Banknote Watch, the crime reduction partnership aimed at reducing the profits of cash-in-transit and ATM crime, has appointed a new Chairman following a lengthy selection process.

Richard Childs QPM BSc FSyI (pictured) joined Banknote Watch at the end of 2012, bringing with him a wealth of experience from both public and private sectors. Currently Managing Director of ACPO CPI – which supports Secured by Design - he is also the ACPO lead for security systems and is a past member of the Prison Service Pay Review Body.

Using this experience, Richard intends to build closer partnerships with the Police and Government to develop new ways to make cash more secure, while further influencing the security industry’s response to serious crime, particularly involving commercial robbery.

He comments: “Banknote Watch is a good example of how an industry can join together in an area of common interest – commercial crime – and by working closely together with Police and Government departments, make sustained progress against this very serious issue.”

Banknote Watch was established by the security industry, alongside the Police and forensic community, to remove stolen banknotes from circulation, thus preventing criminals profiting from the proceeds of cash-in-transit crime and reducing the risk of businesses becoming the victims of commercial robbery.

Increasing public awareness of how to identify stolen cash and what to do with it is another key objective of the initiative, and one which Richard is keen to expand upon throughout his Chairmanship.

Richard continues: “One of the key objectives I’ve set for my chairmanship is to ensure that the industry gains recognition for its work in tackling these issues, and I am looking forward to playing a part in that and building upon the progress that has already been made over a number of years.”

For more information about Banknote Watch, including advice on stolen banknotes for Police, businesses and members of the public, visit the organisation’s website.

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Ten men were recently convicted of eight cash-in-transit robberies across London and received prison sentences totalling 53 years, thanks to forensic evidence provided by unique DNA taggant technology.

Detective Constable Will Roscoe, leader of Operation Tejat, an investigation launched by the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad based at the Barnes office, London said: "This was a prolific gang of robbers specifically targeting cash in transit vans and custodians.  I have no doubt they would have continued this course of action if it were not for a detailed and targeted operation to identify and arrest them. Their convictions and sentences represent a significant success for the Barnes Flying Squad and the MPS in our Total War on Crime."

As reported in the Guardian on July 27th, the now-convicted gang-of-ten stole more than £100,000 in eight robberies and attempted robberies of CIT vans in Mitcham, Streatham, Wallington and Croydon between January 3, 2011 and June 10, 2011. On all occasions, force was used against security guards to snatch cash boxes, which were later broken into and the cash contents stolen. Much of the cash was marked with SigNature DNA. 

Detectives carried out surveillance and forensic work, leading to the arrest of the ten robbers on or shortly after August 24, 2011. Nine of the ten pleaded guilty to robbery at Kingston Crown Court.  One pleaded not guilty but was convicted of conspiracy to rob.

For more information about Banknote Watch, the crime reduction partnership responsible for raising awareness of stolen banknotes and the impact of cash-in-transit crime, visit www.banknotewatch.org

June 2012

The continued partnership between government, the security industry and its customers has led to a 39% decrease in the number of attacks on cash-in-transit couriers in the past year, the latest British Security Industry Association statistics have revealed.

Statistics published this month by the BSIA’s cash-in-transit intelligence service, SaferCash, show a marked downturn in the number of attacks, from 751 in 2010 to 460 in 2011.

However, with criminals' modus operandi constantly evolving, the industry, Government and Police must continue to work together to remain one step ahead of the criminal in order to protect more cash-in-transit couriers from falling victim to such brutal attacks. Support from the judiciary is also an essential part of this work, and in 2011, approximately 950 years of custodial sentences were handed down for cash-in-transit offences dating back as far as 2009, with 19 offenders receiving sentences in excess of ten years.

Removing these criminals from the streets is helping to improve safety in the wider community, says Ashley Bailey, Chairman of the BSIA’s Cash and Valuables in Transit (CVIT) Section. Ashley adds: “Joint research commissioned by the BSIA and the Home Office has shown that in many cases, cash-in-transit offenders can be linked to a wide range of other crimes, from car key burglary to drug offences and even murder. Through the successful partnership working of the security industry, the government and police, these offenders that threaten the safety of communities across the country are now in jail.”

James Kelly, Chief Executive of the BSIA, comments: “Following the record-breaking success of 2010, which saw the fastest decrease in cash-in-transit crimes for a decade, I am delighted to see that 2011 has continued this positive trend, with the number of attacks again at a ten-year low. Such a consistent level of achievement is testament to the joint efforts of industry, government and the Police in tackling this serious and violent crime.”

In actual fact, these relative successes are the result of ten years’ worth of effort on behalf of all involved. In 2001, Operation Hawkeye represented the start of the intelligence gathering approach and was the fore-runner of SaferCash. At that time, the industry felt that an average of ten cash-in-transit attacks a week was unacceptable, and these figures only continued to rise, fuelling the industry and government’s determination to tackle this growing problem over recent years. While there has undoubtedly been a considerable fall in attacks in 2011, it is important to acknowledge that the achievements made so far have only served to take us back to the same situation we faced ten years ago.

However, with more stakeholders coming on board, the partnership approach is set to continue going from strength to strength. James Kelly concludes: “Customers, including banks, petrol stations and supermarkets, have also made a significant investment in best practice to help reduce the number of attacks on their premises, and their support also will remain invaluable as we look towards improving these statistics even further in the coming years.”

For more information on the BSIA’s Cash and Valuables in Transit section and its SaferCash service, visit the section's homepage.

May 2012

Two bungling criminals who attempted to destroy evidence of a violent cash-in-transit robbery by torching a bathtub filled with stolen banknotes have been jailed. Despite their best attempts, the banknotes were still identifiable by SmartWater scientist, linking the pair with the robbery.

19-year-old Michael O’Grady was found guilty of being one of two masked men who stabbed a G4S courier in the arm as he made an ATM delivery outside a branch of Lloyds TSB in Kirkby, Merseyside. The pair made off with a cashbox containing £20,000 and fled the scene in a stolen taxi.

Shortly afterwards they were seen attempting to forcible open the cashbox by reversing the stolen vehicle into it against a tree. This activated the cashbox’s security system, covering the notes in purple ink containing a forensic signature unique to the cashbox. 

That afternoon O’Grady was spotted entering his girlfriend’s home along with 21-year-old William Hunter. Shortly afterwards armed police arrived at the scene and surrounded the house.

As police converged outside the property in Walton, Merseyside, the gang panicked and set a bathtub full of stolen banknotes on fire whilst attempt to flush yet more stolen notes down the toilet. The house quickly became engulfed with smoke, forcing the group to flee the building, straight into the arms of the police.

Despite their best attempts to destroy the evidence, the remains of the banknotes were sent to SmartWater’s forensic laboratories where scientists were able to extract the forensic code and positively identify which cashbox they had come from.

Michael O’Grady was detained for nine years after being found guilty of robbery along with two counts of burglary and three counts of taking a vehicle without permission. William Hunter was jailed for 32 months for handling stolen goods. He was acquitted at an earlier trial of being the second masked robber.

May 2012

Three men have been jailed for more than 16 years after carrying out a cash-in-transit robbery in Southwark, South London.

In the first case of its kind, prosecution evidence included samples of SmartWater forensic solution from a G4S ‘glue’ cashbox. When forcibly opened the cashbox’s security system releases a solution that binds the banknotes together rendering them worthless whilst at the same time marking them with SmartWater to forensically link the notes to the cashbox.

Appearing at the Old Bailey, Daniel Collins (28) was sentenced to six years in prison, whist his accomplice Brian Ocaya (28) was jailed for six years, ten months. A third man, Baffour Amponsah (25), pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing and was jailed for four years and two months.

The Court heard that a G4S worker was delivering cash to a Lloyds TSB bank in Southwark Park Road, when he was approached from behind by a suspect who knocked him to the ground and made off with the cashbox.  Less than an hour later a witness saw five men, including Collins, Amponsah and Ocaya get out of a white transit van in a nearby car park. Ocaya was then seen to take the cashbox from the back of the van and place it on the ground.

As the men attempted to force open the cashbox they activated the glue and forensic marking systems, sticking all the notes together. As the gang tried in vain to access the money, plain-clothes police officers swooped in and arrested Amponsah and Ocaya at the scene. Collins was arrested several months later following a police investigation.

Samples of the ‘glue’ staining found on the suspect’s clothing were sent to SmartWater’s laboratories and positively identified as coming from the stolen cashbox.

Detective Superintendent Nick Stevens, from the Flying Squad, said: "This is a fantastic result. The conviction should assist in deterring other criminals who think committing cash in transit robberies are a quick and easy way to get cash."

April 2012

The winners of the 2011 Tilley Awards were announced at a prestigious ceremony in the Houses of Parliament during December, attended by the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, the Rt Hon Nick Herbert MP.

Lancashire Police, working in Partnership with Applied DNA Sciences and Loomis UK Ltd received a special merit award. The project was described by the Home Office as an ‘Innovative project to improve investigative methods (design out crime)’

This follows on from the ACPO Excellence in Policing Award which was awarded in 2010 and the 14th Annual National Police Conference which was won in May 2011 by the Partnership Team of Lancashire Police, Applied DNA Sciences and Loomis UK Ltd.

The award focused on a vicious cash robbery in Blackburn in December, 2008 in which a security guard was shot, and the robbers found and convicted, largely based on evidence from  SigNature DNA which was found on the cash stolen from the robbery when gang-leader Colin McCash tried to use the cash to pay for goods at a petrol station.

April 2012

Forensic evidence provided by SmartWater has aided the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad in the conviction of two men. Both have been jailed for a total of 13 years and nine months following a string of robberies across the South East.

Steven Shields, 28, and Jamie Kelly, 34, both of no fixed address, were sentenced at Harrow Crown Court after being found guilty of a number of robberies committed across London, Kent, Bucks and Surrey during which they stolen thousands of pounds. Shields was sentenced to seven years and three months whilst Kelly was jailed for six-and-a-half years.

Such was the scale of their crime wave it led to the Flying Squad launching Operation Amazake. This investigated a series of bank robberies, a robbery at a jewellery store, burglaries, the theft of cars and number plates and money laundering, all of which were believed to involve Steven Shields and Jamie Kelly.

Shields and Kelly were found guilty of eight attacks on Cash in Transit couriers. This included a robbery on a G4S guard delivering to a branch of NatWest in Walton on Thames during which the guard was pushed to the ground. In a similar robbery committed a few weeks later, Shields and Kelly made off with another G4S cashbox containing £25,000.

The two men were arrested in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex driving a white Ford van using false licence plates. This led officers to a nearby address where they discovered a number of significant exhibits, including a bag marked with purple dye from a cashbox. This was found to contain a SmartWater signature which was analysed by their scientists who linked the dye staining to one of the stolen cashboxes. This evidence was presented and upheld in Court.

Detective Chief Inspector Harry Hennigan, in charge of the Flying Squad based at Finchley, said: "I am pleased with the convictions and sentences given to these two men. Such was the amount of evidence gathered against them by the Flying Squad that they had no option but to plead guilty.”

Further information about this case can be found here:

www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/9606500.Bank_robbers_jailed/

www.bnctv.co.uk/pair-sentenced-for-series-of-armed-robberies

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March 2012

A robber who attacked a cash delivery courier outside a Manchester hotel has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison after he was arrested with SmartWater staining on his clothes.

Michael McKeown from Audenshaw, Greater Manchester, stole a cashbox containing £8,000 from a G4S courier outside the Village Hotel in Hyde in July 2011.  McKeown, who wore a mask during the raid, kicked the courier to the ground and made off with the cashbox, escaping in a blue Landrover Freelander.

Police arrived at the scene and within an hour had recovered the abandoned Landrover, which had been fitted with false plates, and the emptied cashbox.  Using Automatic Number Place Recognition (ANPR) technology police quickly established the Landrover had been stolen during a burglary two days previous.  Police intelligence linked the burglary to silver Renault Clio that was known to be used by McKeown.

McKeown, who was on licence for robbery at the time, was stopped by officers driving the silver Clio approximately two hours later.  He was arrested and his clothing seized after traces of purple dye, believed to be from the stolen cashbox, were found on an Adidas jacket he was wearing at the time.  The jacket and dye stained banknotes found on McKeown were subsequently sent for forensic analysis.  The dye was positively identified as coming from the same cashbox stolen outside the Village Hotel.

Detective Inspector Dave Moores, from Tameside CID, said: "McKeown's arrest was the result of some fantastic teamwork by officers from the ANPR team and Tameside CID, so much so that McKeown had not even had a chance to change his clothes when we caught up with him.  Because of the speed of that arrest, we were able to swab the clothing he was wearing during the robbery and match it to the unique code within the SmartWater ink - which is a great tool for ensuring criminals cannot benefit when they commit cash-in-transit robberies.

"As a result, the evidence was overwhelming and McKeown had no choice but to admit his guilt.  Thanks to this teamwork and the speed of our response, what this means in real terms is a very serious and determined robber is now off the streets and behind bars where he can no longer intimidate and steal from delivery drivers who are simply going about their business.”

January 2012

Loomis and Applied DNA Science’s unique taggant, SigNatureDNA®, has played a key role in the dismantling of a major drug ring in Gloucestershire, where eleven drug cartel members were sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison.  A massive police operation, conducted over a period of three years, resulted in seizures totalling £265,000 of cocaine, heroin and cannabis, along with £47,000 in cash.  Codenamed Operation Betula, the police work culminated late last December in the sentencing of the cartel leader, where an important part of the evidence was the presence of the unique taggant.

Operation Betula began during 2009 in the city of Gloucester but soon spread to London, Somerset and South Wales, as a major drug distribution network was gradually uncovered.

SigNatureDNA® became a major piece in a case that, in the words of the sentencing judge was an especially “difficult case to investigate and bring to trial.”  Judge Horton, noted that “defendants were sophisticated, devious and experienced professional criminals who had above average skills in anti-surveillance, and had developed a commercial dealing network which was both efficient and well concealed.”

Detective Inspector Neil Carpenter, who led the operation, called the case “very complex”, but the unique taggant assisted Police in providing irrefutable evidence to help bring these criminals to justice.

A breakthrough occurred when the house of the cartel leader, Leslie Jenkins, was raided, and £10,000 in cash was seized, even while Jenkins was caught attempting to dispose of a stash of cocaine.  The cash was tested for the unique taggant and found to consist of notes stolen during a cash-in-transit robbery against Loomis that had previously taken place in Liverpool.  Jenkins’ role was to launder the stolen money, and he subsequently pleaded guilty to money laundering in June, 2011.   He was sentenced to eleven years in prison during the December court session.

Steve Clements, Risk Director at Loomis UK Ltd commented, “This proves once again that the leading edge security systems we use not only assist in convicting those criminals that are responsible for crimes against Loomis but help in detecting other criminals associated with Cash In Transit crime – in this case a serious drugs ring who were laundering stolen cash. This is a great example of how Loomis has a positive impact on reducing crime in society.”

November 2011

A gang of robbers, which included three teenagers, have been jailed for more than 30 years following a string of robberies against cash-in-transit vans in London.  The gang was caught out after SmartWater staining found on their clothing and stolen bank notes
linked them to multiple robberies.

Connor Ryan and Jerome Bishop-Taylor, both 19, and a 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were part of a  gang that struck five times between December 2010 and January 2011. The three teenagers, along with accomplices David Carey, 25, and 21-year-old Aaron Pope were snared following a robbery outside a branch of Barclays Bank in Baker Street during which they stole a cash box containing £25,000. After fleeing the scene in a stolen BMW, officers from the Met Police’s Finchley Flying Squad tracked down the vehicle and stopped it.  Inside they found Carey, Bishop-Taylor and the 17-year-old with dye staining from the stolen cash box on their clothing and hands.  Dye stained cash was also found in their pockets.  'Old' dye staining, believed to be from previous robberies was also detected on the suspect's clothes.

Samples of seized clothing and banknotes were subsequently sent to SmartWater’s forensic labs which positively identified dye samples from three different stolen cashboxes, thereby linking the gang to three separate robberies. Ryan and Pope were picked up shortly after the Baker Street Robbery.  Ryan was arrested as he tried to use stained banknotes to place a bet in a bookmakers.  The
notes were also marked, which forensically linked him to the robbery that had taken place days before.

Ryan and the 17-year-old were both convicted of attempted robbery and two counts of robbery.  Ryan was sentenced to five years and nine months in a young offender institution, whilst the 17-year-old was sentenced to four years and eight months.  
 
Aaron Pope was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for robbery, whilst David Carey was sentenced to six years and eight months imprisonment for attempted robbery and two counts of robbery.  Jerome Bishop-Taylor was given a six year, eight month sentence in a young offender institution for attempted robbery and two counts of robbery.

Detective Superintendent John O’Leary from the Flying squad said: “These are all young men and I hope their convictions will act as a deterrent to others.”
 
http://www.4ni.co.uk/northern_ireland_news.asp?id=135237
 
http://www.london24.com/news/crime/brent_teenagers_jailed_for_cash_in_transit_robberies_1_1126625 

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November 2011

Two men and a woman have been sentenced at Central Crown Court following a cash- in-transit robbery outside of a Tesco Express store in East London.
 
Darrell Wright, Easton Livingstone-Fofie and Lauren Bee were all found guilty of involvement in the robbery that took place outside the store in Bow Road, E3 London. The two men attacked a G4S guard whilst making a delivery and made off with the cashbox he was carrying.  
 
Following a tip off, police were called to Lauren Bee’s address where the remnants of a cashbox were discovered along with traces of SmartWater, which was used to link the offenders back to the crime scene. Further traces of the unique taggant were subsequently recovered from a £20 note found at Wright’s address and in the getaway vehicle.  
 
Wright was sentenced to 4 years 6 months imprisonment, whilst Livingstone-Fofie received a 3 year jail term, with 253 days spent on remand to count towards the sentence. Lauren Bee was ordered to undertake 80 hours of unpaid work.

September 2011

Good news from 3SI Security Systems:

We have had confirmation from local police that following a raid on an RBS Group branch in August, the use of DNA tagging technology deployed by 3SI to protect the bank notes has resulted in the detection, arrest and confession of the perpetrator.
 
When the case is heard in court, the police expect a sentence of 6-7 years to be passed.  Please feel free to communicate this to Banknote Watch members.

Good news from Irish Banking Federation:

Full roll out and completion of an E2E ATM ink stain degradation system for ATMs by end of November 2011 is on track.

July 2011

A gang responsible for an attack on a cash-in-transit courier outside a branch of Barclays Bank in South London have been jailed after forensic evidence provided by SmartWater was used to link them with a stolen cash box.  The gang, which included three minors, were all found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery.

The attack occurred outside the Plumstead High Street branch of Barclays, when three men challenged a G4S courier, forcing him to relinquish a cash box.  The men, who all wore surgical gloves, fled the scene on foot but were later spotted driving around the area in a Grey Mini Cooper.  They were then reported to the police by a member of the public after they were seen acting suspiciously in a cul-de-sac approximately 5 miles from where the robbery took place.

Police attended the scene, making five arrests, including Desmond Amoako, who was later identified as the driver of the mini.  The stolen cash box, which had been forcibly opened, was recovered from a nearby garage.  Purple ink from the cash box was found on a pair of gloves recovered from the scene.  The gloves and other items were sent to SmartWater’s forensic laboratories were the ink was positively identified as coming from the cash box stolen from outside Plumstead High Street Barclays Bank.

Desmond Amoako and his accomplice Marcus Bailey were both found guilty after trial and sentenced to five and three years in prison respectively.  Fellow defendant Christopher Thomas received four years after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.

Melissa Knight received 60 hours unpaid work and will attend 10 sessions of the "Engage and Change" programme. Two minors, who cannot be named for legal reasons, received 42 months imprisonment in a young offender institution and 52 weeks imprisonment suspended for 24 months respectively.  A third minor will be sentenced at a later date.

July 2011

An unemployed man who stole £25,000 from a security guard claimed that he needed the money because he could not afford a birthday card for his wife.

Richard Blake, 36, was jailed for 26 months after forensic evidence provided by SmartWater forensically linked him to the scene of a cash-in-transit robbery outside a branch of Lloyds TSB in Sydenham, south London.

Blake, who had been out of work for a month, grabbed a cashbox from an unsuspecting guard and fled the scene on foot.  He subsequently called his friend Clement Benjamin, 41, who picked him up and drove him back to Benjamin’s house in Croydon.  Benjamin then used an angle grinder to force open the cash box in his back garden.  In doing so he covered himself and the cash in purple dye containing the unique taggant.

Both men were arrested after neighbours witnessed suspicious activity in and around Benjamin's home and called the police.  Evidence recovered by Police included a stained jacket which was also found to contain traces of Blake’s DNA as well as samples found on the boot trim of Benjamin’s car.  These samples were subsequently sent for analysis, which linked both men to the robbery. Blake pleaded guilty to robbery on what was due to be the first day of a trial at the Old Bailey.  His reasoning behind the crime was that he said he wanted to 'make a quick buck' when he realised he only had 63p in cash and needed the money to celebrate the birthday of his wife.

Benjamin, who told officers in interview that greed had got the better of him, admitted assisting an offender and was jailed for six months.

June 2011

The coveted “POP” award (“Problem Oriented Policing”) was given on May 18th to both the Lancashire Constabulary and Applied DNA Sciences.
 
The award focused on a vicious cash robbery near Blackburn in December 2008 against a Loomis security guard who was shot.  The robbers were convicted after a lengthy investigation, in which evidence from SigNature DNA played a key role.
 
Some weeks after the robbery and shooting, the gang leader Colin McCash tried to pass off marked notes at a service station and was quickly identified.
 
Bob Cummings, Head of Loss Prevention for Loomis UK, points out that part of the program’s impact has been to deter thieves from cash crimes in the first place: “The deterrence value of this type of technology is clear – if you commit a CViT robbery, you will be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  Our Zero Tolerance program is clearly removing the criminal element from the streets and keeping our employees and the general public safe.”  
 
Cummings, commenting on the award, continues, “Loomis are very pleased that the criminals responsible for the shooting of one of our employees have been brought to justice.  Our decision to use unique taggants in all our cash boxes in the UK has resulted in the imprisonment of a total of 22 criminals.  As the word gets out amongst the criminal community they will understand that if they attack Loomis they will run a very high risk of being caught.  We are all relieved that our guard was not more seriously injured and has made a good recovery enabling him to return to work. "
 
Detective Superintendent Neil Hunter underlines the program’s national and international implications, saying, “This partnership and initiative have challenged the traditional way the police do their business.”

July 2011

A British Transport Police Scientific Support Unit (SSU) staff member has been given a top award by the SmartWater Foundation for her expertise in the forensic handling of their high-tech crime reduction systems.

Sarah King won her Certificate of Excellence Award for helping BTP achieve a 95% hit rate for positive samples submitted to SmartWater for analysis – around 30% more than the national average.

The product is used to mark property with a unique chemical code, assigning items with their own forensic signature.  The chemical can only be seen under ultra-violet light and offers more than a billion different chemical code combinations. Sarah was nominated by scientists from the company’s own lab, who receive hundreds of submissions from the UK police service every year.  She has a degree in forensic science from London South Bank University and works in Laboratory Services within BTP’s London based Scientific Support Unit.

“I was very pleased to receive this award,” said Sarah.  “This forms part of our screening process designed not only to detect unique taggants, but to maximise forensic recovery from the evidence.  Ensuring we only submit items for analysis when a particular unique taggant is present saves time and money.” Submissions by BTP have mostly been of banknotes from cash in transit robberies. BTP mounted a major operation, codenamed Utopia, around notes being laundered through ticket vending machines, mainly on Docklands Light Railway. Banknotes stolen in cash in transit robberies are often stained with dye from anti-theft systems, and some couriers include unique taggants in the dye.  That allows notes to be traced back to a specific crime.

Having taken the lead for BTP in developing a detailed standard operating procedure for handling marked cash, the SSU is now developing detailed procedures for recovered cable, as Network Rail is using unique taggants on parts of the network to mark lineside cable. Cable theft on the rail system increased by over 70% in 2010/11. Chairman of the SmartWater Foundation, Sir Keith Povey QPM, said: “The professional, diligent work of Sarah King stands out as a model of best practice and has played an invaluable role in the successful prosecution and sentencing of many serious offenders. Sarah’s dedication makes her a thoroughly deserving recipient of this award.”