0:00:02 > 0:00:05Thieves will steal our cash, our cars, our valuables -
0:00:05 > 0:00:07just about anything they can get their hands on.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11But now, the police are using cutting-edge technology
0:00:11 > 0:00:13to catch the bad guys.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15We want to make sure we've got a concrete case.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Enough evidence to convict at court.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Local councils, shops and businesses are fighting crime
0:00:21 > 0:00:22with their own tricks and traps...
0:00:22 > 0:00:26It's just unbelievable that she thinks she can get away with this.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29..and the public are using secret cameras
0:00:29 > 0:00:32to make sure the crooks get their comeuppance.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Fair means or foul, I was going to get rid of him.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37I thought, "We've got her!"
0:00:37 > 0:00:40And I was so happy. Thank God!
0:00:40 > 0:00:44So anyone who's up to no good had better think twice.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47They might just get caught red-handed.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Today, jeweller Shrikant has to act fast...
0:00:56 > 0:00:58..when armed men attack his shop.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00My staff started screaming
0:01:00 > 0:01:04so, obviously, I was thinking of the safety of everybody in the shop.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07But the robbers get a surprise
0:01:07 > 0:01:10when Shrikant triggers his state-of-the-art security system.
0:01:12 > 0:01:18Also today, in Liverpool, thieves have been plaguing small businesses.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21They turned over Gareth's bar twice in a month.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25It's horrible. Is this ever going to stop?
0:01:25 > 0:01:27Is anyone ever going to be caught?
0:01:27 > 0:01:31So Gareth comes up with a plan to unite the city
0:01:31 > 0:01:33and call time on these crooks.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39And this couple are using a baby buggy to steal a beer barrel.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42But they haven't counted on the sharp eyes
0:01:42 > 0:01:46of the security camera operator, who wasn't born yesterday.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55Of all the shops in a typical high street,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58jewellery shops are prime targets for robbers.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01They can see all the valuables on display
0:02:01 > 0:02:03and they look very accessible.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06But jewellers are finding some ingenious ways
0:02:06 > 0:02:08to defend their businesses.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15The Golden Mile in Leicester,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18a road renowned for its Indian restaurants,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20sari shops and jewellers.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26Shrikant, with his brothers Jay and Raj, runs this jewellery shop,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30which was established by their father in 1976.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32He'd run a similar business in Uganda,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34before being forced out of the country,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37along with many other Asians in the mid-'70s.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40When we had to leave, in the night
0:02:40 > 0:02:45there was a lot of gunshots, so it was quite scary.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48And that's really stuck in my head.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Shrikant was just ten when he arrived in the UK.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Along with his brothers, he learnt about jewellery as he grew up.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58The jewellery trade, it's in our blood
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and, whilst my father was building up the business,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04he used to teach me how to make some jewellery
0:03:04 > 0:03:05and that's how I got into it.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10Despite competition for customers, the jewellery shop owners
0:03:10 > 0:03:13in the Golden Mile have always stuck together.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16It is a lovely community, very tight-knit.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20We do get together and have meetings regularly for security purposes.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Local businesses have boosted their security systems
0:03:24 > 0:03:27with state-of-the-art alarms and smoke generators
0:03:27 > 0:03:29to deter thieves because shops,
0:03:29 > 0:03:34including Shrikant's, have been attacked by armed gangs in the past.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Very, very terrifying it was, but, at the back of your mind,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40you're always thinking to yourself
0:03:40 > 0:03:43that yes, this has happened and it could happen again.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46And it does happen to Shrikant again
0:03:46 > 0:03:49when, one day, armed men raid his shop
0:03:49 > 0:03:52and he has just seconds to respond to save his business.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58It's mid-afternoon on a Saturday.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Shrikant, his brother Jay and other members of staff are in the shop.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Shrikant's dealing with two customers.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10I was at the back and, obviously,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12when you're concentrating on a customer,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15you're not really looking round to see what's going on.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18A man walks up to the entrance.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21For security, the door is kept locked,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23so a member of staff presses a button under the counter
0:04:23 > 0:04:25to let him in.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28But he loiters by the door, preventing it from shutting.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32I heard the staff saying, "Please close the door."
0:04:32 > 0:04:34And I thought, "Right, what's going on?
0:04:34 > 0:04:36"Is somebody else coming in with a pushchair?"
0:04:36 > 0:04:39But then, when I looked, I only saw one person there
0:04:39 > 0:04:43so I said to him, "Please, if you don't mind, close the door."
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Shrikant can't see outside, where a car has pulled up
0:04:46 > 0:04:49and three masked men are leaping out.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54Two of them are brandishing axes, the other has a metal bar.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57They storm into the shop.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Very, very terrifying.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03All sorts of thoughts go through your mind cos I didn't know
0:05:03 > 0:05:07whether they were just here to try and grab some jewellery
0:05:07 > 0:05:10or whether they were here to try and attack us and do something else,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14and if they're swinging an axe, they could swing it at you as well.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18The armed men start smashing the toughened glass counters.
0:05:20 > 0:05:21My staff started screaming
0:05:21 > 0:05:25so, obviously, I was thinking of the safety of everybody in the shop.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28But even though it's a terrifying situation,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Shrikant manages to keep a cool head.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33I had to act very fast,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36so I turned round and I went to the back of the shop,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39activated the alarms, activated the smoke,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42and the SmokeCloak fills the shop up within seconds.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45I think they realise that they don't have much time left now.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48The robbers have only been in the shop for ten seconds,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51when they panic and start leaving,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53driven out by the alarm and billowing smoke.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57Shrikant follows them.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01I thought, "Right, I'll run after them so that I've got
0:06:01 > 0:06:04"something to give to the police as to which direction they went."
0:06:04 > 0:06:07The robbers dive into the black car.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11All they've managed to take is two small trays of gold jewellery.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16They went straight down the road, so I made a note of the registration.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Shrikant goes back inside and calmly phones the police.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25This is part of the recording of his 999 call.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Shrikant tries to console his staff and customers.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50You are so upset at that point.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55I told the family members and staff, "Let's go to the back of the shop.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57"Sit yourselves down, relax."
0:06:57 > 0:07:01The police reach his shop within minutes.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Detective Constable Nick Lant is the officer in charge of the case.
0:07:06 > 0:07:12Officers arrived at the jewellers to find a scene of devastation.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15There was still smoke spilling out of the open door
0:07:15 > 0:07:17and there was smashed glass everywhere.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20There was an axe lying on the pavement,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22directly outside the front door,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24and an axe lying within the shop.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28You can imagine the state that some of the staff were in.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32The robbery might have only lasted ten seconds,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35but it certainly didn't seem like that to Shrikant and his colleagues.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39The seconds really felt like about five minutes
0:07:39 > 0:07:43and you're so frightened and those five minutes are really, really bad.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48Considering the extreme and organised nature of their raid,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51the robbers must be disappointed with the value of their haul.
0:07:51 > 0:07:57We would estimate that the street value is probably only £5,000.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01If they had to share that, it doesn't add up to much.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Whilst they do this, they leave a scar at the back of your mind
0:08:05 > 0:08:08which will obviously be there for the rest of your life.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Because the robbers achieved so little, they may well try again.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15They need to be caught quickly.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Coming up, police officers search the shop and find the robbers
0:08:21 > 0:08:25have left behind a clue that will prove to be their downfall.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41For most people, 5.30am is a little early to roll out the barrel.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43But not this couple!
0:08:43 > 0:08:46They're making off across a market square
0:08:46 > 0:08:48with a keg of beer they've stolen from a pub.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51And now, bizarrely,
0:08:51 > 0:08:53they're loading the barrel into a baby buggy.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57I've heard of wetting the baby's head but this is ridiculous!
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Like proud parents, they leisurely saunter through the city streets
0:09:03 > 0:09:07with their 52-pint-size new arrival.
0:09:08 > 0:09:09But they haven't counted on
0:09:09 > 0:09:12the ever watchful local security camera operator,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14who's spotted the theft
0:09:14 > 0:09:16and is reporting their movements to the police.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20One policeman chases after them on foot,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23while a patrol car follows up behind.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27The couple are soon apprehended
0:09:27 > 0:09:31and forced to sheepishly wield their booze-filled buggy back to the pub.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35They are fined £100 for their trouble.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Thanks to the sharp-eyed camera operator,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40the police had them over a barrel.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49A bar and a cafe share the same building
0:09:49 > 0:09:51and they share the same problem.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53They are being attacked by thieves again...
0:09:53 > 0:09:55GLASS SMASHES ..and again...
0:09:55 > 0:09:58GLASS SMASHES ..and again.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07In Liverpool's historic city centre,
0:10:07 > 0:10:09husband and wife team, Gareth and Vicky,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12have been running their own bar for a year.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14They specialise in craft beer,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17which has been growing in popularity across the UK.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21We live, eat, breathe craft beer, you know.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26Small batch, small brewery, handcrafted beer.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31The couple were inspired to start their own business
0:10:31 > 0:10:35after experiencing the craft beer scene in America, while on holiday.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39It was just a very drunken conversation.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41What if we opened our own bar?
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Gareth and Vicky gave up their jobs and poured in their savings
0:10:45 > 0:10:48to build a bar in their hometown of Liverpool.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50It was a massive risk to open a bar.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Neither of us have opened a bar in our lives.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Day before opening, we had the entire family here,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58painting and putting the furniture in
0:10:58 > 0:11:00and it was a fantastic night, it really was.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02We've not looked back since, thankfully.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Their bar is on one of Liverpool's oldest streets
0:11:06 > 0:11:08and is situated in a conservation area.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12It's just a gorgeous building to be in, it really is.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16But being in a listed building can have its drawbacks.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19The couple are allowed to have a metal shutter on their door
0:11:19 > 0:11:22but they can't have shutters on their windows
0:11:22 > 0:11:24to protect their bar when it's closed.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26And that's about to cost them dear.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34It's the early hours of a Sunday morning.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37The bar has closed for the night.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Gareth and Vicky are currently abroad on holiday.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Their staff have long gone home...
0:11:42 > 0:11:44GLASS SMASHES
0:11:44 > 0:11:46..when a man breaks in,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49by smashing a window to the side of the front door.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55He scurries over to the till, but it's totally empty.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59The man searches round for anything else he can lay his hands on.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06He finds the staff's tip jars and tips each jar into his pockets.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Then he hurries back out the way he came in.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Staff discover the break-in later that day
0:12:17 > 0:12:21and Gareth and Vicky get a call that ruins their happy holiday.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Totally shell-shocked, really.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26My wife, Vicky, was extremely upset, as was I.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28It was heartbreaking, it really was.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32It's little consolation that the thief had got away
0:12:32 > 0:12:35with only a small amount of tips.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38The real problem is the extensive damage he'd caused.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Replacement cost of the window
0:12:41 > 0:12:44and the boarding up costs were in excess of £1,000
0:12:44 > 0:12:47and for a very small business like ourselves,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49that was difficult to find.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Gareth fears for the bar's future.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54The fact he can't put shutters on the window
0:12:54 > 0:12:57puts him in an impossible situation.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01It's a Grade II listed building and Planning would never allow that,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03so there was no way for us
0:13:03 > 0:13:05to actually secure them windows from the outside.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09The couple have to carry on trading with the window boarded up.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12A month later, the glass is back in place.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14But not for long.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Six days after the window was in, it happened again.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Around 5.30am on a Friday,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26the camera above the bar's front door catches two men hanging around,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28looking shifty,.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Minutes later, another camera shows one of them
0:13:33 > 0:13:35hiding a brick behind his coat.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38Making sure nobody is watching,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42he then throws it at the bar's window, smashing it through.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45BRICK BANGS ON WINDOW
0:13:46 > 0:13:48GLASS SMASHES
0:13:48 > 0:13:50But the pair don't enter there and then.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53They walk away, in case any alarm has been triggered.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57A short while later, they're back.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00When they see there's been no response to their vandalism,
0:14:00 > 0:14:04one of the men crawls in through the broken window.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08At this point, motion sensors inside the bar do set the alarm off...
0:14:08 > 0:14:11ALARM RINGS ..but the man runs in anyway.
0:14:11 > 0:14:16Unfortunately, a fault means the alarm causes the CCTV system
0:14:16 > 0:14:19to cut out and it doesn't record what happens next.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25The first Gareth knows of it is when the police ring him at 9.30am.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28As soon as it was a "No caller ID" on my phone,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32I knew it was the police, I knew in my gut that we'd been broken into.
0:14:32 > 0:14:37Gareth is able to view the bar's CCTV on his mobile phone
0:14:37 > 0:14:41and now the alarm has stopped, the cameras have started working again.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44I can see the same window that they got into previously.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Six days, £1,000 window, and there's another one gone straight away.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50It's horrible!
0:14:50 > 0:14:53The two thieves have gone away empty-handed
0:14:53 > 0:14:55but, again, there's been considerable damage.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59They decided to smash the till up, we don't know why.
0:15:00 > 0:15:05Again, that was over £1,000. We just can't sustain things like this.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08We're a little independent business. Every penny counts.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14The police take away the CCTV footage to investigate,
0:15:14 > 0:15:18but Gareth's bar is not the only business that's suffered.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21On the other corner of the same building
0:15:21 > 0:15:25is another independent enterprise, the Dale Street Eatery,
0:15:25 > 0:15:27which also has unshuttered windows.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30The owners of the Dale Street Eatery gave us a call
0:15:30 > 0:15:32to say that they'd been broken into.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36The cafe security camera shows a man breaking the window.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40He then starts rummaging around for stuff to steal.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46It's the same man who smashed the window at Gareth's bar.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51He takes some phones that are lying around and then leaves the cafe.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55But again, not for long.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Just five days later, he's back.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03The cafe owner has replaced the window but, once more,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05he kicks it through with his heel.
0:16:05 > 0:16:06KICKING
0:16:06 > 0:16:08GLASS SMASHES
0:16:08 > 0:16:10This time he has a different accomplice
0:16:10 > 0:16:12from when he raided Gareth's.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16The thieves only get away with a small amount of change
0:16:16 > 0:16:19that's left in the till but, yet again,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22there is significant damage to the premises.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Another independent business, our friends,
0:16:26 > 0:16:28they're in the same predicament as us
0:16:28 > 0:16:30cos they're in the same building as us, Grade II listed,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33so they can't protect the front of their shop like we want to.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Horrible for them, horrible for us, and this block as well, you know.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39If they've been done twice in a week,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41when's our next one going to happen?
0:16:41 > 0:16:43And that's when we really were just checking, checking,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46checking the cameras all the time, not really sleeping.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Gareth finds out there have also been repeated raids
0:16:50 > 0:16:52on other small businesses in the same street
0:16:52 > 0:16:55and nearby roads in the city's conservation area.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59It did really feel that the independents were being victimised.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02Gareth comes up with a plan.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05He contacts the local paper and asks them to highlight
0:17:05 > 0:17:08what a struggle it is for small businesses
0:17:08 > 0:17:10to protect themselves in the conservation area.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12To get extra attention,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16he puts the images of the burglars breaking into his bar online.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20And the cafe does too. It causes an outcry.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24It was just to get their faces out there, as much as you could.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Everyone was outraged, everyone was sharing it.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30And all the publicity seems to work.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Gareth soon gets the news he's been hoping for.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37The police phoned me up, like, a day later. Two arrests had been made.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Genuinely happy that they got them.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44The police did say to us it is down to such good footage
0:17:44 > 0:17:46that we gave them, you know,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50so, for us, that was a little victory in what's been a struggle.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Later, another man is arrested
0:17:53 > 0:17:56and, in total, three men are charged with burglary.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03In court, they all pleaded guilty.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05One was jailed for 24 weeks...
0:18:06 > 0:18:09..another for 18 months,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12and the third man, who was involved in three of the offences,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15was sent down for 20 months.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22And there was more good news for Gareth.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25His bar's broken window is still boarded up,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29but all the publicity about the case means the council have relented
0:18:29 > 0:18:33and will now allow him to have protective shutters on his windows.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36We are then fully secure, front and back,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39as much as humanly...as we can be,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42and then we'll replace the window, so we'll sleep a lot easier.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45The business has still done really well and we're still loving it.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47We are now living the dream.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56It seems criminals do like to return to the scene of their crimes,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59whether it's a business or someone's home.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03One in four burglary victims are targeted for a second time.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08So, what can people do to avoid becoming victims of repeat crime?
0:19:08 > 0:19:11What we do experience sometimes is that burglars will know
0:19:11 > 0:19:14that you probably replace valuable property, so they'll give you
0:19:14 > 0:19:17a little while, then come back in a couple of weeks' time.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19If you've got valuable new items in the home,
0:19:19 > 0:19:23don't advertise the fact by leaving the packaging and the boxes outside.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26Just make sure that the packaging is either put firmly
0:19:26 > 0:19:27into the bottom of your wheelie bin
0:19:27 > 0:19:29or hidden away in your garage or shed
0:19:29 > 0:19:32until the right day that the rubbish is going to be collected.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36If you're a victim of crime, please don't just carry on regardless.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38You need to think about taking measures to protect yourself
0:19:38 > 0:19:41in the future, so if your home is broken into, change your locks.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45I know it can be expensive, but it's money well invested
0:19:45 > 0:19:47and, often, your home insurance will cover these things.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Don't be afraid to ask the police for advice
0:19:49 > 0:19:53and they will complete a crime prevention survey on your property
0:19:53 > 0:19:57and offer you that expert opinion on upgrading your security.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08We're back in Leicester, where there's been an armed robbery
0:20:08 > 0:20:12at a jeweller's shop, leaving staff and customers badly shaken.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15The shop owner, Shrikant, triggered the alarm
0:20:15 > 0:20:17and smoke defence system,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20driving the robbers out within seconds of them entering the shop.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24So the first thing to think was, "I'll run after them,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28"just to see exactly where they're going, so that I've got
0:20:28 > 0:20:32"something to give to the police as to which direction they went to."
0:20:34 > 0:20:38Detective Constable Nick Lant is the officer in charge of the case.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40The staff within the jeweller's,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43despite the trauma of that incident, they were switched on...
0:20:45 > 0:20:47..and they got the vehicle registration mark
0:20:47 > 0:20:48and the direction of travel.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52Nick knows there are five robbers in the gang.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54The three masked men and the doorman,
0:20:54 > 0:20:56and there was a getaway driver.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Officers begin scouring the most likely escape routes,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02in case the robbers have abandoned their getaway car.
0:21:05 > 0:21:06Back at the jeweller's,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10investigators examine two axes the gang left behind
0:21:10 > 0:21:14and they see that they have a unique type of pricing label.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17We're looking at a distinctive green price label there
0:21:17 > 0:21:20and, if you look, you can see that there's a section missing
0:21:20 > 0:21:22from that end bowl of the "P".
0:21:22 > 0:21:26That tells us that the machine probably has a misprint on it
0:21:26 > 0:21:29because it's the same misprint on every label.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Therefore, if we find the shop where they're sold,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35we can expect to see that same misprint, so the hunt is on.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40Then, more good news comes in. Officers have found the getaway car.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42They did a top quality job.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45They were very quick to find that black vehicle.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50There was an integral sat nav in that vehicle, and that's crucial.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54It showed us the origin of that vehicle's last journey,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56a West Midlands postcode.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59The postcode is for an area in Birmingham.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03The police also discover that the car had been stolen
0:22:03 > 0:22:06a few weeks earlier from the West Midlands area.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09And then, more valuable information comes in.
0:22:09 > 0:22:15A member of the public had found a mask and a metal bar together,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19on an alleyway, very close to the dumped 4x4.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23The mask and metal bar are sent for forensic analysis.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Detectives are dispatched to the Birmingham postcode,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31with the task of finding nearby hardware stores
0:22:31 > 0:22:33which might have sold the two axes.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37And the first shop we go to,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40the nearest one to that postcode, it's bingo.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44Everything in that shop is marked with the same green labels
0:22:44 > 0:22:45and we're on a winner.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49The detectives talk to the shopkeeper.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54We establish that two axes were sold the day before the robbery.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Two men came in to buy the axes.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01One of them is a tall, slim Somali male,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04with a distinctive gold tooth to the front of his mouth.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08The second is an Asian male.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Then the forensic results from the mask
0:23:10 > 0:23:14that had been found in the alleyway come back from the lab.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16What we get back couldn't be better.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20It's a full DNA hit from the mouthpiece of that mask.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24That person is a Somali male, tall and slim,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27with a gold tooth to the front of his mouth.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31The police have enough evidence to arrest the man,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33but they don't strike yet.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35We've only identified one offender.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39To arrest him without identifying the others creates a problem.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42We could be alerting them, we could be losing evidence,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45and we have to balance that against the risk of them
0:23:45 > 0:23:48committing further offences before we go and lift them.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Investigators liaise with the West Midlands force
0:23:51 > 0:23:53to try to identify the other man
0:23:53 > 0:23:56who bought the axes from the hardware store.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58His description bears a strong resemblance
0:23:58 > 0:24:00to someone on their radar.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04We do some work, intelligence-wise, and we get a name for the Asian man,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07and they have a previous offending history for robbery.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10So we've identified a second offender.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14The third man they go after is the doorman,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18the robber who held the shop door open for the rest of the gang.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21He notably didn't hide his face from the cameras.
0:24:21 > 0:24:26The fact that this fellow is... happy to wear no mask
0:24:26 > 0:24:29tells us he's probably not known to police.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32We can also see that this doorman's wearing
0:24:32 > 0:24:36a distinctive blue jacket and what's also noticeable is the way he walks.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39He's got quite a distinctive gait.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41Someone's going to recognise this fellow.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43And someone does.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45Within days, information gathering
0:24:45 > 0:24:49in and around the Birmingham postcode area yields a result.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51We eventually get some intelligence
0:24:51 > 0:24:54that gives us a firm identity for the doorman.
0:24:54 > 0:24:55And we were right.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59This individual, he had very little in the way of past offending.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03He was known to police, but hadn't been convicted of any crime.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07After a briefing with his superior, DS Dave Spate,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Nick mobilises an arrest team.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12At the point we've identified three,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15that balance is now set that we need to stop them
0:25:15 > 0:25:17before they strike again.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20We work together with West Midlands Police
0:25:20 > 0:25:22and we plan three early morning arrests.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26The police teams make dawn raids on three properties
0:25:26 > 0:25:29and find each of the suspects asleep in bed.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33I arrest the Somali male with the gold tooth.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35In his bedroom is a laptop.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37That laptop had been used to search
0:25:37 > 0:25:40for news of an axe robbery in Leicester.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45Officers at the address of the second suspect also find
0:25:45 > 0:25:48a laptop that's been used to search for news of the robbery.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53But it's different evidence that gives the third suspect away.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55We're over the moon when we arrest him.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Lying by the side of the single bed is a jacket
0:25:58 > 0:26:02exactly the same as the one we've seen on the CCTV.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Within the pocket of that jacket,
0:26:05 > 0:26:09we find nearly a grand's-worth of class A drug.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12He is well involved in criminality.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15In the weeks that follow, Nick and the team gather
0:26:15 > 0:26:17and piece together all the evidence,
0:26:17 > 0:26:22including council CCTV of the gang's car en route to the crime.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25By the time the case reached court,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28two of the robbers saw little option but to plead guilty
0:26:28 > 0:26:31to robbery and possession of an offensive weapon.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36The man with a gold tooth, however, pleaded not guilty
0:26:36 > 0:26:39and took his chance with a trial by jury,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42and that turned out to be a big mistake.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49He was sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55The other two were sentenced to eight and five-year detention
0:26:55 > 0:26:57in a young offenders institution.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Nick and the team were pleased with the result.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Sentences like these are why we do the job, and we were very happy
0:27:10 > 0:27:13to be able to pass that result back to the victims.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17They've had to endure the aftermath of that offence
0:27:17 > 0:27:19and it's great to give them that result.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23The police worked very hard.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27I'm really happy as to what they have done.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29They've really done a fantastic job.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Shrikant and his brothers have now invested
0:27:33 > 0:27:36in even more security, including a double door system
0:27:36 > 0:27:40to stop anyone gaining entry without their say-so.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43They also clubbed together with other jewellers on the Golden Mile
0:27:43 > 0:27:48to give Nick and the team a special award for their work on the case.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51All the jewellers thought it would be very nice
0:27:51 > 0:27:54to present the police with an award
0:27:54 > 0:27:57because the police taking so much care has given us confidence
0:27:57 > 0:28:01that, yes, we can work here, we can work here safely.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Anybody out there thinking of doing anything,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06just be aware that you will get caught.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14That's it for today.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16And that's it for a few more criminals
0:28:16 > 0:28:18who've been caught red-handed.