Shop owner warned by police after sharing CCTV images of suspected thief

A furious shop owner who printed 100 posters of a suspected thief was stunned when police ‘told him off’ for breaching data protection laws.

James Callaghan turned DIY detective after the man strolled into his printing shop and allegedly helped himself to a Samsung tablet device while staff were distracted.

The incident was captured in crystal clear CCTV footage, with the suspect even looking up directly at the camera as he placed the £250 device under his jacket.

Small business owner James Callaghan, left, printed out 100 posters after a man, pictured right, allegedly stole a £250 Samsung tablet from the counter of his store in Colchester, Essex

Mr Callaghan, pictured outside his shop, said a member of staff was distracted when the man picked up the tablet from the counter and hid it under his tablet to avoid an incident

Mr Callaghan, pictured outside his shop, said a member of staff was distracted when the man picked up the tablet from the counter and hid it under his tablet to avoid an incident

Frustrated staff reported the theft to police and put the incident on Facebook in a bid to track the man after he plundered Blue Sky Printing in Colchester, Essex.

Mr Callaghan also printed off 100 posters to be distributed among independent shops to raise awareness of the crook.

The posters asked: ‘RECOGNISE THIS MAN?’ along with four pictures of him in the shop.

It stated: ‘We also want to make local business aware of this person so you can be better informed of people causing trouble in our area.’

Two days later, the man tried to sell the tablet to a local pawnshop who took the suspect’s finger print before returning the device to Mr Callaghan. 

However, despite being reunited with his device, Mr Callaghan was shocked when police attended his store and accused him of breaching data protection laws by passing around images of the suspected thief.

He said: ‘The CCTV footage we had of this chap was crystal clear so I thought “I am going to print 100 posters” just to let other shops know.

‘It was to let others know about him as we did not want him to do what he’d done to us.

‘The community police officers saw some of the posters and came in and told me off. I was told “you can’t print posters like that because of data protection”.

‘I could not believe what we were being told. It’s complete nonsense.

A local pawnshop recognised the man from this poster featuring CCTV grabs taken at the time of the incident and purchased the tablet before returning it to Mr Callaghan. As part of the transaction, the pawn shop insisted the suspect gave a finger print

A local pawnshop recognised the man from this poster featuring CCTV grabs taken at the time of the incident and purchased the tablet before returning it to Mr Callaghan. As part of the transaction, the pawn shop insisted the suspect gave a finger print

‘I spoke with one of the local hairdressers and she said “we’ve just been told of”‘ for putting your poster up.

‘It’s about us taking a stand as so many businesses have been targeted by criminals recently yet we are made to feel like we are in the wrong.’

Mr Callaghan, co-owner of the store, said he was also disappointed that police dealing with the case did not seem keen on taking the man to court.

Businesses in the town have seen crime levels going up with many reporting break-ins and thefts in recent months.

‘They’ve said they will call into the shop to see if I want to press charges.

‘Of course I want to press charges – on the street we are on there have been six break ins recently.

‘The comic store has been hit twice in two weeks – it does not give the right message if we do not press charges.

Mr Callaghan said police wanted to know whether he wished to press charges against the man

Mr Callaghan said police wanted to know whether he wished to press charges against the man

Mr Callaghan said the man, pictured, asked for a quote about printing prices before grabbing the tablet once the staff member was distracted

Mr Callaghan said the man, pictured, asked for a quote about printing prices before grabbing the tablet once the staff member was distracted

‘The amount of businesses in town which have been affected by crime and theft is unbelievable. I think it is getting worse and worse.

‘Business owners are quite down about it, people are having to spend extra money on security measures,’ Mr Callaghan added.

The distraction theft happened at about 5.15pm last Thursday.

The man strolled in and asked about printing costs, then waited until the shop assistant was distracted before swiftly placing the device inside the front of his jacket.

The man then picked up a leaflet before wandering over to speak with a member of staff before leaving.

He went to a nearby Game store just moments after the theft where he initially attempted to sell the device.

He then tried selling it to the pawn shop two days later who recognised him from the CCTV image.

The man has yet to be arrested despite numerous reported sightings of him in the town centre since the incident.

Essex Police have admitted the community officers were ‘misguided’ in their advice about data protection because Mr Callaghan is the owner of the images so is free to do as he chooses.

A spokeswoman said: ‘We understand that business owners may wish to pursue their own investigation, especially where their livelihood is affected, but would like to make it clear that only the police have the authority to fully investigate, solve, and prosecute those responsible for crime.

‘As well as looking at our tips on the Essex Police website, businesses, where possible, should have their own CCTV cameras.

‘If they can retain this footage, it often enhances our investigation. We would always encourage victims to report crime to us, whether that’s by calling us or by reporting it online.

‘You can find more information about how to protect yourself from business crime, and the signs to look out for, please visit: https://www.essex.police.uk/advice/business-crime/’. 

Row over reduction in number of police 

The lowest number of police officers are safeguarding England and Wales since records began, figures reveal.

Their ranks fell from 123,142 on March 31, 2017 to 122,404 at the end of March this year, the Home Office said.

The figure is the lowest number since 1981 – although figures before 1996 are not directly comparable. 

There are also more than 10,000 police community support officers — who have restricted powers.

Their number fell 1 per cent, while volunteer special constables dropped 13 per cent. Police staff and designated officers increased slightly by 3 per cent.

Meanwhile, police officers in frontline roles have fallen to 103,837. The Government was criticised earlier this year after failing to mention police numbers in a strategy setting out plans to tackle rising violence. 

Ministers insist there is no direct link between officer numbers and the effectiveness of forces at tackling crime.

However, the Police Federation union said the figures showed the police needed an urgent cash injection.

Vice chairman Che Donald said: ‘These new figures are proof, as if we even needed it, that policing in the UK is on the critical list. 

‘The figures show we have lost more than 21,300 officers since 2010 – that’s a drop of 15 per cent and the numbers keep going down every year. It’s like Groundhog Day.’

In the early 2000s, officer numbers soared as the New Labour government pumped cash into budgets.

When the Tories came back to power, the public sector faced cuts in a bid to balance the books after the global financial crash. 

Police chiefs axed tens of thousands of civilian staff. But the number of constables also fell as they left and were not replaced.



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