A thief that does the dishes?!

Usually when a thief breaks into a home they bring tools, gloves, a torch…and washing up liquid?

In all my years of fighting crime, I have never heard of a crime quite like this one. A criminal that stops to do housework? Sometimes this is a very odd job.

Lee Dixon was arrested after he was connected to over 100 break-ins. In that time he stole £120,000 worth of items - but also stopped to do the dishes at some homes. It has been said the Lee was a ‘gentleman’ style burglar. He did little damage to the properties he stole from and like I mentioned earlier, he even stopped to do the washing-up occasionally.

Dixon’s partner did not know of this ten month crime spree that was going on. He had been laid off as a labourer and racked up a £10,000 debt, so he turned to stealing to pay it back.

The police were ecstatic when they arrested Dixon from Frome, Somerset. He was caught using stolen Marks and Spencer vouchers and his fingerprints linked him to all of the break-ins. The police are glad to have this dish-washing thief in captivity. He was a hard criminal to catch because he seemed so normal. It is said he suffered from bipolar condition and his friends were shocked about his crime spree.

Burglary is a serious crime that greatly upsets those that are victims. If you have any information about burglaries and you do not feel like talking to the police you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555 111 or through the untraceable online form.

Crimestoppers reaches 100,000 arrests

It’s a great day when I hear how us crime-fighters are winning in the fight against crime. Imagine my joy then, when I heard that anonymous information passed on to Crimestoppers has led to 100,000 criminals being arrested and charged!

That’s an average of 21 people being arrested and charged every single day! This total includes 887 people that were arrested and charged for murder, over £189 million worth of drugs being seized and the recovery of over £112 million worth of goods. Boy, am I pleased to know I’ve got Crimestoppers on side!

The charity, which has been running for 22 years, has just reached this incredible milestone. I am only too familiar with the difficulties we face against the criminals so a big pat on the back for Crimestoppers from one crime-fighter to another. A huge thank you must also go to all those fantastic people who contacted Crimestoppers with information about crimes - without these people this amazing feat would never have been possible.

We may be winning the fight, but it is far from won. Remember, if you have information about a crime, please contact Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or through the secure online form.

Officer gets on his bike to raise money for Crimestoppers

Working in the Superhero industry it is always nice to know there are people that support us in what we do. So I was ecstatic when I came across a story about PC Matt Cann, a Hertfordshire Police officer and the great thing he is doing for Crimestoppers!

Matt and thirty other people are cycling all the way from Black Heath in London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris! They are leaving today and their goal is to get there by Saturday 26 June. Can you believe it? That is over 300 miles. Of course they will be taking a ferry to get over the Channel. Matt is clearly very passionate about Crimestoppers, like myself.

Matt decided to use Crimestoppers as his charity because he has received so much help from them at his job. He thinks Crimestoppers is a very important charity to the police and he wanted to give back.

Matt is funding this trip out of his own pocket so any donations that are made will be given straight to Crimestoppers! He is trying to raise at least £1,000. Help Matt reach his goal and sponsor him by going to his Just Giving page. He has also set up a Facebook page where you can follow his progress.

I wish the best of luck to Matt and the other cyclists on their journey to Paris!

Nude burglar leaves evidence ‘behind’

Fighting crime you come across all kinds of unsavoury characters, though some border onto just plain stupid. I recently read about a man in Kentucky, USA, who decided to burgle someone’s home whilst wearing just a thong. I can only assume it was a particularly hot day as such an outfit is far from conspicuous. And this is not a look most men can pull off easily, not even me, who can usually look good in anything!

This guy then thought it would be a good idea to film himself whilst robbing the house at 3am. There’s one major problem with this idea though. The criminal accidentally left the video at the house he was burgling. D’oh! When police arrived all the evidence they needed was right there on tape. As I said, just plain stupid.

Unfortunately not all burglars decide to leave such evidence behind. Many are experienced criminals who leave little or no clues about their identity. This is where you come in. Crimestoppers allows members of the public to give information anonymously about crimes such as burglary. If you have information about someone who may be involved in this, or any other type of crime call the anonymous hotline on 0800 555 111 or send information via the Secure Online Form.

A summer of football

The World Cup is finally kicking off and I couldn't be more excited. I look forward to the World Cup, it's a great excuse to meet with the boys down the pub or at the park to kick a ball around.

Unfortunately my duties as a superhero sometimes get in the way of football fun. Some football fans get too worked up and violent about games and take the fun out of what should be friendly competition.

You might remember the Chelsea and Cardiff supporters that got out of hand after a game in February this year. About 200 fans fought on Kings Road, Chelsea. Safety cones and even bricks were thrown during the fight, which resulted in several injured police officers.  One even needed facial surgery. Incidents like this take the focus away from the game - what we are all really passionate about in the first place.

There are photos of some of those wanted in connection with the Chelsea v Cardiff fighting on Crimestoppers' Most Wanted website. Check out the Most Wanted website and see if you recognise any of those featured. If you have information call the Crimestoppers hotline anonymously on 0800 555 111 or pass on information using our secure online form.

I hope you all enjoy what's undoubtedly going to be a summer of football. I know I will, especially if everyone behaves.

Who is this man?

There are ups and downs of every job, including being a super hero. It's great being able to help solve crime, but some of the cases I hear about are horrible.

In May 2010, a young girl was sexually assaulted in Fleetwood, Lancashire. She was forced into a car by a man who then drove her to an area on Rossall Lane and assaulted her. Attacks on children chill me to the bone. It is disgusting that people attack other adults, let alone children and young people.

Lancashire Police are working hard to bring the culprit in this case to justice. The little girl’s attacker is said to have two or three badly broken or missing teeth on his upper jaw. It is also believed he was driving a dark green or turquoise car on the day of the attack.

As part of the inquiry, police are appealing for any information on a man seen at the ‘pitch and putt’ on Fleetwood promenade, close to the Marine Hall, early afternoon on Thursday 15 April. The man was carrying camera equipment and wearing black. Officers have stressed that this man could be entirely incident and may have been in the area for recreational purposes.

If you know anything about this crime then be sure to get in touch with either Lancashire Police, or if you want to pass on information anonymously, you can contact the charity Crimestoppers. You can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or pass on information online using the charity's secure online form.

Crimestoppes has offered a £10,000 reward for information leading the arrest and conviction of the person/persons responsible for this crime. Only information submitted through Crimestoppers will be eligible for the reward.





14 June 2010 - Update: A man has now been charged with this crime. Read more on the BBC News website.

Charity sky dive photos

As promised, photos from the charity sky dive done by Shevon's family are now online!

The photos, courtesy of www.clickandjump.co.uk, are now up on Crimestoppers' Flickr.


www.flickr.com

crimestoppers' Sky dive for Crimestoppers in memory of Shevon Wilson photoset

Congratulations once again to everyone who took part in the sky dive.

Skydiving for a good cause

I’ve been inspired to blog today by a very brave family from the south west – one of my favourite parts of the UK.

Last year Shevon Wilson, a Bristol teenager, tragically lost his life to knife crime. In Shevon’s memory, his family organised a sponsored skydive over Salisbury Plain to raise money for Fearless, Crimestoppers’ brand for young people, and to raise awareness about the dangers of knives.

Last weekend nine of Shevon’s family members took part in the 13,000 ft skydive. What a brave and inspirational thing to do. If you want to support this great event and cause, you can make a donation through Virgin Money Giving.

Knife crime is a serious issue in society today and one that we all have to work together to fight. If you have any information about knife crime remember that you can always use Crimestoppers' knife crime texting service to pass on information.





P.S – Hopefully we’ll have some photos from the skydive to post soon!