Just check eBay: What police told victim burgled twice in 2 months
WHEN Caithy Walker called the police after burglars made off with £20,000 worth of computers, she was astounded to be told to ‘check ebay’ for her goods.
Thieves had used heavy equipment to cut newlyinstalled iron bars on a window at her business and steal six desktops and two laptops.
But after dialing 999, the digital marketing boss, targeted by crooks for the second time in five weeks, was told they would not send anyone out ‘ because of Government cuts’.
And after a forensic examiner eventually arrived he declined to take her CCTV, despite it catching one thief red-handed.
Instead, Mrs Walker, 34, was told to visit her nearest Cash Converters and check on eBay for her stolen possessions, before being sent a text closing the case.
‘When I first dialled 999 they said they would not be sending anyone out “because of Government cuts”,’ she said. ‘They said they don’t have anyone who goes to burglaries anymore. They said: “We would like to but we just don’t have the manpower”.’
‘ I asked: “What about the CCTV?” She said: “There is nothing we can do with that.” It was completely defeatist.
‘ Even the CSI man seemed defeated by it. He said they don’t even go to burglaries any more because “we don’t get anything”.’
Mrs Walker was first targeted in February by thieves who stole computers, camera equipment and jewellery from her rented offices in Whitefield, Bury.
Despite being a ‘stone’s throw’ from her local police station, Greater Manchester Police did not send an officer to investigate.
Five weeks later, after investing in CCTV, an alarm and reinforcing windows with iron bars, the property was broken into again.
Footage shows one man, wearing a mask, gloves and a sports top, walking into the office.
Speaking with a strong Salford accent, he appears to call an accomplice ‘ Pete’ before smashing the £300 camera.
Mrs Walker said: ‘ When we got into work on Friday morning everything was gone and the bars had been cut and pulled up before the window was broken.
‘The CCTV caught a man with a mask and gloves on. What happened was the camera flash came on when it was triggered, alerting him to it.
‘In one sense it’s good because it means we have a high quality image of him, but he just smashed it up within a few seconds. It was a £300 system.
‘ I cannot put it into words. We were completely gobsmacked that it could happen again.’
Mrs Walker said she could ‘barely get the words out’ when she first called police because she was so upset. ‘They just told me to contact my local Cash Converters and check on eBay to see if they turn up,’ she added.
‘If I could have got my hand down the phone I would have quite liked to throttle the person at the other end.
‘They sent a forensics man but he said there was nothing they could do with the CCTV and would not take it away.
‘Eventually they sent two PCSOs but they said there was nothing they could do either. It was ridiculous.’
Last month the Daily Mail revealed how police suspect organised gangs are behind a surging burglary crime wave.
Official figures show the majority of crimes are rising in Greater Manchester, with 32,000 burglaries in the year to September 2017, the latest figures available. Detective Chief Inspesctor John Mazzolai, of Greater Manchester Police, said: ‘Where we would of course like to be able to catch every criminal and bring them to justice, with the current landscape of policing, it’s just not physically possible.
‘We have to focus on those incidents that do have forensic opportunities, or other elements like CCTV that could lead to a successful prosecution.
‘We endeavour to offer each member of the public with the same, high standard of service but are always willing to receive feedback on how we could improve.’