Ram-raid on Co-op cash point is latest in spate
Thieves used a digger to plough into the front of a rural supermarket, making off with a large amount of cash from its ATM. Co-op, off Cranbrook High Street, was left badly damaged, with debris strewn across the car park following the ramraid, at around 2am on Thursday.
It was the second time the supermarket chain had been targeted in Kent within a week, after the Wye branch was hit the previous Friday.
Seven of 13 cash machine attacks in the county this year have involved Co-ops. Cranbrook’s store still plans to reinstate its ATM, despite the risks, however.
The shop remained closed on Thursday but reopened the following morning once the digger had been removed and structural assessments undertaken.
Police are on the hunt for three suspects who stole the JCB from a building site close by. Officers also recovered an abandoned car in a neighbouring road which was thought to have been involved. They are looking for a third vehicle believed to be connected to the theft.
DI James Derham from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said all construction sites had been encouraged to keep their machinery secure to avoid similar crimes happening elsewhere.
Nearly half of ram-raids in Kent this year have involved heavy machinery.
The Co-op, which aims to be “at the heart of local life” and favours rural areas across the country, has spent £70 million in crime prevention over the last three years as part of a fightback against the robbers. Their cash machines are fitted with several security measures that vary between each dispenser and every store is fitted with CCTV.
The ATMs, owned by Cardtronics, feature deterrents including glue and dye staining to make the money unusable; SmartWater to make it traceable and even artificial intelligence to predict when an attack might happen and alert the police.
Some can even identify if explosives are near and stop them from detonating.
But Nick Biddiss, a retired Kent detective superintendent, said the measures in place are not enough to stop criminals from attacking stores if the cash machines are built into the building.
He said: “If it is just a brick wall you can easily smack into it. They need to be in concreted type bunkers that are almost impenetrable.
“Unless the industry takes positive steps and are proactive they will continue to be attacked.”
Mr Biddiss acknowledged the distance of the stores from police stations made them more vulnerable but doesn’t think increasing police numbers will help.
“It is not just the answer to have more police, they have got to be properly built to deter criminals. They need to reinforce these ATMs and make sure they aren’t an easy target.”
Several people have been jailed in connection with ramraids across the county, which includes a 33-year sentence for two men who used explosives to access a cash machine in Kennington, Ashford. In October, five men also admitted involvement in five ram-raids across Kent, including Co-ops in Broadstairs and Darenth. Enquiries are still ongoing into cashpoint thefts in Lenham and Tunbridge Wells earlier this year. Police do not believe the incidents in Cranbrook and Wye are connected. Anyone with information about the Cranbrook raid should call Kent Police on 01622 604100, quoting 14-0072.