Express & Star

WATCH the shocking moment a burglar climbs into 'honeypot house' - with youngster learning the ropes

A hidden camera catches the shocking moment an intruder clambers into a West Midlands Police 'honeypot house' ? as a young boy accompanying the crook learns the art of breaking and entering.

Published

The footage comes from a Birmingham property which has been taken over by police and kitted out with covert CCTV to catch burglars.

West Midlands Police has pioneered the use of 'capture house' technology for more than a decade ? and at any one time the force can have tens of the property traps operating across the region looking to snare unsuspecting thieves.

The break-in was filmed in September 2016 and shows a man, who appears to be with a young boy, opening an unsecured window before jumping inside.

He leaves moments later empty handed ? largely because another crook had targeted the same capture house just days earlier and made off with a television.

Detectives traced that thief to his home address in Sheldon, where they found him in his living room watching a programme on the stolen TV.

In January 2017 he was charged and in court handed a 12-month community order, including an overnight curfew for a month, and ordered to attend a rehabilitation programme. He was also told to pay £85 court costs.

West Midlands Police Detective Sergeant Phil Poole, said: "This particular capture house has proved very popular. The hidden camera also filmed a group of children trying to gain access through the same window.

"Capture houses provide us with fantastic evidence. They can be set-up with CCTV and infrared sensors within a matter of minutes and dismantled just as quickly.

"We like to keep offenders on their toes by regularly securing new sites for capture houses. Thieves need to realise they could be breaking into a property run by us and their every movement is being caught on camera."

Det Sgt Poole said the footage showing the intruder alongside a young boy was particularly sad and underlined the challenge facing police and partner agencies in trying to divert impressionable youngsters away from crime.

He added: "The footage shows the young boy looking on, watching as this man breaks into a home. It could be his older sibling, an older relative, or even his father. We're not sure.

"Whatever the relationship, it shows the importance of our intervention and prevention work in trying to reach children in troubled families who are seeing family members commit crime and going on to follow in their footsteps."

Burglary rates have increased recently in parts of the West Midlands, in line with the national trend, having previously dropped to record lows.

Criminals are focusing on homes with poor security to steal jewellery, phones and tablet computers, all of which are easy to sell on, or cash.

The force has launched an operation to target burglars in light of the rise.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.