ianstone
10-01-2010, 02:03 AM
Half Of Cash Van Heists Committed By Teens
5:41am UK, Friday October 01, 2010
Martin Brunt, crime correspondent
Half of the cash van robberies investigated by the Flying Squad are now committed by teenagers - some as young as 14.
Many are bullied into it by older villains who keep most of the stolen money and pay the youngsters a fraction of the proceeds.
The squad's detectives are so worried they are visiting schools and colleges to discourage students away from a life of crime.
In one recent case, two 14-year-olds were arrested in their school uniforms as they snatched £25,000 from a security guard in East London.
Both were high-flying pupils. One was to be his school's head boy, the other a star rugby player about to join a top club's academy.
They were later jailed for two-and-a-half and three years.
Students at Barking and Dagenham College were shown police video footage of their arrest as they committed the robbery on their way to school.
Rucksacks with their exercise books were found stashed in the car of a 19-year-old who had cajoled them into the attack.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Sep/Week4/15749148.jpg This robber was arrested in his school uniform
Detective Sergeant Jason Henry, from the Flying Squad's northeast London office, said: "The profile of the old armed robber has changed dramatically in recent years.
"We are now finding young kids being targeted outside colleges by older teenagers and pressured into doing the robberies for them.
"The youngsters are told that it's easy money and if they are caught they'll be given bail and won't go to prison. That's not true and the likelihood is that they will end up in jail.
"In many cases they are expected to hand over the thousands of pounds they've stolen and will be paid a few hundred pounds, just enough to buy some trainers and clothes."
The recent success of the Flying Squad may be a deterrent, too.
Latest figures show the squad solves around 80% of cash-in-transit robberies and there has been a 37% fall in such crimes.
The college's principal Cathy Walsh said: "When I first introduce the Flying Squad during my welcome chat to new students I hear a groan, 'Oh, the police.'
"But that soon stops when they watch the videos and recognise crimes and places - and sometimes people - from this area. They sit up and take notice."
With the recession, rising long-term youth unemployment and looming Government spending cuts, the Flying Squad believes the students they are talking to have never been more vulnerable to the temptations of crime.
Half Of Cash Van Heists Committed By Teens
5:41am UK, Friday October 01, 2010
Martin Brunt, crime correspondent
Half of the cash van robberies investigated by the Flying Squad are now committed by teenagers - some as young as 14.
Many are bullied into it by older villains who keep most of the stolen money and pay the youngsters a fraction of the proceeds.
The squad's detectives are so worried they are visiting schools and colleges to discourage students away from a life of crime.
In one recent case, two 14-year-olds were arrested in their school uniforms as they snatched £25,000 from a security guard in East London.
Both were high-flying pupils. One was to be his school's head boy, the other a star rugby player about to join a top club's academy.
They were later jailed for two-and-a-half and three years.
Students at Barking and Dagenham College were shown police video footage of their arrest as they committed the robbery on their way to school.
Rucksacks with their exercise books were found stashed in the car of a 19-year-old who had cajoled them into the attack.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Sep/Week4/15749148.jpg This robber was arrested in his school uniform
Detective Sergeant Jason Henry, from the Flying Squad's northeast London office, said: "The profile of the old armed robber has changed dramatically in recent years.
"We are now finding young kids being targeted outside colleges by older teenagers and pressured into doing the robberies for them.
"The youngsters are told that it's easy money and if they are caught they'll be given bail and won't go to prison. That's not true and the likelihood is that they will end up in jail.
"In many cases they are expected to hand over the thousands of pounds they've stolen and will be paid a few hundred pounds, just enough to buy some trainers and clothes."
The recent success of the Flying Squad may be a deterrent, too.
Latest figures show the squad solves around 80% of cash-in-transit robberies and there has been a 37% fall in such crimes.
The college's principal Cathy Walsh said: "When I first introduce the Flying Squad during my welcome chat to new students I hear a groan, 'Oh, the police.'
"But that soon stops when they watch the videos and recognise crimes and places - and sometimes people - from this area. They sit up and take notice."
With the recession, rising long-term youth unemployment and looming Government spending cuts, the Flying Squad believes the students they are talking to have never been more vulnerable to the temptations of crime.
Half Of Cash Van Heists Committed By Teens