A man was jailed for a string of business break-ins in Blackpool town centre - after a community tip-off.
A Blackpool resident provided CCTV that showed the burglar stealing a brick from his garden wall, which turned out to be linked to the burglaries - which included windows being smashed and tip jars stolen.
A Blackpool resident provided CCTV that showed the burglar stealing a brick from his garden wall, which turned out to be linked to the burglaries - which included windows being smashed and tip jars stolen.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Around a year ago, we had a big pattern in the town centre for commercial burglaries.
00:04I think we had, in the end, roughly at the top of my head, we had like 30 or 40,
00:08something like that, within like a short span, I think it was like a couple of months maximum.
00:13And that caused a lot of tensions between the business owners, residents and things,
00:17and people who had a vested interest in the town centre. I think the MP got involved in
00:21things like that, so it did cause a bit of an issue. And then fast forward a year to
00:26a couple of months ago, I noticed a bit of a trend starting again. I think it was a lot
00:30lower than 30 or 40 this time, it was like down to say within like the 10s, 20s when we noticed it.
00:38So I think it was important to flag it up as early as possible so they could prevent
00:41another big issue, a wider issue. So like I said, I did some scanning,
00:46noticed a big trend again, and tried to nip it in the bud as early as possible.
00:50One chap got convicted of nine counts of burglaries, with one of criminal damage and
00:57one of theft, and he was given a 12-month custodial sentence. But that was with the
01:03police working in conjunction with the PAC group. One of our residents was able to provide CCTV,
01:10which linked all the incidents together. From what I know, the masonry was stolen from
01:17the wall of one of the residents and used to break the windows of Costa and KFC.
01:29And then once the windows had been broken, the place was burgled.
01:35All the same pattern, all the same MO. Yeah, same sort of things were being stolen,
01:42same issue with how they were breaking into buildings, smashing windows, getting in that way.
01:48But yeah, they were all within a certain radius in the town centre.
01:51What we didn't know is who the offender was. We just knew it was going to be the same offender
01:55committing these crimes. We brought it up at the local PAC meeting, which Brian chairs.
02:01During that PAC meeting, residents came forward with CCTV. That, at the time,
02:05we didn't actually have. That CCTV allowed us to begin to identify potential suspects.
02:12For example, one resident's wall had been damaged by the offender, and you can see him picking up
02:17the bricks, walking over to one of the business establishments, which was then burgled.
02:23We were then able to use Jack's work that he collated through similar what we call MOs,
02:28which is how the crimes committed, to then link him to a series of other burglaries across
02:33Brunswick and across the town centre. This allowed Jack to then start collecting further CCTV,
02:38further forensic evidence, and further witness testimony to basically create a case against him
02:44that we then ultimately charged for, and he's gone to court and gone to prison as a result.
02:49So it was a great team effort between the PACs providing that evidence that wasn't available
02:54at the time, and also investigative skill off Jack to be able to piece together those missing pieces.
02:59One of the windows to replace was about £3,000,
03:02so quite a substantial amount, and if a business is losing that off their overheads, it can have quite an impact.
03:13Even though it might be low monetary value, whilst an elderly person may have high value stolen,
03:19and that will significantly affect their lives. So it's highly personal, somebody either breaking
03:23into your house, your business, and what they take. So despite the value or the severity of
03:27the damage caused, I think it's always highly personal, it's always highly impactful.
03:32The staff at these places, I mean most of them are on like a basic wage, so they rely on the tips
03:40to provide that little extra source of income. I've no idea what was in the tip jar, but
03:47some of these places you can have like £20, £30, £50 in the tip jar, so
03:52that divided amongst the staff, it can be a substantial amount every week.
03:57Yeah, that's why we look at what's called super cocooning, which is the academic theory behind
04:00Op Defender, and also look at the target hardening that the inspector talked about.
04:05But it's also the community initiatives, such as Pact Neighbourhood Watch, that sort of
04:10facilitates in the information exchange, and makes sure the community is working together
04:14to make that area the least desirable place for criminals to target.
04:18Crime has a lasting effect, not only on the victim, but the wider community as well,
04:24because it's that fear of crime. You know your neighbour's been burgled,
04:28your local shop that you go into has been burgled. The effect that can have on a business
04:36when they are victims of burglaries can almost be ending for them, it can end their business,
04:41depending on what's taken place. So we don't take it lightly when a burglary is reported,
04:49and where possible, and it's not always possible, because obviously evidence
04:53needs to be obtained, but where there is available evidence and we can identify a suspect,
04:58we will do our utmost to try and bring them to justice, which is what has happened on this
05:03occasion, a series of burglaries that was identified in Blackpool by PC McGoldrick here.