Have proof of mail theft - nobody interested
Discussion
Mafffew said:
Very surprised the police don't want to know, especially as you have evidence piling up against the man in question. The only issue is the quality of the picture of his face.
I like the idea of leaving something in the mailbox for him.
I agree totally, theives are one of the lowest form of scum. Of course if you were to leave something in your mailbox, make sure it's non-lethal :-)I like the idea of leaving something in the mailbox for him.
today's exciting installment.. Hid out in the hallway with a better camera so i could try and get a face on picture of him, but with the CCTV camera hidden to watch him go in to the mailboxes.
I saw someone approach, different clothes this time so i was only 90% sure. I held the shutter button down and let it burst off a few pictures and then called the police. When i walked out the front door he was pretending to put leaflets through the letter boxes which then made me doubt myself, but i thought i'd follow him and stayed on the phone to the police... got to the end of the road and there's a policewoman and a CPSO walking towards me. I put my window down and start shouting to get their attention. They're more interested that i'm using my phone whilst driving. Guy gets away.
To be fair to them, i wasn't 100% confident that it was him so that i could say for sure to arrest him.
Then i looked back at my pictures. Definitely him. Has the key in his hand as well. On looking back at the CCTV, he's doing every mailbox this time too.
Got this though, and with the key in his hand.
removed, sorry!
I saw someone approach, different clothes this time so i was only 90% sure. I held the shutter button down and let it burst off a few pictures and then called the police. When i walked out the front door he was pretending to put leaflets through the letter boxes which then made me doubt myself, but i thought i'd follow him and stayed on the phone to the police... got to the end of the road and there's a policewoman and a CPSO walking towards me. I put my window down and start shouting to get their attention. They're more interested that i'm using my phone whilst driving. Guy gets away.
To be fair to them, i wasn't 100% confident that it was him so that i could say for sure to arrest him.
Then i looked back at my pictures. Definitely him. Has the key in his hand as well. On looking back at the CCTV, he's doing every mailbox this time too.
Got this though, and with the key in his hand.
removed, sorry!
Edited by Chucklehead on Saturday 1st August 19:52
Not having much luck, are you...I know this is a bit more serious then the example I'm about to give you, but it might work (so bear with me!)
Where I used to work, we'd all put a quid in now and again for communal office biscuits, the occasional squabble would rise along the lines of "Christian the fat git has eaten more bourbons than me" etc etc, usually along with protestations that the aforementioned had only eaten a couple. So in the end, we did notice biscuits actually were going missing at an alarming rate, and as we were in an office with various bits of tech, setting up a hidden motion detection webcam in a plant was pretty easy.
That very night, we caught the biscuit thief, who rocked up and ate a biscuit whilst nonchalantly pocketing a handful more, the cheeky git! It also happened to be the night watchman who was supposed to keep an eye on the building and make sure nothing was stolen!
So the next day I took a screengrab of him reaching into the biscuit tin and added text along the lines of we knew he was the biscuit thief and he should put his hand in his pocket if he wanted to be part of the club (chocolate biscuit related pun there).
The next night there was a quid and a note of apology, result!
Unfortunately only a few weeks later he went missing and absconded from his job - turns out he was in cohorts with a gang who he let in to the premises and stole several thousands of pounds worth of scrap metal! Just shows you can't trust anyone.
Anyway, my point is, print out his face as clearly as you can, hang it up INSIDE the door next to the mailboxes and put a large print warning that he has been seen stealing from letterboxes and that residents should check their credit history and add to the existing report with the police.
This has two benefits: firstly, the poor saps that might not yet know their mail is getting stolen will now have a clue, they may report it to the police who might eventually want to act on it, and they also may apply pressure to their landlord to get something done too. Secondly, when the perp sees they've been truly clocked, he might just have second thoughts. Also spread it on twitter, facebook etc too. Get some public naming and shaming going!
I also like the idea of filling the letterbox with water and putting piranhas in there. Or something equally horrible/maiming/funny.
Good luck and keep us informed of developments!
Where I used to work, we'd all put a quid in now and again for communal office biscuits, the occasional squabble would rise along the lines of "Christian the fat git has eaten more bourbons than me" etc etc, usually along with protestations that the aforementioned had only eaten a couple. So in the end, we did notice biscuits actually were going missing at an alarming rate, and as we were in an office with various bits of tech, setting up a hidden motion detection webcam in a plant was pretty easy.
That very night, we caught the biscuit thief, who rocked up and ate a biscuit whilst nonchalantly pocketing a handful more, the cheeky git! It also happened to be the night watchman who was supposed to keep an eye on the building and make sure nothing was stolen!
So the next day I took a screengrab of him reaching into the biscuit tin and added text along the lines of we knew he was the biscuit thief and he should put his hand in his pocket if he wanted to be part of the club (chocolate biscuit related pun there).
The next night there was a quid and a note of apology, result!
Unfortunately only a few weeks later he went missing and absconded from his job - turns out he was in cohorts with a gang who he let in to the premises and stole several thousands of pounds worth of scrap metal! Just shows you can't trust anyone.
Anyway, my point is, print out his face as clearly as you can, hang it up INSIDE the door next to the mailboxes and put a large print warning that he has been seen stealing from letterboxes and that residents should check their credit history and add to the existing report with the police.
This has two benefits: firstly, the poor saps that might not yet know their mail is getting stolen will now have a clue, they may report it to the police who might eventually want to act on it, and they also may apply pressure to their landlord to get something done too. Secondly, when the perp sees they've been truly clocked, he might just have second thoughts. Also spread it on twitter, facebook etc too. Get some public naming and shaming going!
I also like the idea of filling the letterbox with water and putting piranhas in there. Or something equally horrible/maiming/funny.
Good luck and keep us informed of developments!
Chucklehead said:
yes, definitely. At least one credit card, one debit card, two new PINs and one telephone banking security number in the last 2 weeks.
Have you tried ringing the police again to say you have had mail stolen and you have CCTV of the suspect? If nothing reasonable gets done on his occasion then make a complaint about the police. His picture can be circulated internally and an officer may know him. I expect he'll be 'known' given his behaviour, and if so, someone can at least go and visit him to tell him to stay away.
La Liga said:
ave you tried ringing the police again to say you have had mail stolen and you have CCTV of the suspect? If nothing reasonable gets done on his occasion then make a complaint about the police.
His picture can be circulated internally and an officer may know him. I expect he'll be 'known' given his behaviour, and if so, someone can at least go and visit him to tell him to stay away.
This. It sounds a little like lazy policing at this point. It wouldnt take much to at least clock a theft and circulate his picture. To a point, I can understand they're reluctance to get involved....yes some of your stuff hasn't turned up in your hands, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's been stolen. If, however you've got a bit more to go on, which it seems like you have now, then I'd ask them again to look at it, and if you get fobbed off again, make a complaint that you feel nothing is being done. Lazy attitudes by police really annoys me. His picture can be circulated internally and an officer may know him. I expect he'll be 'known' given his behaviour, and if so, someone can at least go and visit him to tell him to stay away.
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