Snow helps police catch burglars

My fellow crime crackers were hot on the trail of a pair of thieves who left an icy trail in their wake.

Eagle-eyed police were knocking on the door of the burglars after they followed bicycle tracks left in the frost back in February, with Leicester Crown Court seeing justice was done last week after the men both admitted the break in.

One was given a 12- month detention order and the other a year in jail.

The court was told stolen property, including sentimental items, were recovered after the men got into the bungalow by smashing a window.

A neighbour alerted police to the incident when he heard the burglar alarm of the house set off and spotted two men riding off together on one bike.

Their willingness to help, courage to call and caring nature undoubtedly helped officers in their investigation.
But anyone who sees a crime being committed or knows of illegal dealings need not fear if they are too frightened to call police.

Crimestoppers can be called anonymously on 0800 555 111 or information can be passed on through a secure online form.

It could really make a difference.

The Crimestoppers website also has some handy pointers on how to avoid becoming a victim of burglary, which is especially useful at this time of year when some of us are looking forward to jetting off for a break.

Caravan stolen with owner inside!

Imagine the scene; you’re relaxing in your mobile home after a long drive to your holiday destination. You’ve got that great, holiday feeling. Then, you realise your caravan is on the move, only it’s not you doing the moving.

I recently read about 73-year-old William Roberts, who was inside a £17,500 caravan when thieves decided to steal the vehicle. When he realised what had happened the pensioner managed to find an opportunity to escape. Mr Roberts, from Towyn, North Wales, ran from the vehicle when the thieves stopped at a lay-by.

Can you imagine?

Britain has a large number of caravan-owners who, no doubt, will be enjoying the warm weather by getting away in their mobile homes. But with minimal security, caravans can often be seen as an easy target to thieves. Don’t let thieves ruin your holiday, read handy advice on how to stay secure in your caravan on Crimestoppers’ Yell.com blog.

If you want to give information about robbery or any other crime, contact Crimestoppers’ anonymously on 0800 555 111.

See the Difference with charity website

When I give money to a charity I’ve often wondered exactly what the money I gave will be spent on. In fact, I’ve always thought it would be really interesting to see exactly where that money is going. Well, now you can!

Crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers can now be found on the charity website, See the Difference. See the Difference allows registered charities to show donors exactly where their money is going through the medium of online videos. Through using the medium of video, charities can be creative in putting across the message of what they do. The idea is that this will then encourage people to make those much-needed donations by seeing exactly where their money is being spent.

Now that Crimestoppers are on the See the Difference website, more people will also be able to see that the charity provides the anonymous hotline on 0800 555 111 and the untraceable online Giving Information Form, which means more help in the fight against crime. This is, of course, all great news for me!

Take a look at Crimestoppers' page on the See the Difference website.

Operation INFRA-RED

I am a firm believer that law enforcement do the best job they can to track down criminals. That said, sometimes crooks manage to evade capture by moving countries or going into hiding. It's in times like these that you come in - the eyes and ears of people on the streets can prove invaluable in tracking down wanted fugitives.

Interpol know this better than anyone. Today they have launched Operation INFRA-RED, a campaign that aims to track down 26 wanted criminals on the run across the globe.

You may ask "What type of crime do you have to commit to have your name put on a global wanted list?" 

"A very, very serious one," is my answer. 

The people wanted under Operation INFRA-RED are wanted for crimes ranging from murder, to sex offences, to gang and drug crime. These are the kind of people that come with a warning message: If seen, do not approach.  

Crime Stoppers International is supporting Operation INFRA-RED and you can view images of the 19 wanted individuals with European links on the Most Wanted section of the Crimestoppers website. You can see images of all 26 people wanted under the campaign on Interpol's website.

If you have any information on the wanted individuals, be sure to get in touch with Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or filling out our secure online form. Alternatively, you can email Interpol at fugitive@interpol.int

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!