Episode 1 Robbed, Raided, Reunited

Every single minute, there's a burglary in the UK.

My jewellery! Oh, no!

It's an invasion of personal space.

Somebody has been in your house, going through your stuff.

It's not just your expensive gadgets that are under threat,

it's your priceless, irreplaceable heirlooms too.

What's that football expression? You feel gutted.

Items of huge sentimental value.

Dad was very proud of his entire career in the fire service,

so to have the medals stolen, I know he was devastated.

It can be a difficult time.

What's that saying? "An Englishman's home is his castle."

But dedicated teams of police are on the case...

Police!

-Police!

-Police!

..with specialist burglary units across the country chasing down the villains...

-Calm down, OK?

-Let us do our checks.

..using every hi-tech tool at their disposal,

working with the Good Samaritans among us...

Do you think you'd recognise him if you saw him again?

-Yeah, I think I probably would.

-..to make sure justice is done.

Their ultimate aim? To recover your prized possessions...

We're dancing!

Just found a bag of sat navs.

..and return them to you.

-It's amazing really, what they've done.

-We've got all our stuff back.

I'm very pleased with the police, and they've been so good and kind.

I have nothing but gratitude for the efforts they've made.

This is Robbed, Raided, Reunited.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

Thank you ever so, ever so much.

Coming up, the touching story of a family

who are reunited with some long-lost medals.

We never thought we'd see the medals again,

and they're just a huge part of our whole family.

In Essex, police are on the case

to track down a family's precious stolen jewellery.

My husband's rings were there, actually,

and he died three years ago. It was going to be for my grandson.

And in Hertfordshire, police retaliate against a gang of suspected burglars.

During this search, a number of items were seized,

believed to be involved in burglaries in Hertfordshire.

But first, the heart-warming reunion

of one remarkable family's unique medal collection.

Sir Kenneth Holland was one of the greatest firemen this country has ever seen.

He won the Defence Medal in World War II,

had a sparkling career throughout the '50s and '60s

and ended up as the government's Chief Inspector of Fire Services from 1972 to 1980.

Well, Dad lived and breathed the fire service

and progressed right through as high as anybody could go in the UK

and was instrumental in making many changes in the fire service

during the '60s and '70s,

when he was a chief officer and the government's adviser.

He was such a role model, his son Peter and his grandson Paul

have also entered the fire service.

We care passionately about what we do because it's a great job.

It's about caring for people and keeping people safe.

Sir Kenneth received 28 medals during his astonishing career,

including the Queen's Fire Service Medal,

the Fire Service Long Service Medal

and medals to commemorate his CBE,

his MBE and, finally, his knighthood.

Dad was incredibly proud, particularly of the knighthood.

There are very few people in the fire service who ever get knighted.

Sir Kenneth eventually retired to Poole in Dorset with his wife Pauline.

Here, he loved to show visitors his medal collection,

which he proudly kept in a special glass display case in his front room.

But in 1995, his peaceful retirement was disrupted by unscrupulous thieves.

So, what happened, the burglars climbed over the gate here,

and came down to the windows, down here on the left-hand side,

and ripped this grille off the wall, no mean feat,

took the glass out and climbed in through the window here and came through.

This was the study. Through the hallway, along, through to the lounge.

The medals were located here on a glass display table.

You can actually still see the marks on the floor where the glass display cabinet was,

but very easy, unfortunately, for the burglars to find the medals and steal them.

The medals disappeared without trace, leaving Sir Kenneth distraught.

Dad was very proud of his entire career in the fire service,

so the medals were perhaps the most tangible memory of all that service,

so to have them stolen, I know he was absolutely devastated.

Dad didn't show his emotions that much, but on this occasion I know he was incredibly upset.

The loss of something that was so dear to somebody's heart,

I mean, they're on the left breast, they're right next to your heart.

They're really there for a reason, because it means a lot.

When Sir Kenneth died in 2005, his medals were still missing.

For 16 long years, nothing.

Then, a remarkable breakthrough.

In March 2011, I received a phone call in my office from a colleague,

to say that my father's medals were on an auction website

and was I aware of it, so I quickly got onto that website and checked it out,

and sure enough, they were my father's medals, with all the provenance related to those medals.

Some of the medals had ended up on a legitimate collectors' website.

Though priceless to the family, they were selling here for just £25 each.

PC Amy Garner of Dorset police took on the task of reuniting them with Sir Kenneth's family.

I made contact with the man who had the items on sale

on the auction website, and asked him to take those items

off the website, which he did do when he realised they were stolen.

But not all of the stolen medals were there, just the smaller ones.

The second page of the auction website led us to the fact

that the metals had been split, the collection was now in two.

The miniature medals were being sold,

and the larger medals had been sold in a lot.

The remaining medals were now on the other side of the world, in New Zealand,

and the collector who had them was reluctant to give them back.

The problem we had was in relation to the fact that

there is a legal statute which means that,

if items have been bought in good faith,

then they have the right to those items after six years.

As the buyer had not known they were stolen,

the medals had been in private hands for over six years,

and the original owner had died.

There was a question mark over who actually had the legal right to them.

Amy had to use all her powers of persuasion.

When I explained to them the fact that they'd been stolen many years ago,

that they are of huge sentimental value to that family

and that nothing could replace them,

I think it hit a nerve, a bit of human reaction,

and the buyers eventually, from New Zealand, kindly sent them back to the UK

so they could be returned to their rightful owners.

In October 2011, all the stolen medals were finally returned

to Sir Kenneth's delighted children, Peter, Jackie and Keith.

It's just tremendous.

We never thought we'd see the medals again

and given the fire service history,

they are just a huge part of our whole family.

This medal here is the Knight Bachelor medal,

that's the CBE, that's the office of Brother of the Order of St John,

that's the Queen's Fire Service Medal,

that's the Defence Medal from the Second World War,

and that's the Fire Service Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

for 20 years' service, and that's the order of importance.

The Knight Bachelor, obviously, being the most important.

I've had a huge sense of satisfaction

in getting the medals back to the family.

It's not very often that we get jobs like this.

It's not very often that we're able to get the full set

of something that's been stolen back to the family as well.

We're tremendously grateful to Dorset police

for getting these medals back, and particularly to PC Amy Garner.

My mother and the Holland family can enjoy these medals

as a result of their fantastic efforts.

The medals had changed hands so many times at auction, online, at fairs,

that the police believe they will never catch those responsible for the theft.

But at least Peter and the rest of the family now have them back,

to remember Sir Kenneth and his remarkable achievements.

We're going to have these medals on display

at the Fire Service College, where Dad's ashes are,

for other people to enjoy,

and for our family to go and visit and see my father, you know.

-Coming up...

-Police with a warrant, open the door!

..Hertfordshire police launch a series of coordinated raids on known burglars

in the hunt for precious stolen property.

It's 11pm, near Basildon, in Essex.

Officer Mark Anderson and his partner are in high-speed response

to a burglary call ten minutes earlier.

A female's contacted her son having come home

and found that a window's been jimmied open on her flat

and it looks like jewellery is missing at the moment.

-Hello, mate.

-Hello, there.

They're let in by Darren Rickenberg...

-Scenes Of Crime officer here with me.

-All right, OK.

..son of homeowner Jean.

Do you know what's been stolen yet?

Just all my jewellery.

Is it a tidy or a messy search?

Oh, no. Go and have a look.

OK.

And the other, second bedroom had my computer.

They went into the bathroom as well.

I just left it as it is, as they've opened the cupboards.

OK.

That's the bedroom.

-Have Scenes Of Crime been through here yet?

-Pardon?

-Have Scenes Of Crime been through here?

-No, not yet.

-No, OK.

Jean's home has been ransacked.

A forensics officer is already on the scene,

gathering any evidence that may lead to a suspect.

And whereabouts do you keep your jewellery?

It was all in these cases, it was all in that top cupboard up there.

OK, all right.

So, it looks like the point of entry is through that window there.

The back door was wide open when I came in.

-Was it?

-Yeah.

Officer Anderson must confirm the sequence of events that has taken place.

Yeah, so you can see they've actually jimmied the window and scooted in that way.

You can see some small jimmy marks on the frame, there.

A burglar can get through any space that is larger than a human head.

Prising a window open has proven enough, in this case.

Son Darren has noticed some other damage.

It looked like they've stuck one under the door as well,

because it's dead-bolted, so they've tried to lift the door

and then push it backwards, but obviously they've been unsuccessful

and they've gone round and done the window.

So, as you can see, it's a typical messy search.

They'll come in through a window,

and just open up all the drawers as quickly as they can

and try and be in and out in literally a couple of minutes,

just fill their pockets or a little bag, whatever they can do,

and just out through one of the side doors or the main door, and away they go.

Even the tiniest detail of what Jean found on her return home

could prove crucial to the investigation.

And what did you notice first when you got back?

I walked through. No lights were on.

Seeing my back door wide open, I thought,

"Oh, my God, I haven't left my back door open, surely!"

And then walked into here, and then see the cupboard open,

and then see the door wide open, and then I thought, "Oh, my God."

Instead of taking a lengthy description of the house,

if I can give you a blank bit of paper and you draw a big square,

and draw the rooms on it for me.

Can you do that, Paul?

-Do you need a pen?

-No, it's all right.

As big as you can.

Fill the paper, and then it's just the layout of the house,

where the windows and doors are, that kind of thing.

Jean's home was also burgled five years ago.

Her husband was woken in the middle of the night

and caught the burglars red-handed.

Afterwards, they made several security alterations

on police advice.

And the police said, "You know, You've got to secure your gate,"

because it was an easy way out for them,

so we did all that and we put all the lights up and everything.

-There's nothing you can do to make it impenetrable.

-No, no.

You've just got to make it as difficult as you can, so it puts people off.

Sadly, Jean's husband has since died, and this time,

being targeted by burglars has proven much more traumatic.

There was a few personal things.

There was a ring and a St Christopher that were my dad's,

that were going to be given to my nephew when he was 18

and obviously they've gone,

so he's not going to get those now,

and I think it's that kind of thing

that bothers her more than the jewellery that was hers.

Yes, I'd love to get the ring back, actually. I would like to, but...

It was my husband's rings there, actually.

And he died three years ago.

It was going to be for my grandson, but that's gone now.

Sorry.

All right.

-You all right?

-Mmm.

-You all right?

-Yes.

-Sure?

-Yes.

Come on and get your bag, and you can come and stay mine.

We'll tidy all this up in the morning.

It's going to be a struggle now,

I would have thought, for her to want to come back to the house.

The first thing she said when we walked through the door was, "That's it, I'm selling it."

I know it can all be put back,

but it does make you feel very vulnerable, doesn't it?

I'd locked everything up, I hadn't left anything open for anyone.

Why me, really.

I don't suppose I'll ever see any of it again. You never do.

Very, very rarely, anyway.

The officers are taking this crime very seriously,

and report details back to the station as soon as possible.

Yeah, it looks like a messy search of the main bedroom,

and a couple of drawers open in the dining room.

Point of access is a forced-open, metal-framed UPVC side window

which leads into the lounge, and point of exit is the back door.

The key was in the inside of it, so they've just opened that and gone out that way.

Although Jean's house was actually quite well secured,

Officer Anderson advises her on one security device

that could have made a real difference.

My one recommendation today is a burglar alarm.

Right, OK.

Up in the apex on your outside wall,

it would be a nice, big, flashy blue box,

with a nice, big light that's flashing to say that it's on and it's active.

That's going to deter most of them.

I'll definitely get the burglar alarm, I think.

The insurance company's going to absolutely love me!

But I've never, ever claimed before, ever, never.

So, all these years I've paid it,

so I hope they'll be a bit thoughtful, but...

Having an alarm not only makes it less likely you'll be burgled,

if these do get in, they spend much less time inside.

Officer Anderson tells Jean not to lose hope for the safe return of her missing jewellery.

Your property could turn up.

I've personally done a couple of operations where we've recovered large amounts of stolen property,

and if it does happen, we'll give you a call.

Are you in the building? Police with a police dog! Show yourself!

All over the UK, police are working hard to get your stolen items back.

Police!

Operation Scorpion was set up by Hertfordshire police to fight back against burglary.

Since it began in April 2011, there has been a drastic reduction in burglaries,

and police have arrested over 700 suspected burglars.

Today, they hope to add to that figure.

It's 7am at Stevenage police station.

Detective Sergeant Kerry Bull has his team in place,

ready for a final briefing, before a series of carefully coordinated raids.

Intelligence suggests that named offenders are actively burgling in Hertfordshire.

These will be people you've known, you've dealt with in the past.

These are our most prolific criminals.

You're going to be divided into two teams, as we know.

One team, which is going to be Mike's team, are going to focus on the Stevenage area,

and Mr Smith's team are going across to Welwyn Garden City.

The police believe that the individuals targeted in today's raid

are part of a suspected gang of burglars.

By synchronising the raids,

they can make sure the suspects don't have a chance to warn each other.

Team, thanks very much.

This is about making a difference today, working hard and locking up bad people.

Sergeant Mike Keane is in charge of a specialist tactical team heading to Stevenage.

The police often raid houses at dawn

because they are more likely to find the suspects at home.

In fact, they're often in bed.

It takes them ten minutes to get to the first suspect's home.

This is the street.

The police are armed with specialist equipment that can break through a door in seconds.

Police with a warrant, open the door!

Just go from there.

-He's coming, he's coming.

-Stand by. Cancel, cancel.

MUFFLED: Oh, my God!

On this occasion, the police enter the flat the traditional way.

Wait here and I'll come out in a bit,

just to make sure what's going on, then I'll come and have a chat.

They're inside. The chap who's of interest to us is inside.

He's been arrested, and we've got officers in there now, searching.

There's a Tiffany bracelet, there.

Got two mobile phones.

There's also a receipt from Cash Converters there,

which I think's got "nine-carat gold" written on it.

Cool, I think we're done.

The police have arrested a man,

and bagged up some evidence to take back to the station.

Back at Hatfield, the team from the second raid are bringing in another suspect.

A woman who is arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle.

It's now 8:30am, and Sergeant Mike Keane is briefing his team on Operation Scorpion's next raid.

They're going to another address which the police believe

the arrested man uses to hide stolen goods.

Everything in place. All right?

They need to get there fast, in case word gets out of the arrest and any evidence is removed.

The team quickly gains entry to the home.

It's clear.

I think that's his room there.

With the property secure, a thorough search begins.

We'll just make sure that we've exhausted all possible avenues,

in terms of where things could be secreted.

The chap who's been arrested has got links to this address.

We've got a warrant that covers the car as well.

So I'm just going to have a quick look through,

to make sure there's nothing to suggest that he hasn't

secreted anything in there that might be linked to a burglary.

Creative. We have a piping, so try and catch them at their game.

Nothing of interest was found in the car.

We're nearly finished with the house now.

Several items were seized from the home,

including jewellery and mobile phones.

Police hope these items will link the gang of suspects to burglaries across Hertfordshire.

Another morning of raids for Operation Scorpion done,

and now it's time to process all the information.

Just so you know, the addresses in Welwyn Garden City, a female has been arrested,

and her car has been searched. There's some jewellery recovered.

There's also a high-value watch that's been secreted in a wardrobe

that's been recovered, and electrical items. There's a camera we believe is stolen.

She's been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle, and she's come into Stevenage police station.

During the search, a number of items were seized,

believed to be involved in burglaries in Hertfordshire.

You've been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle.

The officer's outlined the reasons why.

Some property's been found at an address this morning

where you were at, where a warrant was executed, and therefore,

you've been arrested on suspicion of being involved in those burglaries.

After she's booked in, she's taken to a cell to await questioning.

The evidence found at the woman's house is being checked by PC Rob King.

Erm, we've managed to get quite a few cameras, sat navs and obviously it's up to her now

to prove where they've come from, and if they belong to her.

Every item that's seized is meticulously logged and put onto a special computer system.

It's then checked against reported stolen goods to see if there's a match.

The teams also seize cash from both raids,

and its PC Paul Wadsworth's job to try to find out where it came from.

Our intelligence is that these parties have been disposing of counterfeit currency,

so we're going to check to see

if this currency is legal tender or is counterfeit.

I've just got a very simple test, and it's only provisional test,

but it's just the torch with the UV bulb.

These flecks here on this top note that are reacting to the UV light

would indicate that that's a genuine £20 note.

The note directly underneath doesn't appear to have any of those flecks

that react with the UV light and the torch, but we would need to

send that note off to the Bank of England to verify whether it is a fake, counterfeit note

or whether it is a genuine one,

but there's certainly at least one fake £20 note in that pile that was seized from the chap at the flat,

the first address we went to this morning.

If this is counterfeit money,

it could link the man to a wider criminal network.

Organised criminals are known to move counterfeit money around the UK,

breaking down large batches to distribute on the streets.

Then, a breakthrough.

One of the items found at the woman's address provides them with a clue to its real owner.

We've looked through the photos on the camera

and it doesn't tie in with any of the people that we've got in custody at this moment.

We believe that this image is, hopefully,

the owner of the camera,

and obviously this will have an impact on our investigation,

because we will be able to interview the person in custody as to how they came about having that camera,

and why they've got it in their room where they were arrested.

For Detective Sergeant Kerry Bull and his team, today's multiple raids have been a success.

The two that were in custody, one of those people, we believe,

is acting as a driver for our burglars.

The gentleman that in custody, we believe to be an active burglar.

He's got previous convictions for that type of offence.

We're currently looking for another two burglary suspects

that have conspired with these two people to burgle houses in Hertfordshire.

The gentleman who's been interviewed, he's been asked

to account for the property that's been recovered,

he's been asked to account for his association with other suspected conspirators.

The lady who was arrested this morning is waiting for her solicitor to attend so she can be interviewed.

Following the raids in Hertfordshire,

the camera found at the suspect's address turned out to be stolen

and was reunited with its rightful owner.

The woman arrested in connection with the stolen camera claimed it was left at her house after a party.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided that there was not enough evidence to charge her

or the other suspects arrested in connection with these raids.

Operation Scorpion continues, though.

The team has charged over 450 people for nearly 700 crimes,

and the burglary rate continues to fall across Hertfordshire.

Back in Essex, no-one has been charged with Jean's burglary,

but she remains optimistic that one day she will be reunited with her jewellery.

In January 2012, the recovered medals of Sir Kenneth Holland were presented by his family

to the Fire Museum in Somerset, also home to Sir Kenneth's ashes.

As children growing up, we heard about Moreton and the college,

so to know that it's here, where he is as well, is lovely, yes.

When we got the medals back, really, there was only one place they could possibly come to,

and that is at the Fire Service College, and we had a family meeting,

and we decided that this was absolutely the right place to bring them to.

And we're really pleased to get the medals back, aren't we, Mum?

Yes, we are. Exceedingly pleased.

Welcome to this ceremony to hand over Dad, Granddad, Great-Granddad's medals

to the Fire Service College.

The family feel that these medals, really, rightly belong here,

because the Fire Service College was very much in Dad's heart.

Would you please accept these on behalf of the family.

Thank you very much. We are absolutely delighted. Thank you very much indeed.

Looking at the medals today,

I actually had no idea he had that many, so it's nice to look at it,

and it's nice to know they're here, for everyone else to appreciate as well.

I'm very proud of him, so I expect other people to be proud.

And they are, Mum. They absolutely are.

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