Police to hand moped robbers 'super Asbos' in bid to halt series of smash-and-grab raids

 
Raid foiled: a man is detained by police after robbers on scooters hit Mayfair's luxury Parmigiani jewellers in July
Justin Davenport15 August 2014
WEST END FINAL

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Convicted smash-and-grab raiders are set to be hit by so-called “super Asbos” in a bid to halt the plague of robberies in London.

Scotland Yard is drawing up an extraordinary set of orders aimed at preventing prolific convicted robbers from re-offending after they are released from jail.

The serious crime prevention orders are usually reserved for the most hardened criminals and gangsters, such as drug barons, people-traffickers and money-launderers.

Now specialist detectives are drafting innovative curbs designed to prevent raiders using mopeds or motorcycles to target fashion and jewellery stores and commit yet further crimes.

They include an order requiring convicted robbers to own just one motorcycle helmet, which they must present to police so it can be photographed and the image put on a database.

The move would mean someone wearing the helmet could be easily identified if they were caught on CCTV committing a robbery. Another restriction would be to ban the criminals from walking down a street carrying a helmet — a bid to prevent them stealing bikes.

Further orders, lasting five years, would bar robbers from riding pillion and associating with known accomplices.

They are being drawn up by detectives from the Met’s spec- ialist lifetime offender management unit, which targets London’s most serious criminals.

The unit’s head, Det Insp Karl Amos, said the orders are designed to prevent serious crime, not impose a further punishment on top of the court sentence.

He said: “It would be unfair to ban people from legitimately riding motorbikes or mopeds because they might need one to get to work.

“These measures are designed to be proportionate and our aim is to restrict the ability of these people to commit further crime. The helmet order will restrict them from having something which hides their identity.”

The unit is working with the Flying Squad and prosecution lawyers to examine different ways of tackling the scooter gangs targeting jewellery stores and shops in the West End.

A small number of individuals could be targeted with the orders, which have to be approved by a judge.

Mr Amos added: “These are individuals who are not subject to a live police inquiry but they are potentially doing something wrong. We want to make sure they think twice about it. It’s about getting them to look over their shoulder all the time.”

If the orders are breached, offenders can face prosecution and up to an extra five years in jail.

Smash-and-grab gangs have struck hundreds of times at boutiques and jewellery stores from Knightsbridge to Kensington in recent years, stealing millions of pounds of goods. One prolific gang was jailed last year after netting £1 million of valuables in raids on 48 stores within seven months.

The number of recent robberies led one boutique owner to appeal to retailers to fund their own police patrols in the West End. Security measures in some stores now include bullet-proof glass and steel shutters — but the criminals are constantly changing tactics to elude police.

In recent weeks raiders have struck twice at the Dorchester hotel in Mayfair, escaping with a haul of watches and jewellery, as well as committing robberies in Knightsbridge and St John’s Wood.

The Flying Squad, which traditionally targets armed robbers, has now been tasked with investigating the most serious and violent of the raids.

So far the squad is investigating more than a dozen attacks on stores and hotels in central London this year — and officers say they have charged individuals in almost every case. Det Supt John Kielty, head of the squad, said: “We are always looking at ways of making it more difficult for these people to commit these type of crimes.”

He said talks are now taking place with the Crown Prosecution Service to submit the first application for a serious crime prevention order.

Police are also working with shops and stores in an effort to improve security. Det Supt Caroline Barker, head of the Central Task Force, said detectives from the Met’s organised crime command worked with the offender management unit to monitor and enforce the orders.

She added: “Karl Amos and his team are constantly looking for fair but innovative approaches to remove opportunities that enable criminals to continue with their offending. This is just one example of those.”

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