Episode 3 Oxford Street Revealed


Episode 3

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It's the most famous shopping street in the world,

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in the heart of Britain's capital city.

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A mile and a half long with 30 million visitors each year.

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With some of the world's most famous shops,

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-biggest stars...

-Kate Moss!

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..and busiest stations.

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Sorry, guys. Stand back for me.

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What does it take to keep it running 24 hours a day...

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It's the busiest street in the world so it needs constant attention.

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-..seven days a week?

-Oi! Clear off!

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You're going to be arrested on suspicion of attempted theft.

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Are you ready, London?

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A street that never sleeps.

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This sort of thing wouldn't happen anywhere else.

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Oxford Street.

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Coming up - distraction thieves on Oxford Street.

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The police track them down.

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If you're big enough to go out stealing,

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you're big enough to wear those nice bracelets, do you understand?

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It's ooh-la-la at Debenhams as a French make-up line launches.

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Yes, it's strange!

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And Oxford Street from above.

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Oxford Street attracts a lot of visitors with money to spend

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in its shops, restaurants, flagship stores and fashion chains.

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It's a very safe place to shop

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and the job of keeping it that way falls to the Oxford Street

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police team, Orb, and in particular their plain-clothes squad.

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At the moment, their priority is the small number of thieves trying

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to take advantage of the street's attractions.

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There's upward of 200,000 people passing through Oxford Street

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every day and the pickings can be from a £10 wallet

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to, you know, there's people walking around carrying £50,000

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in envelopes in bags, so when there's that kind of money

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sloshing around on Oxford Street, you're always going to get that

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kind of criminal coming down and trying to get it.

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On the street, thieves can use cunning distractions

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and work with accomplices to get whatever they can and when police

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get a call about pickpockets loose on the street, they respond quickly.

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And today is one of those occasions.

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Paul Penrose of the plain-clothes team is in a desperate hurry to

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get onto the street, where he's had word a crime has just been committed.

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Yeah, OK. Right. I'm coming, I'm coming.

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Paul has had a phone call from a store detective on Oxford Street

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who believes he's just witnessed a robbery.

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The store detective is following four suspected pickpockets

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as they prowl the street, and he's called Paul in to come

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and find him and take over the surveillance.

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-But Paul can't find him.

-Where are you?

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Over the phone, the store detective is trying to give Paul

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the suspects' positions,

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but they're constantly moving and Paul is trying to catch up.

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He said he was at Jessops, opposite the Plaza -

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that's why I sprinted down here.

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He keeps saying they're doubling back and they're not.

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He's saying they're heading down this way, doubling back to there and he says...

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Finally, Paul makes contact with the security guard.

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-Sorry. Right. Where are we? Who are we looking at?

-Them four. Them four.

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-Yeah. Right.

-He's already dipped.

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He's trying to dip the Chinese, he went like that.

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-Did you see him actually touch...

-The one in the blue, yeah.

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Right. So I can nick her?

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The store detective says he's just witnessed a gang of four

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trying to take a man's wallet. Paul calls for assistance.

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Right, get up here, we've got four.

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He's witnessed them trying to do one dip,

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so I've got enough to nick the girl, apparently.

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We're outside, I've got four.

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Paul's over the road from the gang, who are highlighted here.

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I'm going to have to go in and start pulling them in,

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because they're on the move again.

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He crosses the road to tail them.

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And with the gang just yards in front of him, they strike again.

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Our camera's view is obscured by other passers-by,

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but Paul believes he's just seen the gang trying to take

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a purse from a bag using a common distraction technique

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known in the trade as a shoulder roll.

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If I was to bump into someone,

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someone's very much aware that I've bumped into them.

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If, however, there's two or three people all around me, I'm not sure

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who's bumped into me and while someone's bumping into

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my right shoulder, my left pocket is being picked.

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So my attention is drawn to my right shoulder, to the person there.

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The actual thief is probably behind me, putting their hand in the bag.

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Right, hang on. Yeah, I'm doing it, I'm doing it.

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This shopper notices and the attempt fails, but Paul's seen enough.

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Even on his own, he decides it's time to move in.

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We'll see how he gets on later.

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Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys! Listen to me.

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I'm in charge here.

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Beauty and cosmetic products are big business in Britain,

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worth £17 billion a year

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and nowhere is more important for sales than Oxford Street.

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It's the first thing you see

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entering one of the street's department stores,

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and competition is fierce.

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Launching a new brand into the market can be tough.

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But today, at Debenhams, one make-up company is trying to do just that.

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And being a French brand, it plans to enter the market with a splash

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by using a little je ne sais quoi.

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They're taking over one of the store's front windows to do

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live body painting with models. Making sure the launch goes to plan

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is the job of visual supervisor Emily Gaffney.

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There's going to be live painting, live movement, live dancing.

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Very different to anything we've normally done before.

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We're going to have quite a crowd.

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After months of planning, it's Emily's job to make sure the window

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is ready for the body painting event.

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It's just turned eight.

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We've got till ten till the models are due into the windows,

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but we don't like to have any of our team in the windows past half nine

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when the store opens.

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Perfection is Emily's watchword,

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but she's already been thrown a curveball this morning.

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The window interior has been painted black to showcase

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the performance, but the introduction of white electric fans

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and cables is threatening to ruin the effect.

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-Have you got any black extension leads?

-No, we haven't.

-No.

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We might be able to get some black tape.

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I know it's small, but something like a white extension cable

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just throws the whole look off.

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The models might not be due in the window for another two hours,

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but what the team have planned is a little more complicated than

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eyeliner and lipstick.

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They've had to get started early.

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It's a good day.

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I like my face today.

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But, back at the window,

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Emily's black performance space is again under threat.

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Messy workmen have left dusty footprints all over the floor.

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-Hello.

-Are you OK?

-Yeah, I'm trying to clean the floor.

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Emily and the team get busy taping up the white cables

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and clearing the floor.

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But ladders have left deep scratches in it, which also need covering.

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I'm going to go get some paint and just touch up all these dents.

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She heads to the back office for some paint.

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There's a reason she's taking such pains.

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Shop windows are a store's most valuable advertising space and on

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Oxford Street, shops have only a few seconds to catch a passer-by's eye.

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The strength of a window display can be

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the difference between the success and failure of the product.

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Emily heads back to the window, but she's running over time

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and by now the shop is open.

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I've just had to walk past a stream of customers with a pot full of paint.

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It's not got too busy yet, so it's fine.

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The visual merchandising team aren't the ones supposed to be drawing

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attention to themselves.

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They're arriving in about 20 minutes, so we're just going to

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finish these last pictures off, have a final sweep and then vacate.

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Finally, half an hour late, the window is ready

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and Emily can head upstairs to check on the models' preparations.

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As well as the live body painting,

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there'll be a dance performance in store and the models are warming up.

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It's all very dramatic. They're going to dance in super-high heels.

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On y va. Let's go.

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The time for rehearsals has come to an end.

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OK, let's go.

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It's now the main event.

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Later, strike a pose - the models get painted

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and the French take over.

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For me, it's really amazing.

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Earlier, we saw Oxford Street undercover officer Paul Penrose

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tailing a gang of pickpockets.

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Paul believes he's seen the gang try and take

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a purse from a shopper's bag using a common distraction technique.

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While someone's bumping into my right shoulder,

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my left pocket is being picked.

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Having seen enough, he moves in.

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But there are four suspects and only one police officer.

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-Paul will have to single-handedly hold them.

-Guys, all stay here.

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-Guys, come here, please. Police.

-Yes, no problem.

-Police.

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-Please, please, come here. You just stand behind him.

-Yes, yes.

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Right, all four of you now.

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OK, gentlemen, stand there just while I talk to you, OK?

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You stand behind him.

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Do not move anywhere, all right? You understand?

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He's what?

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I don't care whether he's nine years.

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I'm cuffing two people up because there's me and there's four of you.

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So if you're big enough to go out stealing,

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you're big enough to wear those nice bracelets, do you understand?

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With the suspect gang detained,

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Paul calls the shoppers back to check nothing has been taken.

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The shoppers seem confused, so Paul checks with the store detective.

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Which one did you see do it? He just tried to get that girl there, yeah?

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-Listen, I saw the girl turn around, all right?

-No...

-Listen to me.

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-Don't be a liar, please.

-Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys! Listen to me.

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You shout, if you raise your voice, all right,

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you will go straight into a police car, all right?

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Probably via the floor. I'm in charge here.

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This man... I have seen you coming down,

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one of you just tried to steal out of that girl's bag, which was you.

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-No!

-That's why she turned round and grabbed at her bag.

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And one gang member is insulting the store detective,

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who is British-Asian.

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Right, you are under arrest now. Racially aggravated words.

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Paul needs to keep control.

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Shut up! Let me work out what is going on.

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Let's assume that I am used to people like you telling

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lies to me. Let's assume I have seen with my own eyes what you did.

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Let's assume that this man, who I trust

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because I've dealt with before, has seen what you've done.

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With this situation turning ugly,

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Paul's glad to see more officers arrive.

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Bobs, Bobs!

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And with the plain-clothes team present,

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they take a look for stolen goods.

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The store detective witnessed an attempted robbery earlier,

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but one of the gang is still being abusive to him.

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Mate, no, no, no. Final time - do not use that language again.

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Do you understand? I'm telling you now, if you call him that again...

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OK.

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There is no stolen property but a records check reveals this man

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has a previous conviction for shoplifting.

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With the gang in custody, it is job done for the store detective.

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But the suspects are in for bad news.

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You are going to be arrested for attempted theft.

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You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence

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if you do not mention, when questioned,

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something which you later rely on in court.

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And the rest of the gang are suspects for both the robbery

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the store detective witnessed and the attempt Paul saw.

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The allegation is the witness has seen you all crowd round

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the man while this gentleman has tried to take his bag, OK?

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When I have seen you down here, I've seen you try and take the bag.

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Because you have all tried to distract the man,

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you are all going to be arrested on suspicion of attempted theft

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as well, because you were all involved in the theft.

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Police transport has arrived.

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This vehicle will take two of the suspects to the station.

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Paul hopes that this man will think about what he is saying.

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Just tell the truth and it'll be dealt with easier, all right?

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The quicker we get there, the better, all right?

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-Thank you.

-No worries.

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Processing the prisoners could take a while...

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DOOR SLAMS

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..which is time Paul was hoping to spend elsewhere.

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But, in the back, these two are looking at porridge.

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The attempted theft has a potential 12-week sentence

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if they are convicted.

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This arrest was tricky but Paul is pleased with the result.

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This is the kind of thing that we are looking for everyday.

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Really, really pleased we've got them.

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We are in the process of booking them in.

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From there, justice hopefully will be served.

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But, as far as a result for the team goes, this is a really,

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really good one. It is kind of unique.

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Normally we will catch the odd ones and twos,

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but this was a gang of four.

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I haven't seen that myself on the street.

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I have seen people working in pairs.

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The only way I can describe it, they were roaming like a pack.

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The offence that I saw, they had gone into the female's bag,

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they'd caught her doing it, but they just regrouped

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and just carried on the street like nothing was happening.

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They were just hunting as a pack.

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They just carried on, went after the next victim.

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The gang were interviewed, charged and bailed.

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But that's not the end of the story.

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Not long after this,

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more evidence came to light relating to the gang, including this.

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It's a photograph taken by a member of the public from a bus

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who spotted the gang acting suspiciously.

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She took this photograph just as the suspect pulled

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something from the rucksack of the shopper in front of him.

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Paul thinks it's key evidence.

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This is down on Piccadilly about 30 minutes before we encountered them.

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They're coming up on the two victims,

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who are all looking at the bus because the witness is

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hammering on the bus window to get their attention.

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Once again, you can see how the four have come close,

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so as he makes an attempt, if they turn around they are just

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aware of a lot of people around them.

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They won't know who has done it.

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And I believe from this picture that he has got a phone in his hand,

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where he has already taken it from the bag.

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Later, on the back of the new evidence,

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Paul goes to arrest the gang again.

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Open up!

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Staff at Debenhams are getting ready for live body painting

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in their front window to announce the launch

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of a new line of French cosmetics.

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Emily has prepared an all-black window for maximum effect.

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Now it is time for the models and make-up artists to step up.

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Body painting in the window is an Oxford Street first.

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Emily is confident she has done enough to get one up

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on the neighbouring stores.

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In respect of the other stores on the high street,

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I think we are doing quite well at the moment.

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In order to make sure we get as many customers as possible

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coming into our store as opposed to others, the window is the first

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point where we can sort of use as a platform to sell our products.

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But it looks like Emily's attention to detail might have been overkill.

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Can't actually see the floor, but at least we have aimed for perfection.

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The models and artists have only been in the window for a few minutes

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and already a curious crowd has gathered.

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Amazing, is what I first thought. Colourful. Good grief!

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-He is a bit of a showman, your model.

-He is a bit.

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I think he's enjoying himself.

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It's really good, very unusual.

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Especially your guy there, he's brilliant.

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Even the staff are impressed.

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Better than I think our imaginations could even dream.

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The live body painting is causing quite a stir.

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It's strange...

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but funny sometimes.

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I have no time to look at the street like that.

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Yes, it's strange.

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But the store is hoping to get more publicity than just passers-by.

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They are hoping for a big media hit as well.

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To add to the interest,

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PR manager Cassandra Robinson has arranged for fashion photographer

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Rankin to come along to lend a little extra stardust to proceedings.

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It's Rankin's campaign photos that hang in the window.

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-It's great, I love it.

-It looks really cool, right?

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No, it looks fantastic.

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I told them the body painting would go down brilliantly in the UK.

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The hubbub on the street shows no sign of coming down.

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A bit chaotic but actually this is exactly what we want.

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We want all of this hype, we want all this excitement.

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This is perfect. It is absolutely perfect.

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Emily and her team have put their all into the window display

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but there's something else planned for inside the store that

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perhaps only the French could have dreamt up.

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Let me please introduce the most exuberant live body art show

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from Make Up For Ever UK.

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DANCE MUSIC PLAYS

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Dany Sanz is the founder of the make-up company.

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Oxford Street is a very iconic place,

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so to do body painting and a show like that for me is really amazing.

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The show has gone down well inside.

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Outside, there has been a crowd all morning.

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It is now time for Cassandra to make sure everyone's hard work

0:18:070:18:10

is converted into column inches and picture spreads.

0:18:100:18:14

We've now got to get all the images back from our photo call,

0:18:140:18:16

get them into a press release and get them out to every single

0:18:160:18:19

news agency that ever existed in the world to try and get some coverage.

0:18:190:18:23

-Splash the news everywhere.

-Exactly.

0:18:230:18:24

I think the team put a lot of effort in.

0:18:240:18:27

We've had overnights all week.

0:18:270:18:28

A lot of painting, a lot of black paint - I'm still covered.

0:18:280:18:31

But, yeah, it was really good to see the windows

0:18:310:18:34

finally finished.

0:18:340:18:35

It was a spectacle Oxford Street is unlikely to forget in a hurry

0:18:350:18:39

and an escalation of the lengths the shops will go to

0:18:390:18:43

to outdo their rivals.

0:18:430:18:44

All that remains to be seen is how much of the fuss

0:18:440:18:47

will translate into sales.

0:18:470:18:49

Oxford Street attracts all sorts of visitors.

0:18:580:19:01

Some come from overseas, some from other parts of the UK,

0:19:010:19:05

and some from even more surprising directions.

0:19:050:19:08

Starting his journey to the street this morning is Jason Hawkes.

0:19:100:19:14

But he's beginning 23 miles away.

0:19:140:19:18

I've got a job up in town, so we are heading down to Redhill Aerodrome.

0:19:180:19:23

Jason's a professional aerial photographer.

0:19:230:19:26

Today, he's been commissioned by a marketing company to get

0:19:260:19:29

photographs of iconic Oxford Street shopping scenes from a helicopter.

0:19:290:19:34

It's his job to get the best-looking,

0:19:340:19:36

most impactful images he can.

0:19:360:19:38

Oxford Street's great,

0:19:380:19:39

a really interesting place to fly and there are so many people,

0:19:390:19:42

especially when you come over the top of Oxford Circus

0:19:420:19:45

and you see on the people pouring down into the Oxford Circus Tube

0:19:450:19:48

and things like that.

0:19:480:19:49

But this kind of photography isn't cheap.

0:19:490:19:52

Hire of the helicopter alone is £1,300 an hour.

0:19:520:19:56

It means the pressure's on Jason to get the shots the client wants.

0:19:560:19:59

I think you're going to be flying in TVHD,

0:19:590:20:02

which we're going to get out of the hanger and we will prep for you.

0:20:020:20:05

Cool.

0:20:050:20:06

Jason checks his equipment.

0:20:060:20:08

When you're thousands of feet up, you need to be prepared.

0:20:080:20:12

We have a range of lenses, which I guess the longest

0:20:120:20:15

is about a 400mm lens.

0:20:150:20:17

So you can sit, you know, right at the edge here

0:20:170:20:20

and you can crop right in just to see the tops of people's head

0:20:200:20:23

or you can just take a really wide 20mm lens

0:20:230:20:26

and see the whole of the landscape.

0:20:260:20:28

And with his kit working well,

0:20:280:20:30

things are looking good for the shoot.

0:20:300:20:32

The weather is looking pretty good and if you look right

0:20:320:20:34

over to the horizon, you can see it is really nice and clear.

0:20:340:20:37

Jason's is not the only machine planning a trip

0:20:370:20:40

over the capital today and with Miles the pilot arriving,

0:20:400:20:43

it is time to get going.

0:20:430:20:45

Weather's good, air traffic is good, no restrictions.

0:20:450:20:48

-We are good to go.

-Cool.

-All ready?

0:20:480:20:50

Jason wears a harness to keep himself

0:20:500:20:53

and his equipment firmly inside the helicopter.

0:20:530:20:56

Once he's up in the sky,

0:20:560:20:57

he'll be opening the door to get his shots.

0:20:570:21:00

-Yeah, that looks good.

-Yeah.

0:21:000:21:02

ROTORS WHIR

0:21:060:21:07

The A355 helicopter has a cruising speed of 140mph,

0:21:110:21:16

a ceiling of 11,000 feet

0:21:160:21:18

and a range of 437 miles.

0:21:180:21:21

Today, however, Jason and Miles are planning

0:21:230:21:26

on just over an hour's flying time.

0:21:260:21:28

And countryside soon becomes city as London's famous landmarks

0:21:340:21:38

hove into view.

0:21:380:21:39

Something exciting is going on in the Queen's back garden

0:21:420:21:46

and Jason can't resist a few snaps.

0:21:460:21:49

But he's not there just to admire the view.

0:21:540:21:57

After ten minutes, they near their destination.

0:21:570:22:00

They sweep past the city's famous financial district

0:22:040:22:08

and on to the major shopping districts of the West End.

0:22:080:22:11

The main shot I'm looking for, the kind of hero shot,

0:22:150:22:19

is a graphic top shot looking straight down.

0:22:190:22:22

So we're at Oxford Circus right now,

0:22:220:22:24

so I'm going to whack open this door and I'm going to lean out

0:22:240:22:27

a little bit and I'm going to get some shots looking straight down.

0:22:270:22:31

Oxford Circus is where two of London's great retail avenues meet -

0:22:310:22:35

Regent Street and Oxford Street.

0:22:350:22:38

It's also the key point for Jason's shoot today.

0:22:380:22:42

Time for Jason to earn his keep.

0:22:420:22:45

We are going to head up Oxford Street again

0:22:530:22:55

and I'm going to get some shots looking down

0:22:550:22:57

off the top of Selfridge's.

0:22:570:22:59

Miles is going to put it sideways and we're going to fly

0:23:000:23:03

sideways quite slowly the whole way back down again.

0:23:030:23:06

It is amazing how busy it always is.

0:23:110:23:13

When you look straight down, there's just hundreds of buses

0:23:130:23:16

always lined up and that always looks really dramatic.

0:23:160:23:19

And there's so much development going round here.

0:23:220:23:24

It's incredible how many buildings they tear down

0:23:240:23:26

and then put straight up again.

0:23:260:23:28

And, with that, Jason's job is done for the day.

0:23:320:23:35

He's been in the air and hour and a half

0:23:350:23:38

and taken hundreds of pictures, but now it is time to head for home.

0:23:380:23:42

It is lovely to see a city like this from above.

0:23:500:23:53

It looks beautiful and it is great to see how the images of what

0:23:530:23:55

it really looks like from up there. We got loads of nice shots today.

0:23:550:23:59

Really good job - a job well done, I think.

0:23:590:24:01

All in all, not a bad day at the office.

0:24:010:24:03

All right, cool, cheers.

0:24:030:24:05

Take care. Cheers.

0:24:050:24:07

Earlier, we saw Paul Penrose

0:24:150:24:16

of the Oxford Street plain-clothes police team

0:24:160:24:19

catch four suspected pickpockets dipping into bags.

0:24:190:24:22

The gang were charged and bailed,

0:24:230:24:26

but since then a new offence has come to light.

0:24:260:24:30

Now, this member of public has actually taken a picture of

0:24:300:24:34

the actual offence happening, which you can see quite clearly here

0:24:340:24:39

that he has got a phone in his hand

0:24:390:24:41

where he has already taken it from the bag.

0:24:410:24:44

Paul wants to charge the gang with the new offence

0:24:460:24:49

but, to do that, he has got to find them again.

0:24:490:24:51

So, this morning,

0:24:520:24:53

with the help of a uniform team from the Territorial Support Group,

0:24:530:24:57

he is on his way into the London suburbs to the address

0:24:570:25:01

the gang gave him when he arrested them before.

0:25:010:25:04

We are just going to go in, hopefully pick them up,

0:25:040:25:06

bring them back to the station and get them

0:25:060:25:08

charged with the secondary offences now.

0:25:080:25:10

Anywhere here, mate.

0:25:130:25:14

But Paul is very aware that the suspects may have

0:25:150:25:18

lied about their address.

0:25:180:25:20

Whether they will be there or not, he is about to find out.

0:25:200:25:24

The Territorial Support Group moves swiftly to the door.

0:25:240:25:28

A woman inside the house lets them in.

0:25:280:25:30

We have got 16 officers here

0:25:300:25:31

but we don't know how many people are in the building,

0:25:310:25:33

so we will generally come in as a group

0:25:330:25:36

to make sure that the place is safe.

0:25:360:25:39

-No-one up there?

-No.

-Thank you.

0:25:410:25:43

OK, I'm just going to check the back garden.

0:25:430:25:45

A search turns up no sign of the suspects.

0:25:460:25:49

It certainly doesn't look like six people live here. For sure.

0:25:490:25:53

But Paul and the TSG don't give up easily.

0:25:530:25:57

These people are a bit of a burden, with all the thefts

0:25:570:26:00

that they're committing up town, and it would have been nice to get them.

0:26:000:26:04

Paul has evidence linking the suspects

0:26:040:26:06

to a second address at a London hotel.

0:26:060:26:09

Now, I know they were living there

0:26:090:26:10

because I saw a hotel receipt that he showed us.

0:26:100:26:13

He was trying to use it as a bail address.

0:26:130:26:15

The team head to the second address - a hotel above a betting shop.

0:26:150:26:20

OK, so we are going up into the hotel to the room in question now.

0:26:280:26:32

They head in in force, hoping for better luck.

0:26:330:26:36

Open up!

0:26:380:26:40

There is no answer from inside. Rather than kick the door down...

0:26:490:26:52

Could you just open the door to 107, please? That would be great.

0:26:520:26:55

Thank you.

0:26:550:26:56

..they call the manager.

0:26:560:26:59

Hello. Police.

0:26:590:27:00

No, I think they have left for the day.

0:27:020:27:04

It is a disappointment. The officers search the room,

0:27:040:27:07

but it is soon apparent these aren't the suspects' belongings.

0:27:070:27:11

The team show photos of the suspects to the manager.

0:27:110:27:15

This one, this one, the lady.

0:27:150:27:18

-Do they live here?

-They left, I think, two weeks ago.

0:27:200:27:24

-Thank you, mate.

-All right, thanks a lot, meat.

0:27:240:27:26

They were here, but it is now clear they are long gone.

0:27:260:27:30

And there is a reason the manager remembers the suspects so well.

0:27:300:27:34

About two weeks ago, they fight me, they punch me.

0:27:340:27:37

Oh, right, really? You've reported it, have you?

0:27:370:27:40

Yeah, we phoned the police, they come,

0:27:400:27:41

and after that, two days after,

0:27:410:27:44

-they left here.

-Right, OK.

-OK?

-No problem. Thanks a lot, mate.

0:27:440:27:47

Good. Take care. Bye-bye.

0:27:470:27:49

For Paul, it is disappointing, but all is far from lost.

0:27:490:27:53

It may well be that they have fled the country, which is good news

0:27:530:27:57

in some respects to the taxpayer, obviously, that they are gone.

0:27:570:28:00

When they come back and if they come back, we will be able to

0:28:000:28:03

pick them up straight away as soon as they come into the country again.

0:28:030:28:06

So they are not going to get away with it -

0:28:060:28:08

we are going to win this battle.

0:28:080:28:10

The gang are already bailed to appear in court

0:28:100:28:13

on the earlier charges, but Paul thinks the likelihood

0:28:130:28:16

is they will stay out of the country.

0:28:160:28:19

But if the suspects do choose to come back and try their luck,

0:28:190:28:22

they can be sure Paul and his team will be ready

0:28:220:28:25

and waiting to give them alternative accommodation.

0:28:250:28:28

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