IRST: KEYLESS CAR THEFT.
More cars have gone from the Borough – of our most expensive cars – in needless car thefts, all for the sake of a £4 or £5 Faraday pouch to keep the fob in, when not in use.
Watch this video on YouTube. It is real footage from someone’s video doorbell. Two thieves, steal a car and drive it away in about 50 seconds !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kaw3XMyQPm8Or this one from someone’s CCTV ! In this video it takes 46 seconds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR8RrmEizVgThe options are:
Buy a faraday Pouch for the fob when not in use. It prevents the signal escaping and being boosted and relayed. These are easily available from major online retailers – on special at the moment – 2 for £8.99 – for the fob and the spare. ALWAYS REMEMBER, THE SPARE KEY MUST BE PROTECTED AS WELL !!!
Fit a third party Tracker System. The thieves are fully aware of the built in Tracker systems and how to disable them. The wiring runs through the roof upholstery to the aileron on the roof at the back of the car – the highest point. Thieves rip through the upholstery and cut the wires. If you fit a third party Tracker system, they will not know it’s there – and the car can be tracked and possibly recovered.
Buy an Apple Airtag and hide it in the car. These cost about £30. People usually attach them to car keys / pets, in case they cannot find them. But these hidden in the car will again help us to track the car, if it is stolen.
NEXT: I am also a Rural Crime SPOC and send out messages to CountryWatch members and our rural communities / farmers / landowners / rural parishes. I also receive a bulletin from HQ, listing all the rural crimes across the entire Thames Valley and Alerts we receive, from other areas. If you don’t already receive these, email me and I will add you to my contact list.
There were several items of real interest on the latest list – metal thefts. Crimes we have not seen for some time, but are beginning to happen again, as the price of copper and lead is going right up !
CABLE THEFT:
BTP – Manchester
24/05/2022 - A cable theft from the Ashburys line resulted in 11 trains being delayed by a total of 442 minutes. Police attended with a dog unit after receiving covert camera activations but unfortunately found no trace of the suspect.
4/05/2022—behind the Philips Park fire station, M40 2AX — staff on site discovered 30m of 35mm2 copper power cable was stolen from the Up and Down Ashburys line •
03/05/2022—Phillips Park South (No2) Junction, M40 7BG—approximately 30 yards of cable was stolen near to MN.826 Signal (Up Ashburys).
30/04/2022—New Viaduct Street, Manchester, M40 7BN— Covert camera activations showed an adult male walking alongside the track on the Down Main side. Suspect Imagery Report
25/04/2022—Phillips Park South (No2) Junction, M40 7BG— Cut cable was discovered by railway staff which is believed to be linked to the incident below.
24/04/2022—between Philips Park West junction and Ashburys, M40 7BG— GMP reported that a solitary male was potentially stealing cable from the location and when BTP and railway staff arrived they saw that troughing lids had been disturbed, and cable had been placed on the line
LEICESTER:
Earlier in the year there was a significant increase in cable thefts in the Leicestershire area and CIAP issued an intel alert in respect of this on 1st February. Offending has continued in the LE postcode area with the most significant reported cable theft in LE16 8 on 16/05/2022 resulting in a considerable financial loss for the rail industry. Offending has now seemingly spread further south and east , following the line of the M1, and includes the Northamptonshire, Thames Valley, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire areas covering postcodes NN, MK, PE and LU. The last 6 weeks cable thefts are shown on the map in these areas.
Two electrical substations have been attacked in LU5 5AH and cable removed in this highly dangerous theft (crime refs 40/17892/22 & 40/17901/22); a further substation was also attacked in PE19 6XQ and 300m cable removed.
A solar farm was attacked in LE14 3PB by 3 males, hundreds of metres of cable were stolen at a cost of £80k to the site.
1km BT cable was stolen in one theft in NN6 9QA and a further 30m stolen in LE15 7JG.
1km rail cable was stolen from LE16 8BX which resulted in a significant financial loss for the industry and severe disruption to the general public, in another incident, 650m cable was stolen from PE19 6HP.
200m LIVE CABLE was pulled out of the ground by hand at an Anglian Water site in PE15 5QX at a cost to the industry of £45k; cable was also stolen from a pumping station in PE15 0NF.
NORTH WALES;
Since the 3rd of May, Eastern has been targeted with high value BT cable thefts with the majority of offences in Wrexham County.
MO: offenders are lifting grids at two / three locations hundreds of meters apart, cutting the cables at each end and then pulling the cable out of the ground. It is most likely that a 4 x 4 vehicle is being used to pull the cable out by dragging it out of the hole along the road secured to the rear of the vehicle. Each (approx) 200m of cable would weight over 1 ton and would be worth thousands of pounds. Prior to the Theft reported on the 17th of May BT have estimated that £115,000 worth of wire has been stolen.
LEAD THEFTS ARE ON THE RISE AGAIN:
Lead from the roof and porch of the Church of All Saints in Cadney, West Mercia has been targeted on multiple occasions by thieves, with the most recent attempt being disturbed and a vehicle being seized. It is feared that the thieves will return to the church in the near future and attempt to strip the roof further of lead Appropriate PPE equipment was found in the seized van and reports suggested that the thieves spoke with local accents. The stolen lead is likely to have been forensically marked, so it is recommended that the vehicle is scanned under UV light for any traces.
28th March 2022—The porch was completely stripped of lead and the roof suffered lots of damage from thieves trying to access it.
12th May 2022—A significant amount of lead was taken from the main roof of the church
14th May 2022—Thieves were disturbed as they attempted to take more lead from the roof, resulting in them dropping it and jumping over garden fences to avoid capture.
Despite the church being insured, the losses suffered are so huge that only a small portion of it is covered by insurance, therefore the additional repairs will need to be funded by the church. The price per tonne of lead has increased by c.23% since the beginning of 2021 and is set to increase further, driving up the demand; the images provided by the church (below) highlight that a huge portion of lead was targeted.
This church is large and the whole roof is lead covered. Over a quarter of it has gone, exposing the beams and the interior, allowing water to run straight through.
We haven’t had any lead thefts here at the moment, but we have had a lot in past, both to churches, village halls and porches on houses. I raise it, because of the last paragraph above - Despite the church being insured, the losses suffered are so huge that only a small portion of it is covered by insurance. If you have lead on the roof of a church / village hall / house / porch, you need to check you insurance policy, to make sure you are fully covered for the cost of replacing the lead, any damage caused as a result of its removal – they cause a lot of damage ripping it up - together with any subsequent weather damage !!!
NEXT: 20/4 Offenders entered farmland and stole a rare 4 wheel horse drawn vintage carriage, from a secure triple locked container. The carriage, built in the 1930s, is red, with gold and cream Victorian style writing. It has London ladder fronted and has a sign on the front that reads ‘GENERAL DEALER’ and on the side - “Trixies Stud of Essex”. The carriage is rare and remains in very good condition, meaning it could be sold on and possibly used by an “unsuspecting buyer” for display at country shows across the UK. If you recognise this carriage or have any further information, please contact Opal:
opal@westmercia.pnn.police.uKFINALLY: YET ANOTHER SEXTORTION:
A young man was contacted by an attractive woman on line. She said she lived in the USA. After brief conversations, they began to share intimate images. Later he participated in more explicit acts. As soon as that had taken place, he received a demand for money, of the video would be shared with everyone in his personal contact list. They demanded a £100 Google Play card, which he sent them.
He has been advised to change all his internet passwords and close all social media sites.
YET ONE MORE TIME: PLEASE DO NOT SAY, WRITE, TEXT, PHOTOGRAPH, VIDEO ANYTHING ON LINE, YOU WOULD NOT BE HAPPY FOR YOUR FAMILY, RELATIVES, FRIENDS, NEIGHBOURS, WORK COLLEAGUES – EMPLOYER – EVERYONE IN YOUR PERSONAL ADDRESS BOOK / CONTACT LIST - TO SEE
CRIME
I have attached reference numbers to each crime report. If you live in the vicinity of any of the crimes mentioned and have CCTV or a video doorbell, can you please check the footage. If you have any that might be of interest to the police, can you please make contact with us, quoting reference number given.
Alternatively you can call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or email -
www.crimestoppers-uk.orgMAIDENHEAD CENTRAL:
maidenheadcentralgeographical@thamesvalley.police.uk9/6 Thursday 8 p.m. Hines Meadow Car Park, St. Cloud Way. Attempted car break-in. No entry gained and nothing stolen. Ref. No: 43220252162
RIVERSIDE & BELMONT:
MAIDENHEAD WEST
maidenheadwestgeographical@thamesvalley.police.ukBISHAM, COOKHAM, HURLEY, THE WALTHAMS, LITTLEWICK GREEN & KNOWL HILL:
NO CRIME TO REPORT.
PINKNEYS GREEN & FURZE PLATT:
8/6 Wednesday 2.30 a.m. / 3 p.m. Courthouse Road. The aggrieved as CCTV footage of 2 men walking along the road trying car door handles. Their car was ENTERED BY UNKNOWN MEANS. They opened the passenger door then the boot. They then opened the driver’s side door and tried unsuccessfully, to start the car. Counterfeit note validators X 2, Counterfeit note detectors X 2, Single note feeder and Loose change stolen. Ref. No: 43220249952
MAIDENHEAD SOUTH
maidenheadsouthgeographical@thamesvalley.police.ukBOYN HILL, COX GREEN & WOODLANDS PARK
8/6 Wednesday 8 a.m. / 8 p.m. St. Ives Road. Unlocked bike in secured location stolen. A custom made, bright red, Milwaukee bike. Ref. No: 43220250572
OLDFIELD, BRAY & HOLYPORT:
7/6 – 9/6 Tuesday / Thursday Reeve Road, Holyport. The aggrieved is a repeat victim when a bike was stolen from their shed. They had had a new door and locks fitted. A circular hole had been drilled around the lock, but no entry gained and nothing stolen. Ref. No: 43220252615
9/6 Thursday 8.30 p.m. Monkey Island Lane X 2. 1. Car damaged. Later the aggrieved realised her purse had been stolen. Ref. No: 43220252274 2. Security reported a car had its windows smashed. Ref. No: 43220252277
