohammed Asghar pleaded guilty to fly-tipping.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21He refused to identify his companion,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24so he was the only one prosecuted.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28He was fined £80 and £150 for investigation costs.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33It was quite an overjoying moment, that we'd finally caught
0:27:33 > 0:27:36the people responsible for tipping this waste into the duck enclosure.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40The council could only prove one offence against the man,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43but, funnily enough, ever since he and his partner
0:27:43 > 0:27:47were caught on camera, there has been no more fly-tipping of food -
0:27:47 > 0:27:51Something that all users of the park, including Alex here,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55- are all very glad about.- I hope they have learned their lesson
0:27:55 > 0:27:57and I hope they now start behaving properly
0:27:57 > 0:28:00and protect the environment, for everybody's enjoyment.
0:28:08 > 0:28:09That's it for today.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Join us next time, when the police and the public
0:28:12 > 0:28:14catch more criminals red-handed.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd