Police warn of K&A break-ins

[matty40s]

He can afford hair dye then.

nicked off nb bombshell last week

[cyclic]

Follow this link for photo and further descriptions of offenders

http://kanda.boatingcommunity.org.uk/wordpress/boat-burglaries-have-you-seen-this-man/

[Grace and Favour]

Brilliant advice - extract from the kanda site:

"If your bike has been stolen it may have been found there. If you have any information or suspicions, or if you want to find out if your bike has been found, contact the police on 101 or 999 in an emergency."

 

I'm not so sure that the Emergency operators would appreciate this advice?

[Chris Pink]

999 in an emergency."

 

You don't think people should dial 999 in an emergency?

 

what's your solution? shouting "hayulp" in a loud voice?

[dmr]

I am very confused about this new police number, and in particular the advice to dial 101 if I see anything susicious.

 

So if I see a 40 year old blond bloke cycling along the towpath on a womans bike with a jemmy sticking out of his pocket do I:

Ignore the advice and dial 999 in the hope that the police might just turn up quickly and arrest him

or

dial 101 and some time later report "he was here but now he's gone"

 

........Dave

[Chris Pink]

Ring Luctor.

[Guest]

I am very confused about this new police number, and in particular the advice to dial 101 if I see anything susicious.

 

So if I see a 40 year old blond bloke cycling along the towpath on a womans bike with a jemmy sticking out of his pocket do I:

Ignore the advice and dial 999 in the hope that the police might just turn up quickly and arrest him

or

dial 101 and some time later report "he was here but now he's gone"

 

........Dave

 

The guidance given around these parts is basically 999 for an emergency or if you are actually witnessing a crime in progress, 101 for everything else.

 

Bit more detail here

 

So looking at that if you had cause to believe he had been involved in a crime and he was still in the area then 999 would be the correct number to call.

 

Quote-

 

"You should continue to call 999 when it is an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, when there is danger to life or when violence is being used or threatened. To contact the police for any other reason, call 101."

Edited April 14, 2013 by The Dog House

[DaveC]

Having had cause to ring Wiltshire police on 101 I have to say that they answered very promptly. It costs, I believe, 15 pence no matter how long the call and is the same cost from mobile or landline.

 

 

 

 

Dave

[JDR]

Another break in on Sunday afternoon in the pound above Guyers lock on the E. K&A. A 19" Technika TV was stolen from a boat. Entry was forced but no serious damage. I have asked the boat owner to report the details to local Poilce.

Edited April 15, 2013 by JDR

[cyclic]

Boat broken into at Bradford on Avon last Thursday. had lock smashed off and steel doors forced.

A dingy called Silver Fox, with 3 aboard, allegedly fishing at night but disappears during the day, is suspect for other breaks. Has been seen travelling one way and then returning with something covered with a tarpaulin

 

Also at Great Bedwyn, boats and car broken into on Thursday last ( not sure where Guyers Lock is and whether this is the same incident)

 

From the "other" forum

Edited April 21, 2013 by cyclic

[John Margetts]

 

 

All boat thefts are bad but boater on boater thefts are especially sad to read about.

Quite agree. Boaters need to look after each other. Perhaps some sort of organised peer pressure might be in order. I don't mean ganging up on someone but if a known perpetrator could be somehow widely exposed and their identity publicised using posters, word of mouth, etc, even though they may not feel shame they would at least be recognised by everyone. Going much further we could find out why they are behaving like this and maybe even help them. This might be too much christianity in action for most but it would do the trick. Remove the need for crime and no crime would be needed. Or is this a bit naive?

[Guest]

A similar approach using social media misidentified at least two or three people as the Boston marathon bombers and led them to be in fear for their safety.

[sueb]

This hasn't worked with Mr Finch!

[John Margetts]

A similar approach using social media misidentified at least two or three people as the Boston marathon bombers and led them to be in fear for their safety.

That is admittedly a fault with this. We are so eager to find quick solutions we are at risk of allowing subjectivity and apparent evidence to cloud an objectively accurate conclusion. Nevertheless, as a group, boaters could be more aware of the need to develop a deeper collective responsibilty to each other. Neighbourhood watch schemes seem to have been fairly successful by all accounts although the image these things conjure up is not always to everyone's liking. As someone who dislikes the trend towards greater materialistic well being, I probably don't have anything worth nicking on my boat, even in terms of equipment. I have a cheap 300w inverter for example. Many people report that it is not the loss of "things" which hurts so much but the feeling of violation. Stealing one's tentative stability and privacy is not so easy to recompense.

[cyclic]

I am passing on this information in the hope that boaters on here who are on the K&A are made aware of what's happening in their area. I don't have to.

I'm on the K&A and in touch with a group of live aboard boaters who need this information. They are without doubt collectively watching each others backs, and I suspect most of them have all of their worldly wealth tied up on and with their boats.

Yes. Identifying "possible" suspects, may not be ethical, but so what. It could be you me, or my neighbour, and spreading the word alerts people to be more vigilant. Any unusual activity is questioned, and as for the offenders, they would doubtless con you into believing that they were innocent. I do have considerable experience in that field.

So, interesting though your ideas may be, why not read back on this thread (all 9 pages of it) and then keep to the point of it by giving valid information.

No offence intended

[Guest]

Neighbourhood watch is different from identifying possible suspects

[Flocal]

Four boats and vehicles broken into at Great Bedwyn last week.

[Flocal]

Eyes open guys and girls, its still happening o nthe Western and middle KnA

[real_vibes]

2 bikes and some diesel stolen from boats in our patch on the Avon near Saltford this week.

[cyclic]

Link relating to man wanted for boat break ins

 

http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/10383613.Man_sought_following_canal_thefts/?ref=fbsend&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[MtB]

 

From the article, police want to find Alan Campbell, photographed above, to interview him with regard to the thefts.

 

The thing that gets me is, why didn't they arrest him when they took his photo?

 

 

MtB

[Ron T]

Spot on,the problem is caused by ignorant thieving rsoles who pull knives on people,so eradicate the problem and you will eradicate ignorance.

I began my working life as a very busy criminal defence advocate. When I wasn't in court, I was in either police or prison cells, so I worked at the sharp end of the criminal justice system.
I remember once sitting with a client in the cells below Bristol Crown court desperately trying to think of something to say in mitigation on his behalf, that hadn't already been said before.
He was an habitual offender and alcoholic, the circumstances were such that it was inevitable that he would been given a custodial sentence all I could do was try to limit the term. I had his records in front of me and idly totted up the amount of time he had to date spent in prison. He was about 48 years old and not only had he spent over half his adult life in prison but the most serious offence he had ever committed was theft.

He duly went to prison. Twelve months later I was called to a police station to represent him again, theft from an off-licence, he had been released from prison that same day.

I eventually gave up criminal law because it was soul destroying, a merry-go-round going nowhere.

That was 30 years ago and there was then as there is now a lot of talented and caring people trying to change the way we deal with 'offenders' (as unlikely as it might sound, a number of states in the USA have done a lot of innovative and thoughtful work in this area) but until we evolve as people and rise above our deep seated desire for revenge, sentencing will be heavily weighted to feed this powerful public 'need' instead of addressing the causes of crime and trying to solve them.

It's the same sort of ignorance that feeds the sanitizing steamroller that will inevitably one day turn the canal network into a theme park for relatively wealthy weekend boaters. No one will benefit from that either, but it will still happen.

I believe the secret, is to eradicate ignorance.

[Graham Davis]

Perhaps Mike because the photo of him is an old photo?

[Grace and Favour]

Perhaps Mike because the photo of him is an old photo?

Or because he's just swapped places with the police photographer, locked him in the cell, and this shot was taken just before he walked out of the station

[Guest]

 

From the article, police want to find Alan Campbell, photographed above, to interview him with regard to the thefts.

 

The thing that gets me is, why didn't they arrest him when they took his photo?

 

 

MtB

 

 

Probably taken from a previous visit to a cop shop on suspicion of or on being charged with a previous offence.