Covert stings catching car criminals
by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
23/10/2008
Prolific car crooks in the borough are being caught by covert technology with a 100 per cent conviction rate.
In addition to sting vehicles fitted with covert cameras, Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Motor Vehicle Crime Squad is using electrical equipment with tracking devices as bait to catch car criminals. Decoy mopeds and motorbikes are also being deployed across H&F.
The squad leave laptops, sat navs, ipods and other items on display in decoy cars. If a thief steals the equipment they are caught on camera, sprayed with unique DNA so their identify is never in doubt and also covertly tracked. The indelible spray is traceable on the criminal even after months of washing off. The spray is even transferred onto the electrical equipment meaning middle men and fences handling stolen goods pay for their crimes as well as the original thief.
Cllr Greg Smith, H&F Council Cabinet Member for Crime & Anti-Social Behaviour, said: “Every crook who eyes up someone else’s property on the back seat of a car now needs to question whether it is a Police sting vehicle. Crooks who do chose to steal from unmarked cars will find a huge array of evidence against them when they are taken to court.”
The latest thief to be snared by the futuristic devices is Jason Hammerton, 19, from Flora Gardens who was convicted last month. Hammerton was arrested on Tuesday, 23 September after he smashed a bait vehicle’s window and made of with the tracking device. Due to overwhelming evidence he pleaded guilty at West London Magistrates Court on Wednesday 24 September. He was given a two month suspended sentence.
H&F Council helped to fund the equipment used in the sting operations and the latest stats prove thefts from a motor vehicle are down in the borough by 36 per cent on last year.
H&F Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Kevin Hurley, said: “We have worked closely with Hammersmith & Fulham Council in obtaining and deploying this equipment. The results are evident, we are arresting and convicting those responsible, and vehicle crime is plummeting across the borough.”
