“Everyone should be vigilant about dipping, and make sure that older or more vulnerable friends and family are also aware of the dangers when they’re out and about.”
Last week, Daisy Cooper MP met police constable Toby George to discuss the rise in ‘dipping’ – a type of theft where criminals dip into people’s bags without them realising – which is now occurring at least once a day on average in the city centre, particularly on market days.
PC George, part of the St Albans Safer Neighbourhood Team, says that the majority of victims are elderly and deemed vulnerable by the offenders.
He said: “The offenders often observe the withdrawal of cash from banks and ATMs and follow the victims, waiting for an opportunity to steal the money from the victims’ bag or pocket. Normally, the victims are unaware that the money has been stolen until they return home or enter a shop and attempt to pay for an item. Therefore, it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact location of where the money was stolen.
“St Albans Safer Neighbourhood Teams are proactively patrolling the town centre on a daily basis and work with banks and we have covert officers looking out for anyone trying to commit any offences. Following these efforts, within recent months, St Albans police have been successful in identifying, arresting and charging offenders targeting vulnerable individuals within the town centre.
“While the CCTV within St Albans city centre is excellent, we are having difficulties in identifying some of the offenders as the majority are not local to St Albans and are entering St Albans and other towns to commit these offences.
“These images of the offenders are being circulated via social media and to various police stations, however as no one is able to identify the offenders, the victims are sometimes left without their money if the banks are not able to and with no one being prosecuted.
“Our investigations are being conducted and all lines of enquiries are being followed and we are liaising with the banks, the council and local CCTV, in order to reduce the amount of dippings within St Albans and protect vulnerable members of the public.”
Daisy Cooper MP commented: “It’s shocking to hear how frequently dipping is happening in the city centre but it’s great to see the local police taking action and spreading awareness so that local residents can take more precautions. We’ve all heard about this sort of practice before, but it’s not nice to think that it’s happening in the district so regularly or that older people tend to be targeted, especially when coming out of banks.
“Also, the police are now providing anti-dipping bags which you can put valuables in, put around your neck and wear under your clothes, free of charge. I would encourage people to take up this offer by emailing toby.george@herts.police.uk.
“So please everyone – be vigilant about dipping, and make sure that older or more vulnerable friends and family are also aware of the dangers when they’re out and about.”