0:00:02 > 0:00:05Thieves will steal our cars, our valuables,
0:00:05 > 0:00:09just about anything they can get their hands on.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12To cut down on crime and antisocial behaviour,
0:00:12 > 0:00:16police and other agencies are using new technology and tactics
0:00:16 > 0:00:19when the bad guys are actually getting caught in the act.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22I can see the man actually commit the robbery. Lovely.
0:00:22 > 0:00:23Thank you very much.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Local councils, shops and businesses are laying some traps of their own.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Why should we feel frightened for the rest of our lives?
0:00:29 > 0:00:33And the general public too can help unsuspecting crooks
0:00:33 > 0:00:35- get their comeuppance. - No way are you getting away.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38We did it for everyone else as well that she might be stealing from.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40We will name and shame him.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43So anyone who's up to no good had better think twice.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46They might just get caught red-handed.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Today, a shopkeeper betrayed by a trusted friend.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59I confided in her that I'd been diagnosed with cancer
0:00:59 > 0:01:03and she says, "Oh, I'll be thinking of you all the time."
0:01:03 > 0:01:06And that weekend, £1,500 went out of my till.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09How hi tech electronic analysis catches a friend
0:01:09 > 0:01:11with their fingers in the till.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Also today, he legs it through the streets of London carrying
0:01:16 > 0:01:17a stolen safe.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21He even takes it in a taxi, but he's left a trail
0:01:21 > 0:01:23and the police are close behind.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25We managed to piece together his movements,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27leapfrogging him down the road.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30And the villains who thought they could tilt the security
0:01:30 > 0:01:32cameras to turn turn a blind eye,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34but they'd missed the mirrored ceiling
0:01:34 > 0:01:36and it reflects very badly on them.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Porthtowan, Cornwall.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54The owner of the local village shop, Linda,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58has discovered a trusted shop assistant has been stealing.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00It makes me feel sick to my stomach.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Me and my husband worked so hard to build this business up.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06But this is not just a betrayal of trust.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09It's a betrayal of friendship.
0:02:09 > 0:02:10Devastated.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Absolutely devastated.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16And we're not talking small change.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Just over £17,000.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28With its scenery and reputation for good surf,
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Porthtowan is an attractive place.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35Linda and her husband Brian were drawn here
0:02:35 > 0:02:36to fulfil a long-held dream.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41We'd always wanted a little village shop by the seaside
0:02:41 > 0:02:43and didn't think we'd ever get it.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47The shop was actually up for sale and we couldn't afford to buy it
0:02:47 > 0:02:51but the owners came to us and said would we like to lease it.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53And we just jumped at the chance.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Brian and Linda painstakingly built the business up.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01It was a bit nerve-racking because you invest your money in it
0:03:01 > 0:03:05and you think, well, you know, what's going to happen?
0:03:06 > 0:03:12From day one, we had the support of the locals. Such a lovely place.
0:03:12 > 0:03:13Though suddenly,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16the financial figures start looking less than lovely.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21My gross profit normally runs about 27-28%.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25And it was gradually going down where it had got to 25
0:03:25 > 0:03:26and was still dropping.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29But the tills balance at the end of every day, so Brian
0:03:29 > 0:03:33and Linda naturally assume that shoplifting must be the problem.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38We scoured the CCTV and we actually found a couple of shoplifters.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41And got rid of the shoplifters and thought, right,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44- now it's going to improve. - But it doesn't.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46While they're talking about the problem,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49the name of one of their staff called Natalie comes up.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Ironically, I did say to him at the time, this seems to have started
0:03:52 > 0:03:55round about just after Natalie started and we both went,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58"No, it can't... That's coincidence."
0:03:58 > 0:04:01In the 11 months that Natalie has been working at the store,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05she's become more than just an employee to Linda and Brian.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07She'd become a very good friend.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11We used to go out socially and have a meal and a drink
0:04:11 > 0:04:15and you know she wouldn't do something like that to you.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18She was so kind and nice.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21And a good worker.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25But soon, on the same day that Natalie has returned from a two-week
0:04:25 > 0:04:29holiday, something unusual is noticed on the cash register.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34One of Linda's other employees finds a mismatch of £7.39
0:04:34 > 0:04:38between a customer's credit card transaction and what's in the till.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40And it's a sale made by Natalie.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43I looked, and I thought, well,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47maybe they decided not to pay by credit card and paid by cash,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51so I looked through my system and the credit card hadn't been refunded
0:04:51 > 0:04:55so that started alarm bells ringing and then you start looking further.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58A check of the records show that on Natalie's shifts, there are
0:04:58 > 0:05:03loads of apparently cancelled cash transactions marked here in green.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Many more than Linda would have normally expected.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09The penny actually dropped that it WAS Natalie
0:05:09 > 0:05:14and the feelings that I'd had that few months ago were right.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18But probability isn't proof and because the tills had been
0:05:18 > 0:05:20balancing each day up to now, Linda knows
0:05:20 > 0:05:24she needs to get some hard evidence that Natalie is up to something.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27The CCTV monitoring was already in place.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29What we didn't have was a monitor on the till,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33so you couldn't see exactly what buttons were being pressed,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36so the company that looked after my till systems managed
0:05:36 > 0:05:40through their computer to put a monitoring system on for that
0:05:40 > 0:05:44shift and that was amalgamated then with the CCTV footage.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48With the bottom left of the screen showing exactly what
0:05:48 > 0:05:51she's pressing on the till, it's just ten minutes into her shift
0:05:51 > 0:05:55when Natalie commits her first crime.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Serving these two women, she totals up their items - two pasties,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00a loaf of bread and some water.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03They come to £9.11.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05She takes their money and gives them the correct change
0:06:05 > 0:06:09but before completing the sale, she quickly presses the void sale
0:06:09 > 0:06:12button on the till and cancels all the items.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15She's pretending the women have changed their minds
0:06:15 > 0:06:17about buying the goods.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19A void sale report is automatically printed out,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23so in the middle of serving the next customer, she bends down to
0:06:23 > 0:06:26pick up the till slip so that she can throw it in the bin.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30And that's it. The sale's gone. She can take the money out later on.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35And minutes later, she does just that, stuffing a note into her bra.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40Amazing. Absolutely amazing but devastating.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43And it doesn't get any easier to look at.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44In just a single shift,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Linda sees all the different ways Natalie has been ripping her off.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52This is one of the local village ladies,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56obviously old enough to buy tobacco products and alcohol.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58On these kinds of goods, a message automatically
0:06:58 > 0:07:02appears on the till asking if the person looks over 25.
0:07:02 > 0:07:08Natalie on that sale has put no, the customer isn't over 25,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12therefore the sale didn't register and Natalie took the money
0:07:12 > 0:07:17and has proceeded to put the money on top of the till, not in the till.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18When the customer leaves,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22Natalie sidles over to the National Lottery machine.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25She has produced a Lottery ticket which she then proceeds to
0:07:25 > 0:07:29put in her purse, takes the £10 that the customer
0:07:29 > 0:07:33gave her for the tobacco, puts it in the till, so ten Lucky Dips on me.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36I hope she didn't win.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41You can imagine the damage she did in a six-hour shift, five times a week.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44£17,000 to be precise.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47That's the shocking figure Linda estimates has been stolen
0:07:47 > 0:07:49over the year by her "friend".
0:07:49 > 0:07:51And to make matters worse,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54Linda has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Even when I went upcountry to let my daughter know that I'd been
0:07:58 > 0:08:01diagnosed with cancer, I confided in her.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03I said, "I'm dreading doing it."
0:08:03 > 0:08:06And she says, "Oh, I'll be thinking of you all the time."
0:08:06 > 0:08:10And that weekend, £1,500 went out of my till.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12So as well as the threat to her life,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16Linda is also having to deal with a threat to her livelihood.
0:08:16 > 0:08:17It's not fair.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Really not fair. Sorry.
0:08:22 > 0:08:23Linda takes action.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26When Natalie comes in the next morning,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Linda tells her she is suspended with immediate effect
0:08:29 > 0:08:31while she's investigated for theft.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33To which she just went, "OK, then",
0:08:33 > 0:08:37and turned around and walked out and left me open-mouthed.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Um, and all this knowing that the following day,
0:08:42 > 0:08:47I was due into hospital to have breast surgery.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Thankfully, the operation is a success
0:08:50 > 0:08:52and Linda is currently in remission.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59After eventually confessing to stealing the entire £17,000,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Natalie is sentenced to 16 months in prison.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08She also faces confiscation hearings to recover some of Linda
0:09:08 > 0:09:10and Brian's stolen money.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16And now, it's back to business as usual in the local shop
0:09:16 > 0:09:20for Linda, Brian and the other residents of Porthtowan.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23They totally support us.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25And they've all been in and said, you know,
0:09:25 > 0:09:31anything they can do to help, they will. We just say buy more!
0:09:31 > 0:09:34It has been hard work but a pleasure to build it up.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37And when I walk in the door now, I just feel so proud of us,
0:09:37 > 0:09:38of what we've done.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Coming up... at this takeaway,
0:09:45 > 0:09:50two men who have not come for food take away the deep fat fryers.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54The safe hadn't gone, but the fryers are the more important thing
0:09:54 > 0:09:57because they were the backbone of this business.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59But video evidence turns the heat on the robbers.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04They are out of the deep fat and into the very deep water.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06And look - no hands!
0:10:06 > 0:10:10Driverless cars may happen one day - but not yet.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13And certainly not at 60 miles an hour on a busy A road.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21Thieves will steal anything that's not bolted down and we're about
0:10:21 > 0:10:25to see evidence of that as cameras track a man as he lugs a safe
0:10:25 > 0:10:28that's heavier than me down a street in London
0:10:28 > 0:10:30to get it back to his lair.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39It's a bank holiday weekend in the City of London.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43This is a vital world financial centre.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47And it has one of the highest concentrations of CCTV
0:10:47 > 0:10:49cameras in the world.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51The City attracts criminals who think
0:10:51 > 0:10:53there will be rich pickings here -
0:10:53 > 0:10:58thieves and burglars who come to try their luck - like this man.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00This is the foyer of a block of flats
0:11:00 > 0:11:03and that hefty object he has concealed under a bed sheet
0:11:03 > 0:11:06is a safe containing the prized jewellery
0:11:06 > 0:11:09of one of the residents, Katerina.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13I cannot ignore the sad feelings about what was in there
0:11:13 > 0:11:16because the majority of jewellery has been given to me by my family.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Family members who are not alive any more
0:11:20 > 0:11:24and those were probably the most valuable there.
0:11:24 > 0:11:30This man has smashed-in Katerina's front door and ransacked her flat.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33He thinks he's getting away with the crime as he hauls
0:11:33 > 0:11:36the safe across London. But...
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Anywhere you go in the City of London,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40you will probably be on a CCTV camera.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Detectives are about to build a trail of images
0:11:44 > 0:11:46to track this man down.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57This part of London is so important, it has its own police force.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00The City of London is the smallest territorial force in the country.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02We're effectively an island
0:12:02 > 0:12:05in the middle of the Metropolitan Police area.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10DC Steve Weller works for the City of London Police Burglary Squad.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Burglaries tend to be quite a large proportion of our crime
0:12:12 > 0:12:16statistics, simply because you have a lot of empty premises,
0:12:16 > 0:12:18you have a lot of commercial premises -
0:12:18 > 0:12:21you have a lot of places that are potentially worth burgling.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Having said that, we still have a massively reduced
0:12:25 > 0:12:28number of burglaries in comparison to maybe other Force areas.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31There's quite a low level of residential burglaries
0:12:31 > 0:12:35because only about 7,000 people actually live in the City.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39Katerina, who is training to be a solicitor, is one of them.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44On this bank holiday weekend,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Katerina is working in an office across the road.
0:12:47 > 0:12:48Then she gets a phone call
0:12:48 > 0:12:52telling her that her flat has been broken into.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54I just had a cold rush, really.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58You know how you just cringe - you're hot and you're cold
0:12:58 > 0:13:03at the same time and you feel this weakness in the knees.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06She rushes home to her flat.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11I saw the bedroom was in absolute disgraceful mess.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15I went silent for about three seconds and then,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18I just burst out crying.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20She finds her safe has gone which contains her jewellery
0:13:20 > 0:13:23and family heirlooms.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26It meant so much. It's just irreplaceable.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31Steve goes to investigate the crime and meets Katerina at the flat.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34She is very, very upset. Obviously, she'd had her property broken into.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38People feel violated when their space is targeted by burglars
0:13:38 > 0:13:42and obviously we're very determined to apprehend this gentleman
0:13:42 > 0:13:44who had committed this offence.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48They start by checking the CCTV footage from the camera
0:13:48 > 0:13:51that covers the foyer of Katerina's building.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54The burglar knows the camera's there so keeps his back to it.
0:13:54 > 0:13:55We think he's an opportunist.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58He was a burglar who was looking to go into a residential block
0:13:58 > 0:14:00and it didn't matter which one.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02He's leant up against the intercom
0:14:02 > 0:14:06and he's pressed several buttons to see if anybody responds.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Obviously, if he gets a response, he's not going to target that flat.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14Unfortunately for Katerina, it's her flat he decides to raid.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16He has got gloves with him, he's got a hooded top.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18He's gone up the stairs.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22He's attacked the door, effectively a wooden door,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24and he's smashed it to bits.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Using the same destructive force,
0:14:26 > 0:14:31he searches through Katerina's flat until he comes across the safe.
0:14:31 > 0:14:32After nine or ten minutes,
0:14:32 > 0:14:34he's seen clearly coming down the stairs again.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38He's immediately dumped the safe next door inside a fire exit
0:14:38 > 0:14:43so he can work out how he's going to get out of the City with the safe.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47The thing is, whatever he decides to do, the cameras will be watching.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Shortly later, he dumps the sheet that he took from the room
0:14:52 > 0:14:55and this is only a still image but you can clearly see here that
0:14:55 > 0:15:01he's wearing this very distinctive striped white-and-blue T-shirt.
0:15:01 > 0:15:02Good as these images are,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Steve needs a clear shot of the man's face.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07He follows the blue-and-white striped figure
0:15:07 > 0:15:12around the streets of the City as he passes from camera to camera.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15We managed to piece together his movements, leapfrogging him
0:15:15 > 0:15:21down the road and we put him down into a newsagent's on Fleet Street.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24They also see that the man's hidden the safe nearby
0:15:24 > 0:15:26under some scaffolding.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29He's entered this shop with the intention of staying within
0:15:29 > 0:15:32and looking out of the glass panel window onto the street
0:15:32 > 0:15:36so he can see whether any police are coming, whether any alarms
0:15:36 > 0:15:40have been activated, whether he's effectively got away.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43The man thinks he's got away and no-one's noticed.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47Little does he know he's stepped into full view of DC Weller,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50the City of London Police, and now the rest of us.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53It's an extremely good high-definition CCTV camera
0:15:53 > 0:15:58and at that point, we've got a very, very clear facial shot of him.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01This clearer image of the man is circulated around Police Forces
0:16:01 > 0:16:05in London to see if anybody recognises him.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Meanwhile, oblivious to it all, the man goes back to pick up the safe.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13He's clearly struggling to work out how he's going to get this
0:16:13 > 0:16:18safe out of the City. He's frantically running up and down.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22He decides to risk hailing a taxi with a promise that he'll pay
0:16:22 > 0:16:24the driver when he's dropped off.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29He eventually manages to flag a taxi that will take him on those terms.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Steve and his colleagues now search through hours of further CCTV
0:16:35 > 0:16:37footage from different cameras.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40They're looking for a clear image of the taxi's numberplate
0:16:40 > 0:16:43and finally, they find one.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46They identify the driver and ask to speak to him.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49He was more than helpful, volunteered to attend the police station.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53He provided us with details of the fare and of where he dropped them
0:16:53 > 0:16:57out which was a housing estate in the neighbouring borough of Hackney.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01Unfortunately for the burglar, in Hackney there are cameras too.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04This one points at a spot next to a tower block,
0:17:04 > 0:17:07near to where the taxi dropped him off.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10And lo and behold, there is that familiar striped top again.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13He has put the safe in the wheelie bin
0:17:13 > 0:17:16and is using it to cart the safe from A to B.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20That allows him to come to this block of flats.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24He's typed in a specific flat number in order to facilitate entrance
0:17:24 > 0:17:26to that flat.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30By now, the investigation has taken two days to track the man to here.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34That is quick work, but the burglar has also been quick.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37He has taken the contents out of Katerina's safe.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Two Metropolitan Police neighbourhood officers patrolling
0:17:41 > 0:17:44the stairwell found the safe destroyed
0:17:44 > 0:17:48and discarded on one of the upper floor stairwells.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51The jewels may sadly have gone but Steve and his colleagues
0:17:51 > 0:17:56can at least catch this thief and stop him burgling other people.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01These pictures help them put a name to the face - James Singleton.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03But they still don't know where he lives.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05But with good detective work,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09they find out that he has a female relative living in a flat
0:18:09 > 0:18:13nearby and they pay her a visit, with extraordinary results.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17She allowed us into the flat, we had a chat with her about where
0:18:17 > 0:18:19this male that we were looking for was.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20As we are having that conversation,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23my colleague has noticed that a traffic warden is looking up
0:18:23 > 0:18:25towards the flat, paying attention to the flat.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28The traffic warden has spotted something that is
0:18:28 > 0:18:30a bit like a scene from a movie.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34This traffic warden has directed my colleague's attention up to the
0:18:34 > 0:18:36window of the flat that we are in.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Lo and behold, the male is hanging out of the window,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43using the floor below's window as a footing,
0:18:43 > 0:18:49effectively clung to the face of the flat.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52My colleague shouted up, we obviously popped our head out,
0:18:52 > 0:18:56had a few choice words and the male has come in.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00Immediately put his wrists out as if to say, arrest me.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05James Singleton owns up to another five offences
0:19:05 > 0:19:07and pleads guilty in court.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10He is sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Sadly, he had already sold Katerina's jewellery for a pittance.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20It was worth more but he just wanted quick cash.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Police have an eye out for it in case it turns up.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25It has been a bitter blow for Katerina
0:19:25 > 0:19:29but she is determined not to let the experience get her down.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Should I have been worried and depressed and concerned,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33I would have moved flats.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36I don't have to stick here but I love this flat
0:19:36 > 0:19:41so somehow you just have to cope with it and just ignore things
0:19:41 > 0:19:44and just live with it, really.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48And Steve has a message for any burglars who
0:19:48 > 0:19:50fancy their chances in the city.
0:19:50 > 0:19:51There is no way you will be able to come in
0:19:51 > 0:19:54and perpetrate your offence without being captured on CCTV.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Our detection rate, the amount of people we send to prison is so high
0:19:58 > 0:20:01that you are likely to get caught and you are likely to get prosecuted.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09That burglar was prepared to go to great lengths to steal a safe.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13But most thieves are opportunists who prefer easy pickings.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17So we can help put them off by making life difficult for them.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Make sure your home looks occupied.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Leave lights on, don't leave post on display.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27or example, you're going on an exotic holiday for two weeks,
0:20:27 > 0:20:31you tell friends and acquaintances about that but you never know who
0:20:31 > 0:20:34might overhear that information, who else might get to hear about it.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38So maybe better not to discuss it quite so openly.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41It is equally important to think about where
0:20:41 > 0:20:43you are posting that information. So, for example,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47a lot of people will now put it on social media that they are away.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49And who actually has access to that?
0:20:49 > 0:20:51Who can see that you are away for two weeks?
0:20:54 > 0:20:57New technology isn't just about keeping our homes
0:20:57 > 0:21:01and possessions safe, it also applies to our roads as well.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Safe from people like this next chap,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06who seems to think that hands-free applies to his driving too.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19Ah, that Friday evening drive home. The start of a relaxing weekend.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Hold on! Go back a minute. That is taking things a bit far.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28Unless he has grown a third arm, this man is driving along a
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Yorkshire A road on this breezy day with neither hand on the wheel.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37He is controlling the car just with his knees at over 60mph.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41And this camera belonging to North Yorkshire traffic police
0:21:41 > 0:21:44catches him driving this way for over half a mile.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Understandably, the police take a very dim view of this
0:21:50 > 0:21:54and charge the driver with dangerous driving. His excuse?
0:21:54 > 0:21:57That he's stretching because of a bad back.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59And as he has his foot on the brake,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02he claims he is still in control of the vehicle.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04The magistrate disagrees
0:22:04 > 0:22:08and the driver is banned from driving for 12 months,
0:22:08 > 0:22:14ordered to do 100 hours community service and pay £625 of court costs.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18His weekend turned out to be rather less relaxing than he thought.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Next, daylight robbery in Kingston upon Thames.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Two men in a van hoping to leave with a haul worth
0:22:33 > 0:22:35tens of thousands of pounds.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39It is not gold or diamonds they are stealing, but deep fat fryers.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42They are looking for a fast getaway from a fast-food takeaway
0:22:42 > 0:22:46- belonging to Mo. - Very, very bad experience.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Without the fryers we can't do anything.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51These crooks think they are smart.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54They think they can deal with these cameras, but they are going to
0:22:54 > 0:22:58leave evidence that will literally turn their world upside down.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Mo is the manager of Chick-o-land, specialising in fried chicken.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11His takeaway has become a fixture in the centre of Kingston.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16This has been well established since the late '80s.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20It is kind of a family business, it is our livelihood.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26With most of their trade done late at night, with high-spirited pubbers
0:23:26 > 0:23:31and clubbers, it is essential that Mo has a camera surveillance system.
0:23:31 > 0:23:38The licence actually demands us to have CCTV in the shop.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Obviously for our security purposes, it is
0:23:41 > 0:23:43very essential to have.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49But Mo wouldn't normally expect any trouble at seven o'clock
0:23:49 > 0:23:51in the morning, and that is the time
0:23:51 > 0:23:56when this white van pulls up outside his closed restaurant.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59It is the sort of van that might used for deliveries and that is
0:23:59 > 0:24:03presumably what the occupants are counting on to avoid suspicion.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Checking there are no passers-by,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10one of the men bursts open the front door.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15Aware of all the CCTV cameras, they walk in with their hoods up
0:24:15 > 0:24:19and then set about taking the cameras out of action one by one.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23They attack this one with a broom,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26only succeeding in knocking it upside down.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30So they then cover it with an empty box.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34This other camera they simply tilt up to face the ceiling.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Well, not so simple.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40They haven't noticed the ceiling has mirrors on it so the camera
0:24:40 > 0:24:43is still recording a reflected image of the counter below.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45If we turn that image round,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48we can see one of the men trying to open a till.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Meanwhile, crook number two deals with the camera filming
0:24:54 > 0:24:57the van outside by turning it upwards,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00but that means that it too is pointing at that mirrored
0:25:00 > 0:25:02ceiling so now it is recording
0:25:02 > 0:25:05a reflected image of the doorway instead.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09And it catches them wheeling out two heavy deep fat fryers,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13each one is worth over £10,000.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16They have been raiding Mo's restaurant for 20 minutes now
0:25:16 > 0:25:18but the robbers still aren't done.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21They come back yet again to take away the office safe.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25And finally they are gone. A successful crime?
0:25:25 > 0:25:27Well, not exactly.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Mo arrives later to find the restaurant ransacked.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Very, very bad experience. Very bad experience.
0:25:35 > 0:25:41In all, I would say around just under 30,000 damage that they had caused.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46There was oil more or less everywhere, on the pavement,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49the safe had gone, full of papers in it.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51But the fryers are the more important thing
0:25:51 > 0:25:54because they were the backbone of this business.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Without the fryers we can't do anything.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59They lose two whole days of business
0:25:59 > 0:26:02while they scramble around to get a new fryer.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Looking at the camera footage, Mo is not just angry, he is astonished
0:26:06 > 0:26:10the robbers had the audacity to rob him in broad daylight.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15He is not disturbed at all whether there are passers-by or not.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17He is so casual.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20They were very confident.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24They just did it as if they had been doing it all their lives.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28However, despite taking care to wear hoods, disable cameras
0:26:28 > 0:26:33and wipe fingerprints, one of the robbers has made a big mistake.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36When they arrived, he didn't realise the camera pointing
0:26:36 > 0:26:40out of the window had a wide angle and it had recorded his face.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Then he makes an even bigger mistake
0:26:42 > 0:26:48when he asks his accomplice to move the van forward slightly. Oh-oh!
0:26:48 > 0:26:49Look, a number plate.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53And now a clearer picture of the robber right by it.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Thanks very much, say the police.
0:26:55 > 0:27:01Yes, they were identified because of our footage.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05That was the reason behind the police catching them.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09Far from being the professional kitchen raid they had planned,
0:27:09 > 0:27:14the thieves made a right meal of it by being caught on Mo's cameras.
0:27:14 > 0:27:1741-year-old Mark Alloway is convicted of commercial
0:27:17 > 0:27:21burglary and three offences of handling stolen goods.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24At the time of arrest, he had two other deep fat fryers
0:27:24 > 0:27:27in the back of the truck, but not Mo's.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Pleading guilty to the crimes of robbing Chick-o-land
0:27:30 > 0:27:32and another fast-food restaurant,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35he is sentenced to eight months in prison.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Probably they don't realise what sort of burden
0:27:39 > 0:27:44they put on the commercial premises when they do steal.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Back on its feet, Chick-o-land has now strengthened its security,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50including more hidden cameras.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53We have, at this moment, one fryer
0:27:53 > 0:27:55and we will expect to get another one.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00- So, any sign of the two fryers that were stolen?- No, not at all.
0:28:00 > 0:28:06I hope whoever is watching this clip would identify our fryers
0:28:06 > 0:28:08and please return it back to us!
0:28:15 > 0:28:16That's it for today.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Join us next time when the police
0:28:18 > 0:28:21and the public catch more criminals red-handed.