Episode 7 Caught Red Handed

Thieves will steal our cars, our valuables,

just about anything they can get their hands on.

To cut down on crime and antisocial behaviour, the police

and other agencies are using new tactics and technology,

where the bad guys are getting caught in the act.

CCTV was vital.

You can see they are definitely the people there.

The camera doesn't lie.

Local councils, shops and businesses

are laying some traps of their own.

There's a eureka moment when you get that evidence.

And the general public, too,

can help unsuspecting crooks get their comeuppance.

People won't stand by.

I couldn't sit back and do nothing.

Yes! We've got her.

So, anyone who's up to no good had better think twice.

They might just get caught red-handed.

Today, an armed robber on the run.

He raids shop after shop, threatening victims with a gun.

And boasts about it.

This is just goading the police by wearing this T-shirt.

He isn't going to be stopping till the police catch up with him.

Also today, the peaceful British countryside,

where sheep may safely graze...

RECORD SCRATCHES But no chance of that here.

Just beggars belief, really.

And one cause is this yellow-bellied tipper,

a careless creature who ruins his habitat

with rubbish that can kill.

Young lambs or larger livestock choking on plastic

that they've ingested.

And a shop with a glass door - easy pickings for a pair of burglars.

But not this time.

It's a locksmith's shop,

so they could to be here for a while.

An armed robber is on a rampage

in Stockport holding up stores.

Had a man

out there pointing firearms in people's faces.

In just two weeks, he commits 19 raids.

He hands over threatening notes...

..terrifying his victims.

Anything could've happened to her.

Immediately, I felt intimidated.

Completely intimidated.

He even taunts the police. But the manhunt is on.

Stockport, Greater Manchester.

Detective Sergeant Steve Hartley

and Detective Constable Lee McCarthy are working over the August

bank holiday weekend.

Reports start to flood in of a spate of walk-in robberies at shops

and businesses.

It's the start of one of the biggest cases in their careers.

The first crime in the series which was one of the most serious

and aggressive crimes that was committed by the offender

started off as him entering an independent convenience store.

It's captured on the store's CCTV security cameras.

At 6pm on the Saturday, a cyclist arrives at the shop and strolls in.

The young woman is on her own in the shop.

The man picks up a bag of crisps and goes to the counter.

He seems to be counting out his money, ready to pay.

But, actually, he's waiting for the assistant to open the till.

And when she does, in a sudden, shocking movement,

the man pulls out a gun and points it straight at her.

And while she backs away, terrified,

he reaches in and grabs ?400 from the till.

Then, calmly getting back on his bike, the robber leaves the shop and

a very frightened young woman.

This must've been horrendous for her.

Having seen this footage,

we had a man out there pointing firearms in people's faces.

It was important that we found this person as soon as possible.

They're helped by some high-quality CCTV.

The store have positioned these cameras in such a way

that it makes it easier for us to conduct an investigation.

With an armed robber on the loose,

the police launch an extensive search.

But it's not long before another shop is targeted.

This time, it's a family business run by Julie.

It's not her real name, she has asked us not to reveal her identity.

We've been established there for 30 years. It's my mum and dad's shop.

My dad passed away, so it's passed down to the family.

It's just a little convenience store on an estate serving

the local community.

We don't get trouble. Customers are lovely. We know everyone there.

I don't think we've ever had something like this.

Julie's security camera shows how, a few days before the bank holiday,

this man first entered her store.

She remembers him because he'd set her on edge.

Immediately, I felt intimidated.

The way he acted, his eyes were darting around everywhere.

Didn't look normal.

You were on red alert straightaway.

For whatever reason,

this time the man just walks away.

But Julie tells her family and staff to keep an eye out for him.

But on this bank holiday, Monday afternoon,

he comes back.

My mum was at the till. We had a member of staff upstairs.

As it's a family business,

Julie's mum regularly does shifts at the store.

My mum was just serving the customers as usual.

Julie's mum has no idea

that this man in the queue committed an armed robbery two days earlier.

He buys a packet of cigarette papers.

But again, it's just a cheap way for him

to get a good look at the till and what's in it.

He then asks for a box of matches.

This time, when Julie's mum opens the till,

he seizes a bundle of cash.

Mum slams the top lid down as quickly as she could,

but it was too late.

He gets away with around ?100,

and that's a lot of money to take from Julie's family.

It's your living at the end of the day.

It feeds you, it clothes you, it gives you shelter,

it gives you a roof over your head.

For someone to come in and do that, it's...so wrong.

Julie's particularly upset that her mum's had to face

such a frightening experience.

I think that she was in shock. Scared. Really intimidated.

Sort of, right, is something like this going to happen again?

It's not fair on her at all. I mean, she's nearly 70.

You just want to protect her.

Makes you feel ill inside.

The robber behaves so confidently

that the police feel it's likely he could already

be on their books for some reason.

They search the force database.

From the CCTV images that we've managed to seize,

we put certain attributes into the computer - his hair colour,

height, age range, offending behaviour

and also the area the offence has been committed.

A name is put forward.

The computer gave me a number of results,

and one of the results I had back was Peter Thomas.

It's a breakthrough.

They're confident Peter Thomas is the culprit.

But they have no current address for him.

Meanwhile, the robber's crimes start to escalate.

Over the next few days, he hits a succession of businesses,

and he's come up with a new way to intimidate his victims.

Now, he hands over threatening notes to demand money

telling staff he's carrying a gun.

The notes suggest serious harm will come to the people

if they didn't do what they were told.

He also would have his hands in his pockets,

insinuating that he had a firearm with him.

I can't imagine how frightened these people were

when this was happening to them.

But these notes are a mistake. They give the police a lead.

He leaves one of them behind after a raid

and police send it off for fingerprint analysis.

Results confirm it is Peter Thomas.

But while Thomas is careless about hiding his identity,

he does go to great lengths to conceal his whereabouts.

It was a game of cat and mouse.

He was constantly moving around, booking into hotels under

different names, paying with cash - proceeds from his crimes.

So we're always one or two steps behind.

Thomas embarks on a grand theft tour of the North West of England.

Popping up in Blackpool, Preston,

Bolton.

And for one robbery, Thomas puts on this T-shirt.

This is just goading the police by wearing this T-shirt.

He knows he's wanted, he knows he's committing these offences.

It shows a blatant disrespect for law and order,

for the people subjected to these crimes.

But all the time police officers are scouring the streets, gaining

intelligence, building up a picture of his movements.

The net is closing in.

But Thomas' behaviour becomes even more erratic.

At this bookmakers,

he hands over a threatening note to the woman behind the counter.

But he gets impatient waiting

and he launches himself at her.

He grabs what he can from the till.

It's a disturbing turn of events.

His nature is more aggressive.

He's come towards the sales assistant

and she's had nowhere to go at that time.

She's been boxed in.

Anything could have happened to her.

That was extremely worrying for the investigation team

because now he didn't appear to be in as much control as he used to be.

I'd be faithful if he carried on that he might commit

acts of violence and cause somebody serious harm.

But Thomas' increasing desperation is also making him careless,

and police get another important lead.

He had taken a taxi out of the area.

We managed to trace the person who drove him

to a particular area of Manchester.

They flood the district with undercover officers

and soon they get a tip-off.

And then the inquiries on the ground by some covert officers were able to

identify an address where he was later located.

Holed up in a flat, Thomas is surprised in a police raid,

and he is arrested.

They also find an imitation gun.

At the end of his two-week spree,

he's committed a total of 19 offences.

Steve and Lee have collected a large amount of CCTV images,

forensic proof and witness statements.

It pays off when they confront Thomas.

The evidence was so overwhelming,

it actually made him admit to each and every crime that we put to him.

The best thing about that is that he doesn't put any of the victims

or witnesses through the ordeal of having a court case or

a trial hanging over him.

In court, Peter Thomas is sentenced to a total of 12 years.

Thomas brought terror to his victims.

Although his gun was a fake, they weren't to know.

Our worry was this person was not going to stop offending

until the police caught up with him.

I think the result was a great result.

We couldn't really hope for much more.

It'll be a long time before he'll be able to get on the streets again.

It's good news for his victims, like Julie and her mum.

Very relieved. Very relieved he's locked up.

Of all the places a burglar may choose to break into, you'd imagine

a locksmith's would be pretty low on the list, wouldn't you?

Two men stroll up to a local locksmiths shop in Evesham.

But, at nearly 4am,

it's unlikely they're wanting a key cut or a heel repair.

And their real purpose becomes clear

when one of them tries to crowbar the door open.

But as you might expect, this shop has a rather strong lock on it.

Frustrated, the would-be burglar smashes a window pane

and tries to open the door from the inside.

But locksmiths know a thing or two, and they've fitted a lock

that can't be turned from the inside either.

His accomplice wants a go.

Maybe he has a cunning plan.

No.

He simply flaps about a bit with his hand. Not so cunning.

Time for brute force then - an attempt to kick the door in.

What, with trainers on?

Well, here he goes...

Oh, no.

The pair run off hotfooted

and probably sore-footed, too.

The locksmiths hope someone will recognise the man

in the batman hat and his accomplice,

and will lead Batman and, uh, Robbing to a police station.

Although, knowing their ability to pick targets,

it won't be long before they try breaking into one of those, too.

Watching that pair struggle may have been comical,

but the important thing is they gave up trying.

And that tells us something when it comes to protecting our own homes.

Good locks. Mortise locks, deadlocks.

Have more than one and make sure you actually use them.

If we've got gravel paths

or perhaps a warning sound

when the doors open to bell chime

or an alarm system that creates

a really loud sound for our neighbours to be aware

that someone has entered the property.

Or even a squeaky gate that might annoy us

but alerts the neighbour to the fact that there's someone

attacking your property while you're on holiday.

If you can't afford to put

an electronic alarm up, then

there are products on the market now

which is just the dummy box

fitted to the side of the house

and looks like any other alarm.

The other thing is, put your valuables where they wouldn't look.

So, you know, put them in your children's cupboards,

for example, or under your stairs in an old box.

Don't make it obvious.

A heartless crime when this man steals from people in need.

Well, it's the lowest of the low, isn't it?

But there's a bizarre turn days later when the thief comes back.

What he does next is beyond belief.

Just so crazy.

Towns and cities are fighting a constant battle

to keep litter off the streets.

But it can be the scourge of the countryside as well,

where it's not just unsightly, but it also causes serious damage.

The beautiful unspoilt landscape of County Durham

is enjoyed by visitors and local residents alike.

It's an absolutely idyllic area.

But, unfortunately,

parts of this countryside are not completely unspoilt.

They're under attack...

from people dumping rubbish.

This has arrived over the last few days.

It's just terrible, isn't it? It's just terrible.

Livestock and wildlife are being put in danger.

This farm has experienced loss of young lambs

choking on plastic that they've ingested.

But councils are waging war against the culprits

using secret surveillance technology...

We try to put the cameras in the best place possible.

..to dump the dumpers themselves in court.

Around 70% of land in the UK is agricultural,

so if someone illegally tips waste in the countryside,

there's a good chance it's damaging a farmer's property.

James Copeland works for the National Farmer's Union.

Fly-tipping is a national issue.

It affects two-thirds of farmers.

There's about 850,000

instances every year.

That's one every 37 seconds.

It's a staggering amount.

As well as farms, rubbish is also dumped on public land,

and it's become a big problem in one area west of Durham.

Ian Hoult works for Durham County Council.

Anybody that has fly-tipping landing on their land has got

an obligation to clear it up,

and private landowners

and the council are the same

in that way. And, of course, it costs money.

Here in Durham, it costs us something like ?500,000,

so it's a significant amount of money.

So everyone in the UK is paying

to clear up the mess these people make.

Fly-tipping isn't a victimless crime. It is affecting everyone.

In County Durham, visitors and residents are fed up.

Why? Why do they do this?

If they've come this far to actually dump the rubbish,

why can't they just go that little bit further to a tip?

In fact, the tip might well be closer. You know?

It just beggars belief, really.

Ian's on his way to visit an area continually hit by illegal dumpers.

The location that we're heading towards

is a really beautiful rural lane.

It's got beautiful views across the valley.

It leads to a local farmer's land. And, of course, fly-tipping causes

all sorts of problems for them.

Livestock are affected,

as are other animals.

This farmer has experienced loss of livestock.

Young lambs choking on plastic that they've ingested or larger

livestock not being able to feed and basically have to be put down.

At least this time it's been spotted and will be cleared away.

So we' re just arriving here now.

There's a fly-tipped fridge and looks like a television.

So I'm just going to go check it out.

This rubbish is being dumped on both public and farmland,

and some of it contains potentially harmful chemicals.

It's just terrible, isn't it? It's just terrible.

It kind of looks like a commercial fridge.

I'm not sure, we might need somebody to help manoeuvre that to see

if we can get a serial number off the back.

But kind of in the meantime, we're going to make sure that

we let people know that it is being investigated.

Ian's determined to crack down on the tippers,

but to prosecute, he needs evidence.

And recently, he's had success using hidden cameras.

We've got a couple of different types of cameras.

This one is what they call a bullet lens.

Great for shooting in low light.

And we've also got a semi-camouflaged piece of kit.

They're both motion censored, so whenever somebody passes,

you capture footage at that point in time.

Ian hides the cameras where he's most likely to catch

a fly-tipper in the act.

We look to get the best mixture of the broad vision,

so you can pick up what was actually getting dumped,

and we also want to get specifics -

so we want to get the registration plate, we want to get the details.

He even puts up signs to warn people that cameras are recording.

But it's not long before there's another offence.

Within a week of the cameras being deployed,

we were back up here taking the memory stick out

and making sure that we were able to download that footage.

Ian studies the recording.

The camera's been triggered by this man.

He casually dumps garden furniture and waste

as if he was at a rubbish tip.

That table even looks like it could be recycled.

He's spoiling the countryside and committing a crime.

There's always mixed feelings when you see footage like this.

There is the feeling that we've got the registration plate...

You can't help but feel gutted at the same time

that actually somebody wants to go

and put that sort of waste in the open air.

It could have all have been recycled.

The man heads off,

but he's not finished.

Ten minutes later, he's back with more junk.

I struggle to comprehend it, really.

The impact that that has on this locality is enormous.

With the camera footage as evidence,

Ian and his team can find and confront the fly-tipper.

We went to do a door knock.

We firstly cautioned him, we then presented him

with some stills of the footage that we got with his registration plate,

with a picture of him,

so he admitted it and then we prosecuted him.

In court, the man pleads guilty

and is ordered to pay fines and costs of almost ?400.

A lot of money considering he could have got

rid of his waste for free in a legal way.

He also now has a criminal record.

I think it's important that, hopefully, he's learned his lesson

and other people have learned their lesson, too.

News of the prosecution spreads

and hopefully deters others from illegally dumping.

It was pleasing to see the prosecution

and the support from the community -

the impact that that has had on social media.

It's bonded the community to basically say that we're not

accepting fly-tipping and that people are actually looking now how

they can make sure that what they are doing

in the disposal of their waste doesn't affect the countryside.

But there's still more work to be done.

Ian's mission has inspired

a county-wide partnership against fly-tipping -

a campaign called Operation Stop It.

We've got two focuses in terms of the campaign.

The first one is about helping householders understand that

if you give a man and a van 50 quid, do you really know where it's gone?

And we want residents to be part of this and make sure

that they're asking the right questions.

And the second part of the campaign

is targeting those people that are carrying waste.

So we're looking to make sure that Durham remains a beautiful place.

Ian and his colleagues are also arming themselves with many

more cameras, so fly-tippers beware!

All thefts have victims,

but stealing from somebody who is sick or vulnerable

is particularly cold-hearted.

Whitley Bay on the northeast coast of England.

A customer walks into a shop and looks around.

This is a charity shop that raises money to help sufferers of a rare

and painful disease.

But this customer isn't here to give,

he's here to take.

And he helps himself to a valuable computer tablet on display.

Every penny counts,

and that ?50 would have gone to one of the sufferers.

Locals are outraged by the theft.

Well, it's the lowest of the low, isn't it?

But just over a week later, events take a bizarre turn.

Just seemed so weird. I've never known it.

The thief returns to the scene of the crime,

but this time the staff are ready for him.

Eric Duffield co-founded this charity in 2003

after learning about a local man with a rare disease, Jonny Kennedy.

I saw this documentary on Channel 4 called

The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off,

and it followed Jonny on his last four months of his life.

Jonny suffered from an incurable skin condition

called epidermolysis bullosa, or EB,

where the skin is so fragile that the slightest touch causes damage.

In spite of his poor health, though, Jonny lived life to the full.

And I thought if he could go through life with pain

and still do the things a normal person wouldn't do,

I had nothing but total admiration.

It gave me that drive to help this charity the best way I could.

That's 4.50, please. Do you want a bag?

Since then, sadly, Jonny's passed away.

Eric and his team of volunteers have carried on raising

money for other sufferers to buy specialist equipment

and treats, like birthday presents and days out.

It means a lot to them

because it means they can escape the pain and enjoy themselves.

The charity is dependent on income from the shop.

Fortunately, the local community are generous

and volunteers like Stephen enjoy helping out.

We all get on great with each other, you know.

Which is, I think, a good thing, you know,

to be happy in your job. Whether you're getting paid or not paid,

it's nice to be appreciated for what you do.

But criminals have little respect for charity.

The shop has fallen victim to thieves 11 times since it opened.

I don't think anybody expects a charity shop to be targeted,

and it was disheartening. But the community rallied round 100%.

And they said, "Look, don't let it get you down."

And I don't. I don't.

But Eric does take action and invests in a security system.

For a while, it seems to be working as a deterrent...

until one day

Eric gets a call from the shop staff saying that a computer tablet

has disappeared from the window display.

And I thought, "Oh, no, here we go again."

But this time, Eric has an extra pair of eyes - a CCTV recording...

..and this is what he sees.

A man walks into the shop.

A member of staff is tidying up by the window.

The man heads further into the store to look at some clothes,

but it's something more valuable that's really caught his eye.

The moment the coast is clear, the man makes a beeline for the window

and the computer tablet.

Obviously, he has seen it from the outside, so he knows exactly

what he's going for.

He takes a sneaky look to see if he's being watched...

..then reaches into the window to take the tablet.

He pretends to continue browsing.

He looks back at the window as a decoy, basically.

He's just standing there.

Moments later, the man drops the tablet into his bag.

Stealing from anywhere is a crime,

but to steal from a charity, it really, really annoys me.

This brazen thief even pauses to chat with a member of staff

and carries on wandering round the shop like an ordinary customer.

But then, on reaching the back, he notices a CCTV camera.

He hasn't counted on that.

He looks up at the camera and he thinks, "Oh, my God!"

But it still doesn't deter him.

He doesn't panic, he just walks out.

But it's not just a recording of his face he's left behind.

The tablet needs a stylus pen to work,

and that's still sitting in the window.

Eric takes the CCTV footage to the police

and the theft is reported in the local paper.

But then, eight days later,

there's a strange turn of events.

The thief comes back to the shop.

He's apparently trying to re-donate the tablet.

Without that stylus, it's probably been pretty useless.

But immediately, he's recognised.

When I saw the tablet and this guy standing there, I thought,

"Ah, he fits the description, there's the tablet that was pinched.

"Ah, that must be him," and I just stood eye to eye.

Stephen keeps a watch on the man while a colleague calls Eric.

He's out shopping in the town.

Luckily enough, there was a police officer standing outside the

shopping centre, so I pulled him in.

Eric and the officer race to the charity shop.

The man's still there.

Then I saw his face, "What's happened here?"

I think he realised then what he had done.

He was immediately arrested and taken away and charged.

Eric can't be sure why the man tried to donate the tablet

back to the charity.

Did he have a guilty conscience? Had somebody told him?

We don't know.

But to use the excuse,

"I didn't realise I had it."

It's just so crazy!

In court, the man is found guilty

and is ordered to pay ?180 in fines and costs.

But that's not the end of the story.

When news reaches the local community,

they rally round to support the charity.

People were just so generous.

One of the biggest donations from a lady,

she donated ?5,000, and we were totally gobsmacked.

And then we had received cheques for ?50, ?100, ?1,000,

which means we can help more people.

That's it for today.

Join us next time when police

and the public catch more criminals...red-handed.