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April 2011 Stolen Vehicle

According to the latest figures from Tracker, £15.8 million worth of the stolen vehicles it was alerted to in 2010 were taken using the owner’s keys. Therefore, private car sellers are urged to take precautions when advertising their car and inviting buyers to their home. 

This was examplified when thieves posing as potential buyers of an Audi RS4 robbed the owner and a friend at gunpoint in their London home, before driving off in the £27,000 vehicle.
In 2010, the number of car thefts involving keys rose to 84 per cent, compared to 74 per cent in 2008, confirming just how vulnerable car owners truly are to the chances of home burglary or assault from car thieves” says Stuart Chapman, police relationships manager of Tracker . “Today’s in-car security systems make it difficult for criminals, which means they are turning to more sophisticated methods. Whilst stealing a car as a result of a classified advert in Auto Trader is thankfully pretty rare, car thieves are regularly breaking into homes to steal keys and, as this case proves, many resort to taking keys from owners by force.
We advise car sellers to take sensible precautions when advertising their vehicle. Prospective buyers are still strangers and may not be the genuine article, so people should think twice before inviting them inside. Luckily, the vehicle in this case was fitted with a Tracker device and working with the police, the vehicle was found on the same night.

Tracker stolen vehicle recovery systems work like an electronic homing device. A covert transmitter is hidden in one of several dozen places around the vehicle. There is no visible aerial, so the thief won’t even know it’s there. Unlike other tracking systems, the device works even if the vehicle is hidden in a garage or taken abroad, offering car owners the ultimate in peace of mind should the worst happen.

We advise car owners to look after the security of their keys, keeping them out of sight, rather than leaving them on the hall table or a hook by the door. People should also look at installing a tracking device which should result in the speedy recovery of their vehicle in the event of it being stolen.

A pair of school burglars were marked with, a forensically-coded liquid, when they triggered the SmartWater security system as they broke into Leiston High School, in Suffolk. They subsequently fled the scene empty handed.

When police swiftly tracked down the burglars, the tell-tale glow was clearly visible on both offenders under UV light. Scenes of crime officers took face and hand swabs from the pair and seized their clothing, which tested positive for the unique SmartWater code registered to the school, thereby irrefutably linking them with the crime scene.

Kadeem Walton, 19, of Long Row, Leiston, was given a 16 week sentence, suspended for 12 months, when he appeared before magistrates in Lowestoft. He is also subject to a three month curfew order and was ordered to pay costs of £85 and compensation of £100. He had previously pleaded guilty to the burglary and to a charge of threatening behaviour following an incident on Boxing Day in Albion Street, Saxmundham.

A 17-year-old boy from the Saxmundham area, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also given an eight month detention and training order for his role in the Leiston High School burglary, during which nothing was stolen. The teenager, who was sentenced on February 2 after pleading guilty, was also given a two-year Anti Social Behaviour Order which will come into effect on his release.

Sgt Mark Beresford, of Leiston and Aldeburgh Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “This is one of Suffolk’s first successful uses of the spray system and proves how effective it can be. The school had been fitted with the system after several break-ins and this was triggered soon after the offenders broke in. Officers had been alerted and police on foot and a dog unit quickly started a pursuit of those responsible. They were located, the ultra-violet light shone on them and when they glowed positive they were arrested.”

The spray was rolled out in Leiston and Saxmundham last year following problems with a number of troublesome youths and provides the police with extremely robust forensic evidence, placing offenders firmly at the scene of the crime and once again has led to a solid conviction. This is well known to the criminal fraternity so the message this court case sends to other would-be offenders will act as a powerful deterrent against further school break-ins in the region.”

The effective protection of school premises is only one of the hundreds of possible crime prevention applications of which can include indelible marking of individual assets as well as the use of advanced forensic trap devices. The technology has also been deployed by leading UK businesses, including BT Openreach, Network Rail, Severn Trent Water, Eon Central Networks and many more.

Many UK police forces have successfully built crime reduction strategies around resulting in dramatic reductions in crime and offer a proven risk management and crime prevention service that is widely used by schools, businesses, local authorities and the police to combat a diverse range of crimes including burglary, robbery and metal theft. This has been responsible for more than 1,000 convictions with a 100 per cent success rate in court.

DNA forensic marking has been introduced in areas of Lancashire over the past year. Following the use of DNA, burglaries from a ‘hotspot’ estate of private homes has been reduced to zero, a serial burglar has been arrested and charged, and a derelict church which had been a continual target for vandalism has been left untouched for 12 months.

PC Phil Buck, Pennine police division’s crime prevention officer, explained: “We are using DNA to protect homes and property across the region and we are very pleased with the deterrent effect it is having.”

One beneficiary is a garden centre in the town of Rawtenstall that had been targeted at least three times by a burglar who was accessing the property by climbing over the office roof.

PC Buck said: “We knew this thief had been gaining entry to the property via the roof so we decided to use DNA Gel which contains a unique forensic code allocated to the garden centre. We applied the Gel to the roof so that when the burglar tried to break in again it would rub off on him and he would have incriminating traces of it on his body.“

PC Buck continued: “When we apprehended the person we suspected was responsible for the break-in he was scanned in custody and traces of the coded Gel were visible under UV light all over his forearms. This is irrefutable proof that he was on the roof and at the scene of the crime. He has since been arrested and charged with burglary.”

Another success story involved an estate of new-build detached homes in Fieldfare Way, Bacup, which had become a crime hotspot for thieves breaking into homes to not only steal valuables but also car keys, resulting in the motor vehicles parked outside being stolen too.

PC Buck said: “The estate was being hit by burglars coming in from Greater Manchester. In order to address the problem, we distributed SelectaDNA property marking kits so that residents could mark their household valuables with a unique code which links the items directly to them. We also erected deterrent warning signage around the estate. Since the introduction of forensic marking more than six months ago at Fieldfare Way, there have been no burglaries at all, which is very impressive.”

In another example, a derelict church, also in Bacup, was being regularly vandalised by a group of youths. PC Buck said: DNA Gel was used on the roof and window sills at the church and deterrent signage erected. Twelve months on and there have been no reports of vandalism at all, which is an excellent result all round.”

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My moment of madness by the tycoon who shot burglar alarm

A multi-millionaire told of his "moment of irrationality" when he used a shotgun to silence a neighbours' burglar alarm next door to his £10 million St John's Wood home. Peter Shalson, 54, said to be worth £175 million after selling his coathanger and packaging business, was speaking outside Southwark crown court where he was spared prison.

He said: "This is an incident I deeply regret and was the result of a single moment of irrationality. It happened during a period when I was under extreme business stress and pressure."

Shalson was furious that the alarm was ringing incessantly while his neighbours Norman and Cindy Dawood were away. He said his wife Polly was unwell and had been kept awake for hours in January last year.He took a shotgun from his collection and fired two shots at the alarm box on the wall. He then forced his way inside through their French doors and smashed the device.

He sent his neighbours a text message stating: "All quiet now." When the damage was discovered he initially lied about using a shotgun but finally owned up. Shalson admitted having a shotgun with intent to commit criminal damage and damaging property. Judge John Price ruled that he did not deserve a prison sentence and ordered him to do 200 hours' community service and pay £520 in court costs.

The judge told him: "The unlawful use of a firearm in public and causing serious damage is a most serious offence. It was an attack on somebody's home and caused enormous distress."But after hearing of Shalson's charity work, including his support for the London Academy, the judge added: "You are an exceptional man."

In 2003 Shalson spent £2 million hiring Sir Elton John to play at the reception of his £5 million wedding to third wife Polly. But Mark Haslam, defending, said he was no longer as wealthy as had been reported. A list of character witnesses for him included Lord Adonis, former Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose, Harvey Goldsmith and Gerald Ronson.

Affinity One Security Solutions 08000 336 999 for all your Home or Commercial Burglar Alarm,CCTV,Door Entry or Security requirements