Mum tracks down her stolen iPad ... so police tell her to go and confront the thief herself
WHEN Sara Gration discovered the whereabouts of her stolen iPad thanks to a built-in tracking app, she thought she had done the hard work for police.
But the mother of two was told officers were too busy to go out and recover the £350 tablet – and that she should ‘knock on the doors’ herself.
In a desperate bid to get her iPad back, she went to the street where the app said it was and started her inquiries.
Miss Gration, 37, yesterday told of her disgust at being ‘asked to turn detective’ and potentially putting herself at risk, even though there was a police station just half a mile from a handful of houses shown on the Find My iPhone app.
The app is built into Apple phones and tablets and can be used to track the device on an online map using GPS whenever it is switched on.
Miss Gration, who owns an accountancy firm, said: ‘Short of handcuffing the thief and dragging them to the police station, I don’t know what more I could have done to help the police catch them.
‘I appreciate that having your car broken into isn’t exactly the crime of the century and that it isn’t a priority for them. But how can this be the right advice to give?’
Miss Gration called the non-emergency 101 number last Friday after discovering that her iPad had been taken from the boot of her Mini Cooper the night before. The app alerted her to the tablet’s location three miles across Derby, just a few streets away from a police station.
But the force advised the single mother to daughters Isabella, nine, and sevenyear- old Tamsin, to ask neighbours if they had any CCTV of the thieves interfering with the car.
They are thought to have used an electronic device to dupe the vehicle into thinking the key fob was nearby and unlock the doors.
The force has now apologised ‘unreservedly’ for telling the crime victim to make her own inquiries into the theft.
However, officers have still not managed to recover the gold Apple iPad Air.
Miss Gration said: ‘The app is pretty accurate to about ten houses so I did start knocking on the doors. It was a pretty rough part of Derby and I had no idea what I was going to say if someone opened up and admitted having the iPad.
‘One resident pointed me to the home of some dodgy people he thought could be involved, but he was so worried about me knocking that he stood on the other side of the road to make sure there was no trouble. No one answered at the doors so I left.
‘Derbyshire Police had the chance to recover stolen items and potentially catch a thief but sent me instead.
‘By not following up on such a strong lead, it has probably ruined any chance of conviction. I am disgusted.’ She has since wiped her iPhone, which was synced to the iPad, in order to stop the thieves accessing family photographs.
Superintendent Tracy Harrison, of Derbyshire Police, said: ‘The advice Miss Gration received on Friday was wrong and further training will be given to the call handler who dealt with her call.
‘We should never advise anyone to put themselves in a dangerous situation to recover stolen items.’ A force spokesman said: ‘We sent an officer out to the location to make enquiries after we became aware of this mistake on Sunday.
‘A couple of premises were searched but the device could not be located.’
Hardyal Dhindsa, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Derbyshire, has said he will ‘look into’ the matter.
‘Asked to turn detective’