COVID-19, face-coverings and crime

[Baxenden Bank]

Here we go, the first reporting I have seen of a crime committed under cover of government mandated face coverings.

A conversation on one of the COVID-19 threads discusses 'how long will the face covering last' with a response along the lines of 'until CCTV is shown to have been rendered impotent'

The link refers to an article on Stoke-on-Trent live (aka The Sentinel) which is a request from Staffordshire Police for help in solving a crime commited on 1 July. The criminals are wearing a mask / face covering repectively.

Story with photographs showing suspects in masks

Police release CCTV images after cash stolen from Stoke-on-Trent newsagents

Anyone who recognises either of the men should get in touch with police


Police have today released CCTV images of two men they want to speak to after a shopkeeper was targeted in a distraction burglary in Stoke-on-Trent.
Two men, wearing facemasks, entered the shop in Hanley on Wednesday July 1.
One of them distracted the shopkeeper while the second stole money.
Now police are urging anyone with information to get in touch.
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: "Do you recognise these men? We want to speak to them following a burglary at Turners Newsagents in Hanley on July 1.
"Two men entered the store and one of the men distracted the shopkeeper whilst the other stole cash. Call 101 if you have any information."
We've put together a gallery of the CCTV images released by police below.

More examples welcome!

 

[Richard Scott]

Here we go, the first reporting I have seen of a crime committed under cover of government mandated face coverings.

A conversation on one of the COVID-19 threads discusses 'how long will the face covering last' with a response along the lines of 'until CCTV is shown to have been rendered impotent'

The link refers to an article on Stoke-on-Trent live (aka The Sentinel) which is a request from Staffordshire Police for help in solving a crime commited on 1 July. The criminals are wearing a mask / face covering repectively.

Story with photographs showing suspects in masks

More examples welcome!

Interesting point, saw two people who I knew quite well in facemasks wave at me across Tescos carpark, had to look at the car to find out who it was. Makes identification of individuals nigh on impossible?

 

[MikeWM]

Hmm, so CCTV no longer works to keep us 'safe'. But we can't take off the masks because then we're no longer 'safe'.

Oh, I know, here's your government-mandated ID card with RFID tracking. Scan it everywhere you go, else you're not coming in. We'll give you yours when you report for your mandatory vaccination.

Far-fetched? Probably. But there's a lot of things already happened over the last few months that would have seemed pretty unbelieveable only 6 months ago, and given the people just seem to go along with everything the Government tells them to do, however dystopian or illogical, then why not?

 

[221129]

Surely its not that much different to criminals wearing a mask or face covering previously...

 

[Bishopstone]

Robbers, burglars and all manner of other criminals have typically worn face coverings and/or disguises. They often travel in cars with false number plates.

’We’re struggling to identify these hoodlums!’ is a perennial problem, and not a consequence of the Covid response.

 

[Scrotnig]

I have to say, I now fully support these new laws. It's made my part time job as a bank robber so much easier!

 

[MikeWM]

I have to say, I now fully support these new laws. It's made my part time job as a bank robber so much easier!

They'll probably exempt banks - the Scottish equivalent does. I guess the virus prefers food and clothes establishments.

 

[Scrotnig]

They'll probably exempt banks - the Scottish equivalent does. I guess the virus prefers food and clothes establishments.

Apparently it won't apply to takeaways either, I read earlier.

I shall have to stick to robbing supermarkets then. Beggars can't be choosers and all that.

 

[Scrotnig]

Robbers, burglars and all manner of other criminals have typically worn face coverings and/or disguises.

Well, at least this is one entrepreneurial industry that is well placed to be Covid-secure right from the off.

We should all support such businesses as they attempt to stay afloat in these difficult times. The criminal industry can be just as hard hit by the financial problems this pandemic causes you know. Support your local burglar!

 

[Huntergreed]

We should all support such businesses as they attempt to stay afloat in these difficult times. The criminal industry can be just as hard hit by the financial problems this pandemic causes you know. Support your local burglar!

Perhaps nominate a house each week to leave the back door unlocked at night, after all we're all talking about having to get the country going again!

On a serious note, this was an obvious consequence of mask mandation. Aside from banks, I dread to think how many 'petty thefts' may take place in small independent shops with no security camera, no security guard, and people in full face coverings.

 

[MikeWM]

Surely its not that much different to criminals wearing a mask or face covering previously...

Previously you would have been significantly more on your guard with someone with a mask than someone without (note the crime was a 'distraction burglary').

Sure, if someone is coming into your shop with a sawn-off shotgun (do people still use those?), things won't have changed much from before. But more minor crimes will be easier to commit.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Surely its not that much different to criminals wearing a mask or face covering previously...

Previously, if someone walked into your shop wearing a mask or face covering you would be immediately suspicious. Perhaps you would relax once you noticed they looked a bit like a person from a country where masks are in widespread use in normal times, or they were a builder in workclothes or similar. Now you have to determine if they are a nice person in a mask or a scrote in a mask.

 

[birchesgreen]

There was a post on twitter about a mask someone had made out of (it seemed) the same material as ladies tights. Perfect bank robber look. All you need is a sawn off and you are ready for a blag.

 

[adc82140]

I was thinking of getting myself one of those balaclavas that were all the rage in Belfast during the 80s

 

[Geordie driver]

We are one of the most surveiled countries on earth, one would expect were should be a crime free paradise but we are not. CCTV is already impotent, it just gives an illusion of safety.

 

[Bletchleyite]

We are one of the most surveiled countries on earth, one would expect were should be a crime free paradise but we are not. CCTV is already impotent, it just gives an illusion of safety.

The trouble with CCTV is that while it's ubiquitous as a deterrent it's generally pretty poor quality so rarely provides good enough evidence to convict someone.

 

[Scrotnig]

The trouble with CCTV is that while it's ubiquitous as a deterrent it's generally pretty poor quality so rarely provides good enough evidence to convict someone.

Added to the fact that the police are not remotely interested anyhow.

 

[delt1c]

how things change , this time last year if you approached a cashier wearing a mask you risked the chance of police being called. Today No mask and you risk the chance of Police being called.