fight in the shop or
‘accidentally’ knocking down a display so as to attract the attention of shoppers
and staff. While the victims were engaged in the ‘show’ created by his colleagues in
crime, Kevin would be doing three or four tills in the same shop. To use the
criminal vernacular of the time, Kevin absolutely rinsed every major supermarket and
department store in London and the home counties over a period of five years.
Sometimes he and his parters in crime would be caught and have to serve short
periods in prison, but the money was so good that they would immediately go back to
it once they were released. They travelled the British Isles carrying out their till
thefts and, finally, when it became too hot for them to work in the
UK (their pictures were on the watch list of most major retailers), they applied for
passports and took their thieving road show to Europe. Kevin kept right up to date
on any technology to do with tills and cash registers, and whenever a new till went
on the market, he’d purchase one direct from the company, along with more keys to
add to his theft kit. In Europe they took to setting light to slug pellets, which
creates a lot of thick, foul-smelling smoke, and then raising the fire alarmso that everyone had to evacuate the premises, leaving Kevin to
rifle every till in the shop. Till-hopping now seems to be a dying crime but is
still carried out by some ‘distraction’ thieves who use the old trick of creating a
diversion pioneered by Kevin and his gang.
THE TOM GAME
----
The term tom game originated in the 1930s and is still widely used by criminals today. Usually carried
out by at least two perpetrators, the tom game, also known as ‘the ring game’, is no
more than a slightly sophisticated ‘snatch’. A motor vehicle is essential in order
to carry out this crime, unless the perpetrators are very fast runners (and that
would be highly unlikely, as most of the firms that carry out this sort of crime
nowadays are made up of drug addicts using the loot to fund their habits). The
driver pulls up outside a good-quality jeweller’s and leaves the engine running
while his companion, suitably suited and booted, appears as a customer at the door
of the premises. Once he has been buzzed in, the front man asks to look for example,
at diamond rings, chooses the most expensive ring on the tray, takes it in his hand
and turns towards the window of the shop as if to examine it in the light. This is
the signal for the driver to leave the car and make their way to the door. The
driver waits for the shopkeeper to buzz the door open then holds the door wide while
the front man makes a hasty exit. Both then jump into the vehicle and make their
getaway, leaving the shocked shopkeeper minus an expensive diamond ring. The team
will usually then take their prize to a dealer and cash it in for drugs.
WALK-IN
----
A walk-in is an
audacious theft usually committed in broad daylight which requires the perpetrator
to have plenty of front and an air of entitlement – someone a bit like a Tory
minister. The typical walk-in thief is well dressed and confident, so that they can
enter large office buildings without attracting suspicion. The thief breezes into an
office block, usually carrying a large briefcase in which to load the loot, and
walks around, casing the building, looking out for valuable items that are easy to
steal. This could be the personal property of those working in the building or
equipment belonging to the company. Laptop computers are a favourite – they’re
portable and high value – as are handbags, wallets, purses and mobile phones. It is
rare that anyone will know everyone who works in their building so, unless there are
vigilant security guards, anyone who looks the part can walk in, take what they
want, then walk right out again.There are criminals who make a decent living at the
walk-in
‘accidentally’ knocking down a display so as to attract the attention of shoppers
and staff. While the victims were engaged in the ‘show’ created by his colleagues in
crime, Kevin would be doing three or four tills in the same shop. To use the
criminal vernacular of the time, Kevin absolutely rinsed every major supermarket and
department store in London and the home counties over a period of five years.
Sometimes he and his parters in crime would be caught and have to serve short
periods in prison, but the money was so good that they would immediately go back to
it once they were released. They travelled the British Isles carrying out their till
thefts and, finally, when it became too hot for them to work in the
UK (their pictures were on the watch list of most major retailers), they applied for
passports and took their thieving road show to Europe. Kevin kept right up to date
on any technology to do with tills and cash registers, and whenever a new till went
on the market, he’d purchase one direct from the company, along with more keys to
add to his theft kit. In Europe they took to setting light to slug pellets, which
creates a lot of thick, foul-smelling smoke, and then raising the fire alarmso that everyone had to evacuate the premises, leaving Kevin to
rifle every till in the shop. Till-hopping now seems to be a dying crime but is
still carried out by some ‘distraction’ thieves who use the old trick of creating a
diversion pioneered by Kevin and his gang.
THE TOM GAME
----
The term tom game originated in the 1930s and is still widely used by criminals today. Usually carried
out by at least two perpetrators, the tom game, also known as ‘the ring game’, is no
more than a slightly sophisticated ‘snatch’. A motor vehicle is essential in order
to carry out this crime, unless the perpetrators are very fast runners (and that
would be highly unlikely, as most of the firms that carry out this sort of crime
nowadays are made up of drug addicts using the loot to fund their habits). The
driver pulls up outside a good-quality jeweller’s and leaves the engine running
while his companion, suitably suited and booted, appears as a customer at the door
of the premises. Once he has been buzzed in, the front man asks to look for example,
at diamond rings, chooses the most expensive ring on the tray, takes it in his hand
and turns towards the window of the shop as if to examine it in the light. This is
the signal for the driver to leave the car and make their way to the door. The
driver waits for the shopkeeper to buzz the door open then holds the door wide while
the front man makes a hasty exit. Both then jump into the vehicle and make their
getaway, leaving the shocked shopkeeper minus an expensive diamond ring. The team
will usually then take their prize to a dealer and cash it in for drugs.
WALK-IN
----
A walk-in is an
audacious theft usually committed in broad daylight which requires the perpetrator
to have plenty of front and an air of entitlement – someone a bit like a Tory
minister. The typical walk-in thief is well dressed and confident, so that they can
enter large office buildings without attracting suspicion. The thief breezes into an
office block, usually carrying a large briefcase in which to load the loot, and
walks around, casing the building, looking out for valuable items that are easy to
steal. This could be the personal property of those working in the building or
equipment belonging to the company. Laptop computers are a favourite – they’re
portable and high value – as are handbags, wallets, purses and mobile phones. It is
rare that anyone will know everyone who works in their building so, unless there are
vigilant security guards, anyone who looks the part can walk in, take what they
want, then walk right out again.There are criminals who make a decent living at the
walk-in
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