Olympia Crime Scene Rescue

There are 700,000 burglaries in the UK every year.

But right across the country,

dedicated police teams are on the offensive,

waging war against the criminals who steal from local homeowners.

Police! Open the door, otherwise entry's going to have to be forced.

For the victims of these crimes, it can take months, even years,

to come to terms with what's happened.

Everything has gone. Everything.

But in this series, we're about to show them and you

how we can all beat the burglars.

This is Crime Scene Rescue.

Coming up on today's show, we meet 66-year-old widow Olympia.

Her home has always been her retreat from the world,

but now her fragile sense of security has been shattered

after becoming the victim of a burglary.

I'm really so upset. It's just ridiculous.

And while the police work hard to track down her stolen items, we do

everything we can to make Olympia's house as secure as possible.

That is amazing!

SIRENS BLARE

West Yorkshire Police, what's your emergency?

The West Yorkshire Police protect both rural areas

and busy cities such as Leeds, and like many large forces,

they face an ever-present threat of burglaries.

They have over 200 incidents each week, and for some victims,

it happens at the most frightening time possible - while they're at home.

Just try and calm down.

It's approaching ten in the morning, and I've rushed to a priority call

a few miles outside Leeds city centre to meet with

PC Graham Lawton, who's attending his first break-in of the day.

'The homeowner - Olympia - woke this morning to find

'she had been burgled while she was asleep in bed.

'So far she's noticed that her much-loved car, television

'and some precious jewellery have all been taken.'

It was an awful feeling because I got up and I looked out of the window

and I thought, "My car's not there."

You know, cos I always park it outside. And somebody...

The annoying part is that somebody else is parked where I park mine.

I thought, "How have they parked there?"

I'm looking, "Where's my car?" I thought, "My God, my car's not..."

It was just an unbelievable feeling.

But what shocked me more than anything,

cos you still think somehow it's parked somewhere else, is when

I came out and I saw that empty. I thought, they've been in the house.

-Obviously, this is where your telly was.

-And stolen the television.

-And what time did you get up today?

8.45, I think. 8.40...

Is it all right if I just go and have a look at the door where they've got in?

The criminals gained entry by snapping the lock on Olympia's back door.

Oh, God! I'm sorry. I'm just...

Don't you worry. You've been through more than enough here.

I just couldn't believe... The first thing is just disbelief.

Where's my little car?

Whilst PC Lawton takes some detailed notes to aid him

in his investigation, Olympia notices other items were stolen.

Oh, no! Oh, my camera!

I'm really so upset. It's just ridiculous.

I really feel for Olympia.

She's lost her car, television,

and a selection of jewellery which included a couple of irreplaceable

22-carat gold bangles which she'd inherited from her mother.

Plus, the thieves have taken her camera, which was packed full of memories.

What really makes me angry, though,

is that the low lives broke in while she was in bed,

so they've robbed Olympia of her sense of security, too.

I really want to see what I can do to help her.

Is it fair to say, at the moment, you feel quite vulnerable and insecure here?

Very much so.

But I was sort of conscious to be careful with having locked doors,

and it just seems ridiculous that somebody can just

so easily snap the door and walk into your house while you're in bed,

and take a television away and steal your car all at the same time.

I'm just devastated, really.

This is what I think we can do for you.

I think we can change your locks, make them a lot more secure

-so they can't be snapped out and removed.

-Yeah.

-And if they were to snap the lock, what we're going to put on the door, the door won't open.

-Right.

You see, so they won't be able to get in anyway.

I've noticed round the outside of your house that it's very dark.

-You've got no lights that I could see on the side.

-No.

Now, a very good thing is putting some lights on there that can

activate if someone was to walk down the side,

or you can put them on and it... It lightens it up

-and it actually works as a really good deterrent for any would-be burglars.

-Mm.

-Is that something you'd be willing to consider, if we put those up?

-I would absolutely love that.

I'm hoping that by making Olympia's house as secure as possible,

it will begin to feel like her home again.

The top priority right now is fixing the locks on Olympia's doors,

so I've drafted in Matthew the locksmith to get straight to work.

And this is the door what's been broke into.

As you can see, the handle has been broken.

We're going to remove the handle,

we're going to put a snap-safe cylinder on and some PAS 24 handles,

which will make it a lot, lot more secure than it was.

While Matthew works to secure the property,

PC Lawton continues to investigate the burglary.

What I'm trying to do now is build up a scene where the burglary

has happened and in between what times.

I'm visiting local residents to see if any of them

have heard or seen anything connected with the incident.

On a normal handle, what we're replacing is just hollow, very, very weak.

So these are hardened, solid handles and they just do the job.

Hello, sir. I'm making enquiries regarding a burglary which has

-happened at your neighbour's house, next door.

-Yes.

-Now, I notice you've got a CCTV camera.

-Yeah, yeah.

Would it be all right if we viewed the footage to see if anything's been captured?

-Yes, no problem.

-Oh, very good.

There is eight hours' worth of footage here,

covering the time periods of the burglary of the house next door.

It'll be my job to view this and see if anything evidentially is on it.

And that's the job done.

PC Lawton has spotted another CCTV camera near Olympia's house.

The Co-operative Funeralcare, they have two cameras, so I'll be

contacting them today when I go back to the station after doing

the house to house, and hopefully we'll catch something on it.

It's a few days later, and at the police station, PC Lawton is on hand

to provide an update about how the investigation is going.

Making enquiries nearby at a local business premises,

we've recovered more CCTV,

viewed that, and it shows the actual Mini moving away at around 3.12am.

Also, there's a youth on the video who appears to be keeping watch

and walking up and down outside the address.

Enquires are on at the minute trying to identify that youth.

The police have also been busy contacting local shops.

They've given them a description of Olympia's jewellery, in particular,

her prized 22-carat gold bangles, which are unique.

PC Lawton hopes they may get a lead on the criminals

if they try to sell these cherished items.

Back at Olympia's house, Neil the electrician has turned up to

fix an outside security light to the side of the house.

But I really want to go the extra mile for Olympia.

Her current alarm is outdated,

so I've also arranged for Nathan to fit a new top-of-the-range burglar system,

in a bid to make her feel much safer in her home.

So, Nathan, there's mention of a panic button.

Is that something you're going to be installing here as well?

Yes, that'll be running to the master bedroom, basically.

If there's any noise she feels unsure of,

-she can press the button and the whole alarm system will go off.

-Fantastic. Thank you.

Homes which have a visible alarm

are around three times less likely to be burgled.

Outside, Neil and Nathan are both reaching new heights,

especially as the new exterior security lighting is being placed

well out of the way so it can't easily be smashed.

So, Neil, you've put the light in, it looks great.

How's that actually going to turn on? Is it going to be activated by movement?

Yeah, it'll be activated by movement,

only on a night, like, so it won't come on through the day.

Not only is this going to help Olympia who lives here, if she's walking through,

it's going to light up for her, but if there was an intruder sneaking around,

-they're going to get lit up like a Christmas tree as well.

-Yeah.

Excellent, Neil. Brilliant work. Thank you very much.

I'm hoping that Olympia will now feel much safer

thanks to the additional security features that are now in place.

So, Olympia, it's been a few days now.

How have you been after everything that happened?

I was actually in shock for at least two, nearly three days.

But, also, I think I really expected the things to turn up,

and it's gone through different stages.

I've gone from still being in shock, to being very upset,

to being angry, and I still find myself that I'm in this mode.

Now, I know when we first met, when this actually first happened,

you said you felt very vulnerable being in the home because of

the way that they snapped the lock off your door and actually just

-helped themselves into your house, stole your TV...

-I just can't believe how they can do that.

It must be such an awful feeling for you.

But what we want to do is make sure that never happens again and...

-Oh, please.

-And we've made sure that the locks have been changed.

So the locks that you've got on now are so much more secure than what you had before. Front and back.

We've also put in a light down the side

so that if anyone was to be sneaking down the side of your house,

that's going to light up straight away.

-A really good deterrent, that.

-Mm.

-And we've also, as you can see,

-put in the new intruder alarm in your home.

-Right.

So, this way, you can set this if you're asleep,

and that alone, if that's armed, that will put anyone off.

Cos if they come in and set that off and all the bells are going,

it's really going to be a great deterrent,

because we obviously don't ever want this to happen to you again.

We just want you to feel at home here in your house.

It's a few weeks since the burglary,

and I've heard that Olympia is still really struggling and continues

to feel vulnerable, despite the extra security measures we've added.

I'm really committed to getting her back on track,

so I've come back to see if there's anything more we can do.

So, Olympia, how are you feeling at the moment?

I'm really, really surprised how much it has affected me.

It's just as though it's a very late reaction. It's shock.

I cannot forget about it, because on a night, I either stay up very late

and fall asleep on the sofa, and then I think,

"Oh, my God, I could have been asleep there when they broke in," and...

then I will take the television upstairs

so that it acts as a background music.

Or, I think if anyone does break in, you know,

they will hear sound upstairs and it might deter them.

So, I'm constantly thinking about it all the time.

And, erm, I've not been sleeping very well.

This isn't on. You do feel vulnerable.

You've got no right to feel like that, because no-one...

It shouldn't be fair. It's not fair on you.

It's not fair that this has happened.

So we're going to try and help you, and try and get your home back.

Because, at the moment, it doesn't feel like that, does it?

'Sadly, it's usual for victims to lose confidence after a break-in.

'In fact, one in four people report difficulty in sleeping after being burgled.

'But it's my mission to restore Olympia's sense of wellbeing,

'so she can sleep peacefully in her own bed again.

'Crime prevention expert PC Paul Croft is here to suggest further security measures.'

So, Paul, you're having a look at Olympia's house here

just to see if there's anything else we can do to try and up security,

cos she's clearly still feeling very vulnerable.

We've changed the locks on the doors, you've had a look at those and think they're OK.

-I think they're great.

-What about the lighting, though?

We've put one light on the side, which I'll show you in a moment.

On the back, there's nothing here.

-Do you think we should think about putting one in?

-I do, really.

If we look up and down the street a little bit, next door have got

lights either side of the door which, to me, although there are

street lamps present, the fact that they've got those is indicating that

perhaps when it's dark it is quite dark down the back of this street.

So, yeah, I think it would be of benefit to put some

dusk-to-dawn lighting either side of this door

just to give it that ambient glow in the back garden.

Nothing too harsh. It's just when it gets dark, the light will come on

and illuminate this area so no-one could be sneaking around

-That's right.

-I think we can do that.

If we go round and have a look at the side,

we'll show you the light we've put in, and give me your thoughts.

Now, we've put this in here.

Purposely, it was put in really high so no-one's going to throw anything

and smash that light down there.

It's going to be quite strong, but if anyone's sneaking around in the dark,

it's going to be bright and illuminate the area.

Yeah. It's ideal, is that.

If you're going to fit a light like this with a PIR on it,

you have to fit it out of the height that somebody can reach,

-and there's no way anybody's going to reach that.

-OK.

So that's the light on the side, and this is the front of the property.

Again, the locks have been changed. Are you happy with the standard of these locks?

Do you think these are as good as we'll get here?

Definitely. They're the best that you'll get. Same for the back.

And the front - identical - which is great. I'm very pleased with those.

'I'm pleased that Paul thinks we've already made some big steps

'in the right direction with the security at Olympia's house.

'However, there's still more which can be done.

'I'm going to get on the phone to some local tradespeople

'to see if we can make Olympia's house even more secure,

'and help rebuild her love for her home.'

Hi, Ian, it's Rav. Charlotte, it's Rav.

Alex, hi, it's Rav. Ian, it's Rav here.

I think you could help us out with something, if you're available.

Obviously, since the burglary, she's not felt at home at all,

and I think if you can try and change that for her, you'd really make a massive difference.

And we've actually put in a new burglar alarm for her,

so she's got a brand new system, and if you can tie it in with that,

I think that will be absolutely spot on.

I've just been to see your sister - Olympia -

and I think we can help her out, but what I want to do is

get as many people round as possible to make this happen.

Charlotte, that's brilliant.

I'll send you the details and I'll meet you over at the address.

Whilst my band of helpers get ready for action,

there's some interesting news regarding the police investigation.

PC Graham Lawton has got a potential lead on the whereabouts

of Olympia's 22-carat gold bangles.

An unknown female has rung a local jewellery shop saying

she has a couple of gold bracelets to sell.

Suspecting they may be Olympia's, the shop has been in touch with the police.

With regards to the jeweller's shop, what we will do,

if we've got the staffing levels available,

officers in plain clothes will be put inside the shop,

probably at the back of the shop so they can't be seen, and

we'll try and identify the customer and the bangles when they come in.

It's a positive line of enquiry for the burglary.

We've got that and the CCTV evidence,

so we're moving forward nicely, I think.

It's early morning,

and time for a still-shaken Olympia to leave her home of many years

so we can get on with the rest of our work here.

Weeks have passed since the burglary,

but the feelings of distress have not.

It's time to use every ounce of energy we have

to make this home as secure as possible.

My band of helpers are on their way.

We've drafted in Olympia's family and tradespeople

from across the neighbourhood, and they're desperate to lend a hand.

OK, thank you to everyone for coming round so quickly.

The reason I've called you is to help Olympia out, who lives in this house.

Now, she was asleep in her bed, and someone broke in and burgled her.

As you can imagine, she feels extremely nervous and vulnerable staying here.

Well, I want to change that, and I can only do that with your help.

I want to get in there, let's fix this place up, let's make it

so much safer and more secure than it's ever been.

And Charlotte, as a little extra, I want you to have a look

on the inside and see if there's something you can do there

to make her feel like she can relax again in her own home.

So, let's get in there and fix this place up.

-ALL:

-Yeah!

As well as further updating the security on Olympia's home,

I also want to give her bedroom a facelift to help banish

the bad memories this room still has following the break-in.

Designer Charlotte Brewer will lead the transformation of this space.

Olympia's not done a lot to the room since it was originally decorated,

so we want to try and really update it,

freshen it up and give it a whole new feel

so she feels comfortable in a space that she can really relax in.

So, maybe some calming colours, that sort of thing,

-so she can come and relax up here and put what happened downstairs behind her.

-Yeah, exactly.

She's got quite a classic, traditional style, so I think we'll

use that as the basis of the design and then bring in some more

glamorous elements to kind of warm it up and make it really comfortable for her.

Yeah, I've been burgled a couple of times myself.

I live in the local area, so it's nice to be able to help out.

I've been there myself, so I know how difficult it is.

Alongside the changes being made in Olympia's bedroom,

we are continuing to improve the security throughout.

Downstairs, lighting expert Ian is fitting an intelligent timer circuit

which will turn internal lights on and off in a random pattern.

So, Ian, I can see you're doing some work on the light here.

What is this you're putting in?

Basically, I'm installing an intelligent lighting system.

You can control this system with your mobile phone and that sort of thing.

-Wow!

-Yeah, it's fully online, so you can access it through a network.

If she is at home and she sets the alarm at night to go to bed, the same thing can happen.

We can have the ground floor lights coming on, so it won't interrupt her.

Brilliant. That sounds absolutely great.

-I'll let you crack on, cos you're nearly finished.

-Getting there.

-I think she's going to be very happy with that.

-Good.

-Thank you.

Real headway is being made in Olympia's bedroom,

and it's not just local tradespeople who are getting stuck in.

Alex, great to see you. Obviously, Olympia's brother, you know her

better than anyone else. Do you think by trying to do up

this bedroom to give her somewhere where she can relax again,

do you think that's going to help her out after what happened?

Oh, I'm sure it will. This will cheer her up no end.

Well, that's what we really want to do.

There's work to be done, but it's already looking like a completely different room.

-So you think this is going to be her taste?

-I'm sure it will be.

-This is wonderful compared to what she had before.

-Mm-hmm.

And she will love this, so you're doing a marvellous job. Thank you.

Brilliant. Alex, I'll leave you to it. Thank you for coming over.

I know she's going to be very, very pleased.

Outside, Ian is fitting lights on each side of Olympia's

exterior doors which will come on from dusk to dawn.

We're also adding sash jammers to the windows to make them much safer.

It's early evening, and while commuters are heading home

from a busy day at work, the police remain on the trail of the burglars.

Back at the station, PC Graham Lawton has an update regarding

Olympia's much-loved gold bangles that were a gift from her mother.

We had enquiries to make at the local jeweller's shop

where a female had offered some similar property for sale.

We had an operation planned for the Saturday

when she was due to come into the shop.

Unfortunately, there was very heavy snowfall,

and the lady never showed up to the premises.

I have been in touch with the jeweller

and the female has never got back in touch,

so that side of the investigation has gone a bit cold at the moment.

Alongside the investigation into the stolen bangles,

the police have been actively checking roadside cameras

for signs of Olympia's car, and their hard work has yielded results.

The car has been recovered, but in a number of parts.

It was recovered from a lock-up garage where 16 other vehicles

from similar burglaries were recovered also.

I think the main thing is we don't lose sight, the enquiry

is still focused, and it's very much active at this moment in time.

Back at Olympia's house, my team of Good Samaritans are determined

to complete her bedroom before she returns tomorrow morning.

So it's no surprise they're prepared to work well into the night

on the finishing touches.

It's early morning, just hours before Olympia's homecoming,

and West Yorkshire's crime prevention expert, PC Paul Croft,

has returned to review the final security upgrade.

Since his last visit, we've added sash jammers to the windows,

dusk-till-dawn exterior security lights, and a timer circuit inside

which will turn internal lights on and off in a pattern.

'These new measures complement our earlier security work,

'which included fitting a new top-of-the-range alarm system,

'a panic alarm in the bedroom,

'a powerful motion-triggered light on the side of Olympia's house,

'and anti-snap locks on her front and back doors.

'So what's Paul's verdict?'

In terms of security for this house,

I think before the offence was committed,

we were probably looking at something around about three or four out of ten, possibly.

And after the work that's been done, again, we're looking eight,

maybe shading a nine on that one, so I'm very, very impressed with it.

So, a job well done.

'The moment of truth has come for Olympia, and I've got high hopes

'that she'll be thrilled to bits with the work that we've done.'

Now, Olympia, obviously, we changed the locks already and we

put the alarm on, but I know you still felt a little bit vulnerable.

We've made some extra changes as well. We've put on a new light.

-That's solar powered. That's going to give off some gentle lighting, so no-one can hide around there.

-Yeah.

And on the inside, we've also put an additional security feature in

-that I want to show you.

-Have you?

-Mm-hmm.

-Oh, right!

Olympia, as an additional security feature,

you can see, there, the light switch.

-Oh, yes.

-That controls all your lights down here.

You've got different settings for how bright you want the light,

-but the really clever bit...

-Mm-hmm.

If you set the burglar alarm, they will turn the lights on and off, randomly.

That is AMAZING. You know, that's...

the best thing that you could have possibly done for me,

because I'm always told, you know, to put a light on when I go out.

-And I can never be bothered to set these little clock things.

-Mm-hmm.

And then you're carrying, aren't you, sort of a table lamp somewhere.

-And that is just absolutely fantastic.

-Brilliant.

Upstairs, Olympia's bedroom was looking tired.

It hadn't been updated in years,

and since the burglary, it's been the scene of many sleepless nights.

I wanted to give this room a new lease of life and to give Olympia

a brand new start, removing all the bad associations of the burglary.

Hopefully, with our help,

she'll be able to get a good night's sleep from now on.

So, Olympia, as a little extra,

we wanted to give you your home back, and hopefully,

you'd like your new bedroom.

SHE GASPS

Oh, my God!

Oh, wow!

Oh, that is fab... Oh, my goodness! That is...

Because we know how you felt so unsettled after what happened,

and we wanted you to have some happy memories back.

That is amazing!

-And the curtains.

-Yeah, special curtains.

We even had Alex round with a paintbrush.

-You didn't!

-We did.

-Oh, he's a sweetie.

Oh, and the photograph of me as a baby!

That is fabulous.

Oh, I can't believe it. That is really, really, really gorgeous.

There was a lot of people involved to make this happen

and they're outside.

So, would you like to meet them?

Gosh. I don't know what to say to them!

What do you say when they've done all this?

So, Olympia, none of this would have been possible without

-lots of people that have rushed down to help you out.

-Wow!

-Wow!

-So if you come down, I'll introduce you to some of them.

-All these people.

-Yeah. They're all local tradesmen and women.

But it's so wonderful. I understand why it's taken so many people to do.

-Thank you very much. It's fabulous.

-Alex, your brother's over there as well. He came to help.

-Where is he?

-There he is.

Hiya! You've actually helped, have you?

What a lovely sight that is.

All these local tradesmen and women and family members,

rushing over to help someone who so desperately needed them.

And I think we've managed to take away some of those bad memories

and given Olympia a load more happy new ones.

The bed and everything. It's lovely.

It's really good to see the community come out to help Olympia,

and they've really pulled together, and that's what

we want to see across all our neighbourhoods in West Yorkshire.

You know, it was obvious what she had before was not enough,

and what she has now really looks so good.

Thanks, Olympia.

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