A rise in the fraudulent reporting of stolen property is reported by British Transport Police (BTP), giving the example of a woman who concocted the theft of her mobile phone – because she was too scared to tell her mother she’d lost it. Police are running a week-long operation tackling burglary and handling stolen goods. BTP’s is named Operation Trail, in a series focusing on issues most important to policing – led by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).
Detective Inspector Mark Cleland, who is co-ordinating the operation in Wales, said: “The theft of valuable commodities on the railway is increasing, in part due to opportunist theft of high value goods such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops. BTP takes a hard-line approach against people who commit these offences and, working closely with police colleagues and the rail industry, we’re determined to do all we can to bring to justice those who consider it acceptable.
“However, an added problem to this escalation is the fraudulent reporting of stolen property. There has been an increase in people reporting theft of property for no other reason than spurious insurance claims or because they have lost their property. False reporting places an additional burden on police resources as each one is investigated as a crime.
“It is important that we focus on the real victims of crime so that we can catch real criminals and help recover property back to their owners. By following up false crime reports we are taking the focus away from what we need to look at. Falsely reporting a theft is a criminal offence in itself, which can result in large fines or a potential prison sentence for fraud or wasting police time.”
DI Cleland gave a recent incident where a woman had lost her phone and subsequently fabricated a story about it being stolen and submitted a false suspect description to police. The phone was then found by a man who gave it to his girlfriend to sell via a mobile phone trade-in website. This triggered a report to BTP, as the handset was registered with the national property register Immobilise.
“The girl – who had made up the entire incident because she was too scared to tell her mother she’d lost another phone – admitted the offence in interview after CCTV footage totally contradicted her version of events,” said DI Cleland.
“As a result, she was referred to a Youth Offending Team and dealt with via a community resolution. She is currently undergoing a three-month course. The man who found the phone was cautioned for theft while his girlfriend, who had tried selling it online, was cautioned for handling stolen goods. This incident highlights perfectly the consequences of false reporting, with the result being the diversion of vital police resources away from what we should be focusing on – real victims of crime and catching real criminals.”
DI Cleland added: “During Operation Trail, we will be monitoring and visiting online selling and auction websites such as eBay and Gumtree, second hand shops and scrap metal dealers to make it even more difficult for thieves to sell on stolen property. We’re also on the trail of those using the railway network as a way of transporting stolen goods. We are fortunate to have excellent CCTV systems on board trains, stations and at booking offices, and we’ll be conducting high-visibility patrols across the network in a bid to clamp down on this criminal activity.”
The operation follows BTP’s launch of Operation Magnum earlier this year – to help rail passengers keep valuables safe from pickpockets, gadget-grabbers and luggage thieves.
Christmas is a time when people will be buying expensive goods, and BTP is encouraging passengers to keep an eye on their valuables when travelling by rail during the season.
DI Cleland said: “If you have lost property on the railway, there is a very good system in place to help reunite people with their goods. However, every year thousands of items go unclaimed. Likewise, if you do travel by train, it is important that simple steps are taken, such as keeping your luggage in view and not leaving it unattended, which can certainly prevent thefts.”
As part of the initiative, officers have issued video clips on the Op Magnum website to help the travelling public spot the 13 most common tricks thieves use.
