1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:03,600 Bag snatchers, robberies and street crime. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,200 According to police figures more than 3 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:10,800 3,500 theft incidents are reported every day in the UK. 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:13,320 They stole part of my life. 5 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:15,960 But have you ever wondered what happens to our belongings 6 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:17,520 when they're stolen? 7 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,280 Thief Trackers tells the story of where they go. 8 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,480 We're hiding satellite tracking devices inside a range 9 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:30,720 of desirable everyday items like cameras, smartphones and bicycles 10 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:32,960 to trace the looters' footsteps. 11 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:35,480 The thieves think they've got away with it 12 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:37,360 but we're tracking their every move 13 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:41,520 with secret filming, CCTV and police raid footage. 14 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,520 Police officers with a search warrant, open the door! 15 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:47,560 We'll get an insight into the criminal mindset and uncover 16 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,280 the unseen journeys that our treasured possessions take 17 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:51,720 when they're stolen. 18 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,120 Today an opportunist thief makes off with our designer handbag, 19 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,440 not realising there's a GPS tracker inside. 20 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:06,680 It's a really busy street, lots of people about, 21 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:08,800 but he doesn't seem to care that he's been seen - 22 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:10,960 he's very sneaky, he's got a real nerve. 23 00:01:10,960 --> 00:01:14,560 It's disgusting. It's really, really, really disgusting. 24 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:17,720 The risks of being a have-a-go hero, 25 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:19,480 two cyclists share the dangers 26 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,800 they faced while tracking their stolen bikes. 27 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,040 I should have got hold of the police 28 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,400 but it's only afterwards you realise that you were in danger. 29 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,040 And we're with the West Midlands Police as they 30 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:35,000 attempt to recover property they believe to be stolen. 31 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,720 One of the males has got three Xboxes 32 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,760 and some other consoles which is a little bit unusual, you might expect 33 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,320 him to have one, possibly two, but certainly not three or more. 34 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:52,160 The UK handbag market is worth a whopping £1.2 billion, 35 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,280 more than half the female population, 36 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:59,480 that's 13.5 million women, bought a bag in 2013. 37 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,200 The contents often make them highly valuable. 38 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,280 My bag is probably worth about £600 including 39 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,720 - the contents and the bag itself. - £300, probably - 40 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:14,040 because the bag was quite expensive and then make-up is expensive 41 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:18,240 and my phone, and my wallet, OK, maybe more. 42 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:20,240 These desirable accessories 43 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,560 and their contents make tempting targets for thieves. 44 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,960 Statistically there's roughly 1,600 bag thefts 45 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:30,600 per day in the UK - that's quite a large number. 46 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:32,280 The thief would take them 47 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,080 to a spot fairly close to where the offence was committed, 48 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:39,800 have a look through the bag, and take what's readily disposable and 49 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,640 throw away the rest of it - and if it's a high value bag they may well 50 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:46,760 hang on to that as well because it's anything they can make money off. 51 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,720 This type of crime has more than financial repercussions. 52 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,440 It is quite a lot of aggravation for the actual individual victim 53 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:55,840 of these crimes and then the knock-on effect of having to 54 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,560 change the locks on your house, getting a new driving licence, 55 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,560 getting your credit cards barred. 56 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,640 Tracing a handbag once it's been snatched 57 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:06,920 is an almost impossible task, 58 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:11,440 unless you've fitted it with a GPS tracker like this. 59 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,760 This tracking device has a small battery that can last up to 60 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,280 two weeks depending on how many signals it sends out. 61 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,080 The device can figure out its location - it can come up 62 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,240 with a set of numbers that enable you to plot its position 63 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:27,760 on a map and display that map on a computer screen. 64 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:32,000 It does that by using GPS - the global positioning system. 65 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,560 The basis of that technology is this device can make range 66 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:39,640 measurements from here to satellites orbiting in space. 67 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:43,200 We're hiding our tracker in a mid-range designer handbag 68 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:48,040 costing around £170, and stitching it into the lining. 69 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,320 It should be tempting enough for the average sneak thief. 70 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:59,120 With the tracker fitted we set out for Soho in the West End of London. 71 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,360 Each year more than 800 thefts from the person take place here, 72 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:05,720 accounting for half of the crimes of this kind 73 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,560 for the whole of the Borough of Westminster. 74 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,200 There are crime hot spots like this in towns and cities all over 75 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:16,320 the UK, and we all know where they are where we live. 76 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:18,920 This area has a very heavy footfall with hundreds 77 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,640 if not thousands of people per hour walking through here. 78 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,800 The types of crime we are looking at are opportunistic thieves 79 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,800 which often operate singly or distraction-type thefts 80 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,720 which would be done in pairs or in teams. 81 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,480 A member of the Thief Trackers team settles down outside 82 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,840 a restaurant in Soho with our bag clearly visible. 83 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:45,320 We can now see from the data that the tracker is live. 84 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,720 With our surveillance operation underway, it's just a matter of time. 85 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:58,520 The chilly spring air soon has our victim wrapping up warm but 86 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:03,480 she's behaving just as we all would when dropping by our favourite cafe. 87 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:07,600 The idea of this operation is not to confront thieves - we just 88 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:11,960 want to see where our belongings go once they've been stolen. 89 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:15,880 Now we're rolling, our overt cameras withdraw and we're left with 90 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,640 these two hidden cameras plus the restaurants own CCTV. 91 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,880 It's getting dark, no-one has shown any criminal intent 92 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,840 towards the bag - but the street is becoming busier. 93 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:47,280 He's clearly interested - and he's coming back for a second look. 94 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:55,120 30 seconds later and he's here again, he can't keep away, 95 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,200 it seems as though he's checking his escape route, perhaps 96 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:03,160 waiting for the crowds to thin out before picking his moment to strike. 97 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:09,400 He's sidled right up to the table, 98 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:14,160 it'll take a brazen thief to grab it from there...but he does. 99 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:21,680 Our £170 designer handbag is nabbed 100 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,160 and the thief slips away into the crowds. 101 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,720 Later on Thief Trackers we're on the trail of our stolen designer 102 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,520 handbag on its journey through the London backstreets. 103 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:37,960 It is quite shocking, you can hardly believe that it's happened. 104 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:39,920 Oh, it's awful. 105 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,960 The bag came to this area in the early hours of the morning 106 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,840 after being picked up from the original drop point. 107 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:56,320 According to the National Police Database Of Stolen Property, 108 00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:00,800 the items most wanted by thieves in the UK are portable computers, 109 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,040 smartphones and bicycles. 110 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:13,040 There were 395,000 bicycle thefts in England and Wales in 2014. 111 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:21,320 With a recovery rate as low as 5%, it seems tracking them can be 112 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:23,360 very difficult. 113 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,200 Organised criminal gangs are often responsible, 114 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:30,240 targeting specific areas with a high density of bicycles, 115 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,640 but a bike is still vulnerable to opportunist individuals. 116 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,960 University lecturer Gavin Evans is a recent victim. 117 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:45,120 I had locked it properly on a good solid lock and I thought that 118 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:48,520 was absolutely safe - I didn't think anyone could get through that. 119 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,480 And even though he didn't have a tracking device on his bike 120 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,320 he was determined to track it down somehow. 121 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:59,680 When I came back I saw the lock in two pieces, it had been clipped 122 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:01,680 and the bike was gone. 123 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,920 It just really angered me that somebody was going to sell 124 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:09,080 the bike for much less than it's worth - what does it mean to them? 125 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:11,240 But for me it meant a lot. 126 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,280 Gavin's blood was up - he wasn't going to take this lying down 127 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,360 so he began searching for his stolen bike. 128 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:20,720 A friend of mine, Gabby, had had her bike stolen 129 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:25,880 and she had traced it on an online auctioning site. 130 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,000 Gavin logged on, expecting a long trawl through 131 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:31,960 hundreds of legitimately advertised bicycles. 132 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:34,920 And I looked - and there was my bike! 133 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:36,720 First thing up! 134 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,320 Well I realised I had to act very quickly so I phoned 135 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:42,320 the seller - we then agreed to meet, 136 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,240 and on a street corner which already looked suspicious, 137 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:49,280 in East London the next day. 138 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:53,880 A risky move - police advise never to approach a seller like this 139 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:56,440 without their back up. 140 00:08:56,440 --> 00:09:01,080 He was a young guy of about 22 - couple of scars on his face, 141 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:03,040 quite thick set, and so I said, 142 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:05,120 "Well I want to give the bike a ride." 143 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,320 And I gave the bike a ride, but it was very dark. 144 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,520 It looked like his bicycle, but once he went for a spin 145 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,200 he realised that something wasn't quite right. 146 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:17,880 The rack had gone, the pedals had been changed. 147 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:22,200 I had had slide-in pedals and the sliding things had been taken off. 148 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,560 Now he wasn't 100% convinced that this was his bike, 149 00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:29,920 but he still took a chance and confronted the seller. 150 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:33,280 I said to him, it feels exactly like mine, 151 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:36,120 but it doesn't have the carry-on and the pedals are different 152 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,080 so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I said to him 153 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:41,480 I'm 90% sure it's mine and you've stolen my bike. 154 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,640 His response was "No, no, I'd never steal a bike, 155 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:46,200 "I bought this from a friend." 156 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:49,160 So I said "Yeah, yeah, yeah." And I just walked away. 157 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:54,480 Uncertain that it was his bicycle, Gavin returned home empty handed 158 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,040 then he began to have second thoughts. 159 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:02,000 I started sort of kicking myself and I thought what were the odds 160 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,920 and I thought I was a fool, that was my bike. 161 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:08,480 Undeterred, Gavin resumed his quest. 162 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,600 With the bike still up for auction he called the thief again - 163 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,520 he knew he'd have to disguise his identity. 164 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:19,240 So he opted for the full Dead Ringers approach! 165 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:23,040 The only thing I could think of was this rather ridiculous 166 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:25,920 faux Texan voice, so I phoned the guy 167 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,280 and I said, you know, "I wanna buy this bike, 168 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:33,120 "I've gotta buy it for my daughter." 169 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:37,080 You know, that kind of thing - very bad accent and 170 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,800 he agreed to meet me again. 171 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:43,040 Gavin chanced his safety a second time, 172 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:45,640 needing more than a dodgy accent 173 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:47,280 he tried changing his appearance. 174 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:49,920 Hopefully he wouldn't regret it. 175 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:53,760 I was worried that he might be wielding a knife 176 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:57,560 so I tucked those in sort of like that 177 00:10:57,560 --> 00:10:59,640 and... 178 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:04,280 ..there we go! 179 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,720 Gavin set off for another meeting with the thief, 180 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:11,440 taking an enormous risk, but he was determined to see 181 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,840 his dangerous plan through to a conclusion. 182 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:19,200 He said, "Aren't you the guy who thought that I'd stolen the bike?" 183 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:22,240 And I said "No, you've got the wrong guy there." 184 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:25,000 With his flimsy cover story falling apart, 185 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:27,280 Gavin had no choice but to act. 186 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,960 I took off my hat, took off my sunglasses - I pushed my face 187 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:34,320 up to his, and I said, "You're a thief - you stole my bike." 188 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,760 Except I didn't, I used more industrial language. 189 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:41,480 Buoyed up by adrenalin, 190 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:44,560 he was determined not to let the opportunity slip a second time. 191 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:47,240 And I said you and I, we'll go to the police together. 192 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:49,640 And we'll sort it out whose bike is whose. 193 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,200 And he said, "Or you could just take it." 194 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,680 So I said "OK, I'll just take it." So I got on the bike and rode home. 195 00:11:56,920 --> 00:11:59,240 So all was well in the end. 196 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:03,400 Considering the risks he took, Gavin was lucky to get his bike 197 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:08,560 back without injury, others have been less fortunate. 198 00:12:08,560 --> 00:12:11,600 I should have got hold of the police, 199 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:13,560 particularly the second time around, 200 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:16,600 but sometimes you don't feel fear then, 201 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:20,320 it's only afterwards you realise that you were in danger. 202 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,760 Elsewhere in London, Alex Sweeting found himself in a situation 203 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:29,760 where he felt compelled to come to the aid of a mugged bike victim. 204 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:34,240 I was just cycling down this road - it's obviously quite busy now 205 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:36,600 but on the night it was pretty much empty. 206 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,080 Previously Alex had been involved in a tangle with a car, 207 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:44,000 so he'd fitted a camera to his bike in case of further incidents. 208 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:46,480 However on that night in March 2015, 209 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,520 his camera recorded an altogether different drama. 210 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,680 On his way back from a cycle club meeting Alex suddenly noticed 211 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:57,640 a man dressed in cycling gear hurrying towards him. 212 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:02,280 As I pulled up next to him he said, "They've stolen my bike." 213 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,760 He'd actually been barged off his bike 214 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:07,800 by three guys and they proceeded 215 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:11,560 to beat him up, kick him and then they took his bike and off they ran. 216 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,520 Without a second's thought for his safety Alex hit the pedals 217 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:18,520 and gave chase to the bike thieves. 218 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:22,480 I guess the adrenalin must have kicked in - you can 219 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:25,200 see my heart rate goes up on the video. 220 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:28,320 He was lucky not to have burst a blood vessel. 221 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,640 I didn't really think at all, I just thought, "What can I do?" 222 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,560 If it was me I'd hope someone would do the same thing. 223 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:37,240 Pumped up and in pursuit, Alex sped along 224 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,960 at close to twenty miles per hour - 225 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:43,280 soon he caught sight of the thieves. 226 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:46,560 So as I came around the bus, that's when I noticed that there was a 227 00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:50,400 dropped kerb and I would get there pretty much the same time as them. 228 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,040 I waited until the very last minute until I shouted anything 229 00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:59,320 and that's when they dropped the bike, 230 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:01,720 that's when it kicked in and I thought 231 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:05,800 if I carry on after them - I don't really know the area that well, 232 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:08,680 so my life could have been in danger at that point. 233 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:11,440 The thieves ran off and though the police combed the area 234 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:13,840 the bike bandits had long since vanished. 235 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:15,400 Yeah, I'm glad I stepped in, 236 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,080 it's an awful feeling having something stolen but it's 237 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,560 even worse when you're actually on the bike as it gets stolen. 238 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:26,760 So what can we do as consumers in the fight against bicycle crime? 239 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:31,000 Here's bike shop owner and cycling enthusiast Richard Benn. 240 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:32,920 Double lock everything 241 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,560 so you lock the bike to something - you always lock 242 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:39,440 the wheels to the frame and if you can put some lockable wheel skewers 243 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:42,320 as well as... The more you can do the better, 244 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:44,240 make it difficult for them. 245 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:47,960 One simple tip is to make a note of your bike's serial number 246 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:51,000 which you'll find on the bottom of the bike frame. 247 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:55,960 Also join Cycle Register, the police force bike registration scheme. 248 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:01,240 You need to go to any police station and they will mark it on the 249 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:05,600 frame - add a sticker on the bike which is impossible to peel off. 250 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:07,920 As soon as the bike is recovered they see that, 251 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:10,200 you'll get it back relatively quickly. 252 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:14,400 But if the worst happens and your precious bike is stolen, 253 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:19,120 it's still possible to track it down using old fashioned detective work. 254 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,520 They often turn up on auction sites online, in markets, 255 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:26,880 second hand shops - it's certainly worth keeping an eye open for it. 256 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:30,840 But be very, very careful - if you do go to recover your bike, please 257 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:34,560 don't ever go to anything but a private address - don't ever arrange 258 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,960 to meet anybody in the street - and please take somebody with you. 259 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:39,400 Preferably a policeman! 260 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:45,240 Time to consider the fate of the designer handbag 261 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,280 stolen during our very own surveillance operation. 262 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:54,240 Earlier we fitted a GPS tracker like this inside the lining 263 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:58,440 of our bag, and took it to a restaurant on a busy street. 264 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:02,240 Our victim was distracted and a crafty sneak thief swiped 265 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:07,720 the bag, oblivious that his every move was caught on camera. 266 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,840 So where did the bag go? The tracker now does its job. 267 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:17,840 The data shows that once the thief grabbed the bag 268 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:21,240 he quickly headed West to Old Compton Street, where the 269 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:26,000 signal come to a halt right by this pub, it's just a few feet 270 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,440 away from the restaurant where the handbag was stolen. 271 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:31,960 At 7:05PM at a pub like this in theatre-land, 272 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,640 that would be absolutely crowded so he would be unnoticed - 273 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,680 probably gone to the toilets - had a look through the bag - seen 274 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:42,400 what items he can readily get rid of and dispose of and secreted the bag 275 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:46,920 perhaps at the back of the cistern, or somewhere within the toilets. 276 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:50,000 We checked the pub for ourselves - there was no sign of the bag 277 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,200 and staff were unaware of it - but the tracker was still 278 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:57,080 active, signalling from somewhere close-by the pub. 279 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:01,320 So we sat tight, and waited for the next move. 280 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:08,920 Two days after the theft, at one in the morning, 281 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:11,200 the tracker suddenly signalled again. 282 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:15,640 It's possible that the thief has stashed it nearby, 283 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:19,120 on the street, or in an adjacent building before moving it on. 284 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:25,280 It's likely the thief took the bus as half an hour later 285 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,520 the tracker signals four miles away in Bermondsey, 286 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:30,040 South London. 287 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:32,240 Keith picks up the trail. 288 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,440 The bag came to this area in the early hours of the morning 289 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,480 after being picked up from the original drop point 290 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,000 and went into a tower block. 291 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,960 GPS technology will point you to a building - 292 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,520 but faced with a six storey block of more than 50 flats, 293 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:51,720 it's impossible to pinpoint the exact tracker location. 294 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,640 So more traditional search methods are required. 295 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,240 If it was the police service they would be doing 296 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:00,080 a number of intelligence checks to see 297 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,000 if any known criminals lived within that block or, as you're just 298 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,960 trying to find out where the property went, a leaflet-drop 299 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:09,200 isn't a bad way of doing it and hopefully somebody coming to you 300 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:13,800 and saying, "I bought this legally and honestly through these means." 301 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,920 Our team set out on foot - knocking on doors 302 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:18,760 and leafleting the area. 303 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:21,080 We even played our surveillance 304 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:25,120 footage to local residents to see if they recognised the bag snatcher. 305 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,400 It's really, really, really disgusting. 306 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:33,960 It looks like he has some experience and he's spotted an opportunity. 307 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,320 You don't want to be not trusting, do you? 308 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,560 But unfortunately it's increasingly necessary. 309 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,800 Another thing you can try is search on Ebay, Gumtree - 310 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:45,800 any of those type of property-type websites. 311 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:48,560 Again, all different types of options and you have to keep an open 312 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:51,960 mind as to where the ultimate destination of the bag is. 313 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:57,560 The last report from the tracker still showed it somewhere 314 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:01,760 in the block of flats, but the day after our leaflet drop the signal 315 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:05,120 suddenly stopped, it's possible that whoever had the bag was 316 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:09,480 spooked by our enquiries, discovered the tracker - and destroyed it. 317 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:13,360 So what of the handbag? 318 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:17,000 With the tracker destroyed it would be easy for the bag to be sold on, 319 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:22,240 to make it less easy to dispose of we went to alert some local shops. 320 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:25,360 No, we do have bags that come in but we haven't 321 00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:27,520 had what you described - 322 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,920 but if it did come in we'd be quite cautious. 323 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,160 If it's a female, not so bad, 324 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:36,440 but if it's a male brought it in we'd be very suspicious. 325 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:38,320 I'd like to see the receipt for it. 326 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,520 You have to have ID such as some type of photo ID, 327 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,920 and if we think that's OK we'll buy the bag. 328 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,560 But what you describe, no, we wouldn't. 329 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:52,160 The whereabouts of our designer handbag are unclear 330 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,840 but if the authorities want to track down this Soho bag-snatcher, 331 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,800 they're more than welcome to take a look at our surveillance footage. 332 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,000 Police forces across the country have various 333 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:08,880 methods of tackling theft. 334 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,680 In the West Midlands, Operation Magpie has been underway 335 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,120 since May 2013. 336 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:19,480 It's a dedicated crackdown on thieves in the Coventry area. 337 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:23,480 PC James Rees is one of four officers in the Magpie team. 338 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:26,600 We've recovered in the region of £200,000 worth 339 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,800 of stolen property - that could be anything from tablets, 340 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:32,640 laptops, mobile phones, jewellery. 341 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:36,520 Finding out what becomes of stolen items is a daily task 342 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,120 and officers do whatever they can to recover property. 343 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:43,120 We've been responsible on our team alone for the arrest 344 00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:45,880 of in the region of 250 people for different 345 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,960 offences covering burglary, robbery, vehicle crime - and those 346 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:52,760 arrests have led to an approximate detection rate of around about 347 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,280 70% to 75% over the course of those two years. 348 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:00,320 Reuniting stolen property with its true owners involves 349 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:04,200 a lot of work, that means checking manufacturers warranties, 350 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,440 searching for user data in personal electronics, 351 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:12,160 and even posting lists of stolen goods on social media sites. 352 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:16,200 The Magpie team have noticed a recent spike in theft numbers. 353 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:19,120 Following a tip-off they're preparing a series of raids 354 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:23,040 across the city, in the hope of recovering stolen goods. 355 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:26,720 We've received intelligence from a number of different sources 356 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:30,160 that a nominal who is well known to us as a burglary target, 357 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:34,120 just recently been released from prison, is back up to his old tricks 358 00:21:34,120 --> 00:21:37,680 committing burglary and handling of stolen property in Coventry. 359 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:40,320 The occupants inside - they are all known drug users 360 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,640 so there is, there is a risk in terms of needles 361 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:47,200 and such like so just be very cautious when you're searching. 362 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,840 Is there any questions? No? OK. 363 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,800 With no idea of what they might come up against, the Magpie officers, 364 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:59,000 must be prepared for any eventuality as they set off. 365 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:05,320 PC Rees and the team will follow the standard procedure 366 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:07,280 for a police visit. 367 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,400 The safety of our officers is paramount 368 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:14,160 in situations like this when we're going into what is the unknown. 369 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,000 There may be weapons at the address, there might have 370 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:20,560 hid bats, knives, machetes - 371 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,800 you never know what you're going to face. 372 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:26,400 It's vital the officers minimise the likelihood of their targets 373 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,840 being tipped off so the element of surprise is essential. 374 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:34,320 We'll pull up short of the address - 375 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:36,720 walk up to the address - 376 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:40,520 and then knock the door, give the occupants the opportunity to 377 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:41,880 open it voluntarily. 378 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:44,800 If they don't we will be looking to force entry. 379 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:49,680 As they approach the area, PC Rees gets a surprise of his own. 380 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:56,840 PC Rees has spotted someone from the address they are raiding 381 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:58,400 so they need to act fast. 382 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:05,920 Police officers with a search warrant - open the door! 383 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:07,600 Luckily the front door is open 384 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:10,560 and they can gain entry before anyone is tipped off. 385 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:18,960 I'm executing a search warrant, you're not under arrest, 386 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,160 you're just being detained, all right? 387 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:24,720 The resident has a history of burglary convictions, 388 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,200 officers believe he is linked to recent thefts and is using 389 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:32,800 the house to fence, that is, to store and sell on stolen property. 390 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:35,920 The main target that we were looking for is actually here now 391 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,560 with his girlfriend along with a number of other nominals so 392 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:41,560 they were a little bit agitated to start with 393 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,600 but we've gained control of them, all the occupants are handcuffed 394 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:46,560 now so it's going well so far. 395 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,320 I've got this one, that one, right, OK. 396 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:53,640 The first two rooms don't provide any results but they keep searching. 397 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:58,600 Just be mindful obviously of needles, lads. 398 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:01,120 Ah, what's that? 399 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:04,960 Interesting. Hidden behind there. 400 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,480 A digital camera. De-tagger. 401 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:12,800 Ah. Yes, it is. 402 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:21,720 It's vitally important that everything that they find is 403 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:23,360 logged in detail. 404 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:29,440 We've recovered a number of items including a de-tagger which is 405 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,400 used to remove tags from clothing stores. 406 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,960 To avoid contaminating the evidence they bag up items that 407 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:38,880 raise their suspicions, including a camera. 408 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,440 There's a receipt in there that shows that it's been 409 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,520 bought by means of a credit card so we should be able to trace 410 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,360 the owner of that through the credit card receipt. 411 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:51,760 Although we can't say at this minute that the stuff was definitely 412 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:55,720 stolen, we believe it is - that gives us the grounds to arrest them. 413 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:59,640 And the suspects are taken away for further questioning. 414 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:02,760 There's a number of drugs paraphernalia inside, 415 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:04,600 tinfoil, needles, 416 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,840 so we can also look at closing the place down 417 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:09,960 as a possible crack-house. 418 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,400 Time to visit property number two. 419 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:16,640 Ready? I'm just going to pull up here actually. 420 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:23,400 Police! 421 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:25,920 Police officers with a search warrant. 422 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:27,960 Just making let you know we're here, mate. 423 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,200 All right? Cos we need to know who's in here. 424 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:31,880 Let me explain what's going on. 425 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,320 There are about 15 rooms inside this property 426 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:37,360 so we've got staff searching those rooms now. 427 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:40,640 The police carry out a systematic search of the house. 428 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,320 Is there anything in here that's stolen? 429 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,760 They find items that raise their suspicions. 430 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,760 That's an interesting thing, we had one of those nicked, 431 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:00,480 well, ages ago, but... 432 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:05,320 One of the males has got three Xboxes 433 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:08,360 and some other consoles which is a little bit unusual. 434 00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:10,440 You might expect him to have one, possibly two, 435 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:12,200 but certainly not three or more. 436 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:14,240 There's a number of tablets as well 437 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,200 in that room which raises our suspicions really - 438 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,840 mobile phones, cameras, we've also recovered four laptop 439 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,240 computers including one Apple Macbook which we're really 440 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:28,000 interested in, as well as a quantity of Class A from the safe. 441 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,760 One male has been arrested on suspicion of possession 442 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,000 of Class A drugs. 443 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:38,120 Operation Magpie will be looking into all these items to see if we 444 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:42,200 can link them and identify them to any crimes - any local burglaries. 445 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,440 We've already found out that one of the items is registered to 446 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,440 somebody different than who's actually living here 447 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:50,040 so we're hopeful around that one. 448 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:52,720 All in all, it's been a good day's work. 449 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:56,480 The three males arrested during the two raids have subsequently been 450 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:01,360 bailed pending further enquiries and the results of forensic tests. 451 00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:04,480 Meanwhile, the Magpie team continue to investigate 452 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,040 whether the items seized are indeed stolen. 453 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:12,080 So we'll be looking to investigate this now - reunite them 454 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:15,200 back to their rightful owners - and that's one of the reasons 455 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:17,760 that we do this job, it's nice to get stuff back to people. 456 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:21,760 Police discovered that one of the two seized laptops was registered 457 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:25,640 to an owner in Teesside, taking note of serial numbers 458 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,960 and registering our treasured items with the manufacturers 459 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:33,320 and on property register websites such as CheckMEND and Immobilise, 460 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:37,240 better enables police to reunite people with their stolen items.