SAS Catching the Criminals S01E11 (2024)

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SAS Catching the Criminals S01E11 (2024)
Transcript
00:00Covert surveillance, reconnaissance, deception, stealth, and disruption.
00:07These are the skills I learned on the military front line.
00:11And they can be used to combat a different enemy.
00:15Britain's criminals.
00:20That's the team thrown into position now.
00:22My name is Billy Billingham, and I spent over 20 years in the SAS.
00:29Now I'm going to show you how SAS tactics are helping to crack down on anti-social crime across Britain.
00:37All teams now in position.
00:39Strike, strike, strike.
00:40Some enforcement agencies are already using SAS tactics to hunt criminals.
00:45Check this out. This is exactly what they were looking for.
00:49Hey, presto.
00:51And I want to find out how much the police are doing too.
00:54Go, go, go.
00:57She's going to pick up a target right now.
00:59You're lying, aren't you? And you know very well it's illegal.
01:02Let's go. You need to move quick. Stand by.
01:04Banged up. Job done.
01:07BANG
01:24In a unit like the SAS, you always have to prove yourself in all the old school ways.
01:30Fitness, strength and mental toughness.
01:35But you also have to embrace new ideas and new technology.
01:45And now the police are taking the same approach and using facial recognition, powered by AI, to sniff out suspects.
01:53So this morning I'm on the streets of Cheshire with the Cheshire Constabulary.
01:57The crime's been committed. We're going on the hunt after shoplifters.
02:00They think they got away with it, but I tell you what, they're just about to get a visit at their homes.
02:11Morning, everybody. This is our fourth day of action in relation to Operation Contrite.
02:17So these are the packs here where people have been identified as being suspects for a shoplifting in the Cheshire area.
02:25We've run an operation today just regarding facial recognition.
02:29When people commit crimes, if that then crime or the person themselves is picked up on an image,
02:34so if that's on CCTV in a shop as an example, that then image can be sent through to the police,
02:39whereby then we will run it through a facial recognition platform just to see if we can identify that individual who may then be on that footage.
02:46So part of the operation today is those have been identified through facial recognition that have committed a crime.
02:52We then have the name of that said individual.
02:54And part of the operation today is those have been named, particularly around shoplifting today,
02:58is that we will then go and find them to arrest them for that offence.
03:02Shoplifting is a big problem and is now being committed by crime gangs and repeat offenders.
03:08It's nationwide. Shoplifting is on the rise and therefore as policing, certainly we want to be catching those individuals
03:13who are going into those stores, whether that's a major retail store or one of the local independent shops in any town or village in the country.
03:22This is interesting. It seems Chester Police's visual ID technicians are putting the faces of suspects into AI analysis.
03:31Potential suspect for shoplifting in St. Frees.
03:35Alaina Rhodes is a police technician and has been sent an image of a suspect shoplifter who got away.
03:41From here we will run the image onto the database and then hopefully within a short period of time we will get a result back.
03:48The images we set through for P&D for facial recognition, we crop the images from their head to the shoulders,
03:53run them through the national database and then the algorithm will generate images that it believes are the most likely suspects.
04:02So we've got the images back, we've got three results here.
04:07This top one here, it's come back at 84% which is quite high, so our procedure normally is anything above 80% we automatically run through,
04:16but I do always like just to double check, just to make sure that there are defining features that I can put forward with a bit more confidence to help the officers to make sure that they are making a good prosecution.
04:25In terms of the ears and the nose, the shape and size, it looks really good.
04:32AI has scanned 90 million images in seconds and given Chester Police the names of suspect shoplifters and now the police can go out armed with solid intel.
04:42Now we'll be knocking on their doors and it'll be a surprise.
04:45They will think that they've got away with it because if they weren't challenged in the shop, they'll have already walked and be scot-free, so we'll be knocking on their door.
04:54Shoplifting has skyrocketed recently, with figures for thefts doubling in one year.
04:59And my first thought is, what are people stealing from shops here in Chester?
05:05Is it high value stuff they're going after or is it just, it could be anything?
05:08Not necessarily, anything that can be sold. The majority of our shoplifting is to sell on in order to fund their lifestyle.
05:15Right everybody, enjoy the day and let's see who we can get.
05:21We're just about to go out now on what would be a deliberate option.
05:24We've got the intelligence, slow time, we're going to strike at our time when we're ready and they're vulnerable.
05:39Is there anybody at the target house now, waiting, covering it in case he does a runner or are we going to go straight in and strike?
05:45I suppose it's the best sort of tactic we've got really, the element of surprise.
05:48Yeah.
05:49To try and catch him when he's least expecting it, but the way you see it, people who are always on it, they half expect it all the time, so.
05:57For somebody like him, I wouldn't call it surveillance aware, but he is aware.
06:01Yeah.
06:02He's ready to be on his toes.
06:03Yeah.
06:04He'll have pre-empted something coming.
06:06Absolutely, yeah.
06:07I guess we have to be pretty sharpish when you get there and strike quickly.
06:13Facial recognition techniques are an important part of SAS training, but it's not just your face that can give you away.
06:21Facials is always the difficult one, and particularly today as well because they wear hoodies and they wear masks and cover themselves.
06:26So a lot of the identification would be on the way they walk and the way, you know, people have a certain way of walking.
06:37Let's roll.
06:46So this is the target location now. The guys are going to go in, quick knock and straight in.
06:56That's definitely a police knock.
06:58We've got two guys ready to strike at the front and the other two guys now going round the back, should he do a runner.
07:04Police, can you come to the door?
07:08But it's no joy at the first address.
07:11He's either aware that we're here and he's done a runner or he's already out doing his business,
07:16so we'll move on to the next phase of locating him and grabbing him wherever he is.
07:21All the shops are linked up to our camera control as well, so if they do see him they can...
07:27I would assume, though, if he's in the city and he, you know, he feels like he's going to try and run.
07:33Yeah, he may do. He may do.
07:36I can run. I'm allowed to do a citizen's arrest, right?
07:39You are.
07:40I'm assisting the police.
07:46Even with the, you know, the greatest intelligence in the world, you can strike a target and it's just,
07:52look at the day, they're either there or they're not there.
07:56You know, and back in the military we used to call that a dry hole, you know.
08:00Intelligence told us they're there, we had everything that we needed and generally would be there,
08:05and then when you go in, you strike.
08:07It is a lot of luck that is needed to get the result that you want,
08:11but there are many times that it will be a dry hole.
08:16Finding suspects is a game of cat and mouse, so we'll keep on hunting.
08:27SA selection is the hardest selection in the world.
08:31You are tested physically, mentally and emotionally,
08:34but it's not about the fastest, the fittest or the biggest.
08:37It's about the person who can think outside the box and find a solution.
08:42It's not about an image.
08:48Over in East London, there are some small family businesses
08:51of the sort you won't see in the West End.
08:54And it's home to a shop owner who is using her wits to fight thieves.
09:01My name's Katie and I run a family business, my hardware store.
09:05It means a lot because my great-granddad had it,
09:08and then my granddad, now my mum, then me,
09:11and we've been running it for over 70 years.
09:14We've had customers that have spent their whole life coming here.
09:17We see their kids, we've seen their parents.
09:20Thank you. Thank you.
09:22Bye-bye.
09:23Bye-bye.
09:24It's a really nice feeling to know that we're a sense of the community,
09:27not just a business.
09:31Katie took over the reins in 2015, alongside her mum.
09:35She soon learned about the cost of shoplifting.
09:39£1.8 billion was stolen from stores in 2023,
09:44and some of that was from here.
09:48So we have about three to four attempted thefts or shoplifts a week.
09:53So within a month, in total, it'd probably be about £200 of loss.
09:59And anti-shoplifting expert Sarah Byrd
10:02speaks to small retailers regularly.
10:06I've worked within the industry for 18 years
10:09and I have never seen retail crime to the scale that it is right now.
10:14Retail crime incidents are 100% increasing.
10:18For people who work in stores, who own stores, particularly independents,
10:23it is a huge risk to try and tackle retail crime offenders alone.
10:29The advice would be to work with your community,
10:33work with law enforcement and speak to your neighbours.
10:37Katie didn't want her hard-earned profits to be hit.
10:41She saw a way to use her own style of facial recognition to fight back.
10:47First off, the family got the shop kitted out with CCTV.
10:51And once they recorded the faces of suspected shoplifters
10:55and working within police guidelines, they tried to put a name to her face.
11:00When we first started getting the CCTV footage,
11:03we were getting quite good, clear facial shots,
11:06so we thought if we used them, post them on Facebook
11:09or post them on any of our social media,
11:11then you're going to reach potentially hundreds of people
11:15and then you get more help, so we can put a name to the face.
11:18Everyone's on social media now.
11:20And the response was staggering.
11:22We did have a lot of people who knew the people.
11:26We were getting phone calls anonymously,
11:29messages with names, addresses, phone numbers.
11:33Some people were giving us, like, the full address.
11:36With advice from the police, she gathered all the evidence she could
11:40so the police could make an arrest.
11:43And like a pro, Katie decided to take her mission up a level
11:47to prevent further crimes.
11:49And then we thought we're definitely not the only ones in the area
11:52that suffer with it, so we got a group chat going
11:55with all the local businesses.
11:57I think there's over 70 of us in there at the moment
12:00and it allows us to notify anyone instantly,
12:03like, look out for this person, he's on the way,
12:06to give him a heads up.
12:08Now local shopkeepers can respond quick time.
12:11I respect that.
12:13So if he's walking down the street and he's two shops up,
12:15but I've already sent it to the chat,
12:17that they know the guy in the red hat with the blue jumper,
12:20you're going to notice him.
12:22And if that stops one more crime down the street,
12:24then hopefully it will make him move on, not try it again.
12:27He knows that everyone's watching him.
12:29Taking out a key shoplifter could be a big deal.
12:3380% of the crime committed in stores against retail
12:37comes from 20% of offenders.
12:40So primarily local prolific offenders,
12:43repeat offenders who are in day in, day out, impacting retail,
12:48are the ones who are causing the biggest issues.
12:52It's definitely a way of us all keeping connected
12:55and even if you're not physically fighting back,
12:58if everyone knows, it allows all the shops to act as one.
13:01Just down the road, the local gadget shop where Muhammad works
13:05is just one of many businesses feeling the benefits of Katie's handiwork.
13:10Katie is definitely a hero.
13:12Having the group did bring the whole community together a lot more.
13:16A shoplifter can be anybody.
13:18When someone is shoplifting another store,
13:21we'd be in the group, we'd be updated straight away.
13:23And if these people do walk into our shop,
13:25we already know to be wary of them.
13:28Katie's use of simple facial recognition
13:31means the business is still going strong.
13:34I've probably caught, since 2015, well over 100 shoplifters.
13:38There has been a significant drop in repeat offenders.
13:41The word gets back to them that we're looking for them,
13:44we know what they look like, we know what they've done.
13:46They're not coming back.
13:49Back in Chester, AI has identified the faces of a series of shoplifters
13:54who think they've gotten away with their crimes.
13:57But we are out on a manhunt for them,
14:00at every address where they are known.
14:02Pretty confident that that's him?
14:04Yeah. Well...
14:06We have several targets, including him.
14:09He's been identified by cutting-edge facial recognition software
14:13but trying to track him down is more difficult than we'd anticipated.
14:18So, basically, it's like a process of elimination.
14:21This is one of his sort of hangouts, and no sign of him as of yet.
14:25On to the next address.
14:29So, how do you build your network around him?
14:31How do you know so much intelligence about the guy?
14:33Obviously, he's brought attention to himself for the crimes,
14:36but then, how do you build a network around him?
14:41We've got a pretty good system
14:43where any sort of information we get, we can submit intelligence.
14:47For example, we can be out on the beat, someone will tell us something,
14:50and we can, you know, take details and submit that,
14:53and it's the little pieces that you get from all those straps of information,
14:57and then there's people up top who piece it together
15:00and can make some pretty groundbreaking deductions from it.
15:03That's very much like the way that the AI works.
15:06That's very much like the way that we do it in the military as well.
15:09So, you've got human and then technical.
15:11But, yeah, it starts with word of mouth or visually seeing something,
15:14and then the technical sort of put the final part of the picture together.
15:17And it's just a combination of both and building that picture, isn't it?
15:24What bike does he use?
15:25I'm not sure exactly. It'll be some sort of mountain bike, I assume.
15:28Just checking out the back just to see if his bike's here for a start,
15:31and then see if there's any potential for him to do anything else.
15:34See if there's any potential for him to do a run out the back.
15:44They know how to play, don't they?
15:50There's one final address the police want to check.
15:53We'll keep going. No stone unturned till we find him.
15:59One of the last sightings of the man was at his parents' house.
16:03I heard from him a couple of days back.
16:06Can I ask what it's in connection with?
16:08Unfortunately, we can't disclose just because he's an adult.
16:10I suspect he's probably doing shoplifting again.
16:15Honestly, we can't say what it is.
16:17Yeah, he keeps you well informed, doesn't he, I'm sure.
16:19Would you be OK if I click up to your house just for...
16:21I'm looking for my house, if you like. Yeah, that's fine.
16:27It's a shame, you know, to bring such problems on decent people.
16:31This is what it does, this is what the crime does.
16:33It brings problems to the doors of the people that don't deserve it.
16:42I want to reach out to the suspect's parents,
16:45now that they've been dragged into this.
16:48How do you feel about all this, what it's bringing to your door?
16:52I hate it and I don't like it, but at the end of the day, he's my son.
16:56I can't turn my back on him.
16:58No, I wouldn't expect you to, I'm just saying, you know,
17:01bringing this stress...
17:07Yeah, all right.
17:10No, of course not.
17:16No, we get it, and at least we can say, you know, we've done that...
17:20Sure you would.
17:22Yeah.
17:23If he had anything to bear, I mean,
17:25he saw what he's put his parents through.
17:28Lovely lady. Yeah, I just feel so sorry for her, you know.
17:32But before we can leave,
17:34the mum has managed to get through to her son on the phone.
17:38Hello.
17:40It's the police, mate.
17:43Just need to... Well, we need to find you, mate.
17:45Where is it you're saying at the moment?
17:50Well, I'd rather see you in person, mate.
17:52I'm going to do it over your mum's phone.
17:56No, we need to speak to you, mate.
17:58It's going to happen at one point.
18:01So, for everyone's sake, just be handy if you let us know
18:04where we are and come and chat to you.
18:06If you're going to give us all the runaround,
18:08it's just tedious for everyone, mate.
18:10It's inevitable, isn't it?
18:11We are going to have a chat with you at some point.
18:13You can just see the stress on their family,
18:16what this guy is causing for them.
18:18We're trying to get a location from him now,
18:20actually speaking to him on the phone,
18:22and with a view to him handing himself in
18:24or at least telling us where he is.
18:26It's not fair on your parents, mate, is it?
18:28You see the right thing, mate,
18:29just let us know where you are and we'll come and chat to you.
18:34Thank God.
18:35Doesn't fancy telling us where he is.
18:37I wasn't expecting much from him, in all honesty.
18:39We'll let you know. Appreciate that.
18:41I've sort of made it clear to him, you know,
18:43we don't want to come round to your guys' house all the time
18:45having a look, it's not fair, is it?
18:47And surely he knows that, but...
18:49Thanks for your time.
18:52Asking her to make that call, you know,
18:54without putting any pressure or stress on her was a good thing.
18:57I've actually done that before,
18:59where, you know, we had a situation
19:01where after a fairly high, valuable target,
19:04we ended up with a parent making the call.
19:07And the blow actually walked into the checkpoint the next morning,
19:11which was just never expected, but, you know, it sometimes works.
19:15So basically what was happening there was,
19:17with the support and the help of the family,
19:20we tried to make it easy for all of them
19:22and get them to admit and tell us where he was,
19:24but the chase goes on.
19:26He's got nowhere to hide, we will get him.
19:28Like the military, it's hurry up and wait, you know.
19:32That moment will come, it's just when.
19:37But for now, we've got other suspects to track down.
19:41In the SAS, you have to be smart, you have to be tough,
19:44but you also have to be proactive and think ahead.
19:50And more and more civilian groups are using proactive tactics
19:54to go head-to-head with people who are blighting our communities.
19:59Helen from Winn-Evans heads up one such civilian group
20:02here in Newcastle.
20:04She and her team of officers from Natural Resources Wales
20:07help to regulate the waste industry...
20:10This is bad.
20:12..including illegal dumping like this.
20:15We've got the white goods, your typical freezer,
20:19fridges, mattresses.
20:22This is a typical fly-tipping.
20:25Absolutely awful.
20:27This is a typical fly-tipping.
20:30Typical fly-tipping. Absolutely awful.
20:34Cities.
20:36All stuff that could be taken to the tip and recycled,
20:39but they just can't be bothered.
20:41There's no respect, is there?
20:43This is going to cost thousands, isn't it?
20:46Makes my blood boil.
20:51But now, Helen from the team have adopted an SAS mindset.
20:55They've teamed up with North Wales Police
20:58to stop fly-tippers before they can tip.
21:01I've seen a white van. I think he knows we're going to stop him,
21:04so he'll slow down himself.
21:06Oh, he's turning right. No, he's not.
21:08Part of their job is to check that all waste-removal companies
21:12have a licence to collect and dump rubbish.
21:14And this white lorry they've spotted fits the bill for a check.
21:18You're just checking if you've got a waste carrier,
21:21what you've got in the back.
21:23We're just stopping everything at the moment, to be honest with you.
21:26If it's not legal, you know, that's fine, yeah.
21:30Helen and her colleagues have decided they will stop
21:33and search any suspect vehicles they see,
21:36so they can stop the fly-tipping before it happens.
21:41Yeah.
21:43Lovely.
21:45There was stuff in the back, but debris.
21:48But he's obviously been carrying stuff,
21:50so for intel purposes, we'll do some checks when we go back.
21:54We asked him where he'd been and he said he'd been with his dog for a walk.
21:58And to be honest with you, I don't know where he would take the dog
22:01for a walk in this area either, cos it's quite a built-up area.
22:04But he was very nervous, so he's definitely one to keep an eye on.
22:10Intuition is an important skill in the military,
22:14and good intuition often leads to capturing good evidence.
22:20A few miles away, another van has been spotted.
22:23So, two of our colleagues have just stopped a vehicle
22:27and they're asking for assistance
22:29because they believe that it's not a legal waste carrier.
22:35So we've just located them and we'll go and speak to them.
22:41The driver of this vehicle was loading up items from a nearby house
22:45and certainly not expecting a proactive anti-fly-tipping operation.
22:51The van is more or less full of bedding, household stuff.
22:56So the van driver's been spoken to and he said that he had a licence to do it,
23:01albeit he didn't have a licence, it expired.
23:04When did it run out?
23:08So in January last year, what month?
23:11He's told the team he's charging the homeowner to remove the items
23:15and will keep them himself.
23:17So they've cleared the property.
23:19He thinks he's going to sell most of it in car boot sales and online.
23:24Who knows? I think he will sell it.
23:28Is this the load from here?
23:30Yeah. Just here? Yeah.
23:32So just sad that he wanted to make some money,
23:35but he's gone around it the wrong way without the legalities of a licence.
23:40Quite a good job, to be honest, that he's been caught in the act.
23:45Anyone you employ to dump your waste should have a licence.
23:49Many dumpers are unlicensed.
23:52So if you don't have a licence,
23:54people like Heleth at National Resources Wales will catch you out.
23:58It just causes people to talk and they'll think twice
24:02about doing what this gentleman's been doing today.
24:05So it's a bit of a shockwave for real, really, that we are out and about.
24:09Where were you going to take this, then?
24:12So I've got to take his word that he's going to take that to his garage now.
24:16We'll probably follow him to his garage, to be honest.
24:19But just to make sure the stuff isn't dumped...
24:22We've taken photographs of every item in that van,
24:25so if there's any sightings of anything, he'll get prosecuted.
24:29But I don't think he's that daft.
24:33The items in the van were never found dumped
24:36and the driver was summoned to court.
24:41So Heleth's tactics today seem to be working.
24:52I'm back out with Cheshire Police hunting for shoplifters.
24:56We're hoping that facial recognition technology
24:59will help us track down known offenders
25:02and we are closing in on our targets.
25:05OK, we've got one target possibly going to lift right now.
25:08I believe he is outstanding for a theft of some sort.
25:12Have you got the circumstances to handle?
25:16So what, blue jacket, track your bottoms?
25:20Go, go, go.
25:26So she's going to pick up a target right now.
25:33Blue jacket, that's the next suspect from our list.
25:36Listen to me, mate, give us that a second.
25:38You're under arrest, mate.
25:40OK, so suspicion of theft is what I'm saying.
25:42All right, mate, I'll give you a search.
25:44You got anything on you? No.
25:45He's one of the targets that were briefed this morning
25:47and he's the first one we've taken off the grid today.
25:50This man is suspected of stealing high-value items,
25:53like aftershave, to sell on.
25:56So that's him arrested, and due to the AI intelligence
25:59and smart intelligence, we've been able to lift him today.
26:03As he's searched, the police find three bottles of scent
26:06worth over 500 quid.
26:18OK, then, a full day out today with Chester Police
26:21and a result we did get.
26:23One off the list.
26:24The main one that we went after, unfortunately, we didn't get,
26:27but he's definitely looking over his shoulder
26:29and it's just a matter of time.
26:31And within two days, he was tracked down.
26:39This police body-cam footage captures the moment he was found.
26:54With the CCTV images they have of the suspects,
26:58police were able to proceed with prosecutions
27:01against the men they arrested.
27:09People are asking what impact AI will have on our society.
27:14Both the police and the military will always use technology
27:17to help catch criminals,
27:19but they'll never be a substitute for boots and eyeballs on the ground.
27:58To find out more, visit www.cbs.gov.uk