Thieves have been swiping cars right out from under surveillance cameras in London.
Vehicles were stolen from a south London car dealership and from the front yard at a private residence this week.
Both thefts were caught on camera.
Jim Druscott is surprised at the nerve of the thief who took his e-bike, parked right underneath a camera.
“He did it right in front of my video surveillance like it was just another day’s work,” he says.
Unfortunately, cameras don’t always help police as the dealership manager found out.
Diya Rashmawi's property, That Car Place, has several surveillance cameras but it wasn’t enough.
“I don't think that surveillance would have stopped him at all no matter what the angle is or how sophisticated the system is,” Rashmawi says.
The quality of the images wasn’t clear.
“We have all of the footage and surveillance of this happening, but if you don't tie in the actual break-in with an individual and have his face, there is nothing you can do.”
Last year there were 859 auto thefts. Already this year, 250 vehicles have been stolen and 127 those have been recovered.
London police Const. Ken Steeves says capturing a thief on video is still the best type of evidence.
“We utilize the video to try and determine who the offender is. If we're able to recognize a person, then great. If not, then we reach out to other services to try and determine if they are familiar with the offender, as often it's not their first time stealing a motor vehicle.”
Preventative steps include not leaving anything valuable inside a vehicle, making sure it’s parked in a well-lit area and using video surveillance.
