| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Winter
Wolfer
United Kingdom
651 Posts |
 Posted - 19 Jan 2011 : 17:17:04
|
quote:
INVESTIGATORS have released CCTV images of a man they want to speak to in connection with the theft of a laptop from a Ware man.
The 33-year-old victim had placed his laptop bag on the overhead rack above his seat but forgot it when he left the train at Ware at around 9.30pm on Wednesday December 1. Soon afterwards, another man took the laptop.
British Transport Police (BTP) officers want to identify and speak to the man featured in the CCTV image.
Anyone with information should call BTP for free on 0800 405 040, quoting reference B4/LNA of 18/01/11.
Bet he didn't have a ticket either... |
Edited by - Winter on 19 Jan 2011 17:23:32 |
|
|
Dusty
Senior Member
United Kingdom
685 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jan 2011 : 19:31:43
|
If the laptop was taken between Ware and Hertford it would seem likely that the person pictured was travelling to Hertford and is more likely to be recognised by the residents of that town, have you tried posting this picture on the Hertford equivalent of this site?
|
 |
|
|
Matt40
Senior Member
548 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jan 2011 : 19:49:32
|
| Looks like your typical scumbag who gets on the Hertford East Line, two a penny |
|
|
|
naga
Average Member
United Kingdom
254 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jan 2011 : 19:51:46
|
| The same thing happened to me a year ago. Fortunately the guy who took it called me in the morning (he even took it to London thinking I would need it for work). I was very relieved :-) |
|
|
|
Surfer Rosa
Average Member
United Kingdom
243 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jan 2011 : 22:13:39
|
quote:
Originally posted by Winter
[
The 33-year-old victim ...
VICTIM? The eejit walked off the train without his laptop! He wasn't robbed! He's lucky he didn't spark an unattended luggage terrorist alert. It's easy come, easy go for some people who don't look after their gadgets and possesions. I for one applaud the hoody scumbag for taking the forgotten laptop. |
|
|
|
steve
Moderator
United Kingdom
1350 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jan 2011 : 22:57:06
|
| Without wishing to detract from this crime, if I was travelling with something worth several hundred pounds it wouldn't leave my side. |
|
|
|
skippy
Advanced Member
1019 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 00:16:49
|
Yes it's 'stealing by finding', before someone starts that off, but the types of comments like 'typical scumbag' have no place in this type of conversation, after all, what is the definition of a 'scumbag'
Hands up all who find a fiver/tenner in the street and walk to the local police station to hand it in.
The object may be of a higher value, but both Steve and Rosa are completely right here. |
|
|
|
naga
Average Member
United Kingdom
254 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 09:45:52
|
| What a load of rubbish...it's still stealing. |
|
|
|
Winter
Wolfer
United Kingdom
651 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 10:21:31
|
While I do agree that the chap was careless to leave something on the train, I think it would be impossible for me to blame him too much as I know I have left things on trains before, certainly after a long day at the office and more so if it is not something I would normally carry.
I don't think we should be applauding someone for taking the laptop and not handing it in or reporting it to a member of station staff. As Skippy pointed out, it is still an act of theft by finding or in reality simply theft. At the end of the day the items do not belong to him and he has taken them. It is akin to saying that if someone leaves their front door unlocked then they deserve to be burgled and have their property taken. |
|
|
|
naga
Average Member
United Kingdom
254 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 10:46:15
|
| Well said Winter. A hard days work in London + train packed with commuters = leave bulky item on overhead rack. When I left my laptop on the train, I didn't lose it...I knew exactly where it was. |
|
|
|
Matt40
Senior Member
548 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 13:07:31
|
| How is 'stealing a fiver' comparable to the theft of a laptop Skippy? Sure they are both technically against the law but in terms of degrees of crime and personal loss they are poles apart. I would keep a fiver I found but certainly not a hundred quid for example, does that make me as bad as him? I think not! |
|
|
|
ian.ball
WoLFer & Moderator
United Kingdom
2785 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 13:14:36
|
Of course, we all know the guy in the hoodie asked everyone in the carriage if they had left it behind, and asked the station staff don't we?
No, I thought not.
From the start, this thread is riddled with all sorts of assumptions. Even the BTP are making assumptions about theft. |
|
|
|
FurtiveBertie
WoLFer
United Kingdom
682 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 13:27:39
|
The difference with a fiver is its not traceable, so you can't get caught.
Also your average person can think of many simple ways to money launder a fiver.
FB |
|
|
|
Winter
Wolfer
United Kingdom
651 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 13:30:42
|
In relation to the dropped £5, if you saw the person drop it and then didn't hand it back to them it would indeed be an act of theft, if you happened across a £5 note in the street then it would be very difficult to identify the owner and I do not believe it would fall within the charging standards for theft.
Ian what assumptions do you think the BTP have made? |
|
|
|
Dusty
Senior Member
United Kingdom
685 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 14:17:42
|
quote:
Originally posted by FurtiveBertie
The difference with a fiver is its not traceable, so you can't get caught.
Also your average person can think of many simple ways to money launder a fiver.
FB
I have laundered many fivers. I have also found that the self-service tills no longer accept them once they have been through the washing machine. |
|
|
|
JCB
Average Member
United Kingdom
348 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 14:23:45
|
| To go off topic, any money I find I eaither hand in (if it is in a shop) or put it in a charity pot. I take the view that as it will not be possiblt to trace the owner of said money, so it is not for me to benefit from it either, therefore a charity benefits :) |
|
|
|
ian.ball
WoLFer & Moderator
United Kingdom
2785 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 16:10:28
|
quote:
Originally posted by Winter
Ian what assumptions do you think the BTP have made?
The assumption that it's been stolen. The person who took it may be trying to return said laptop. Of course we have limited evidence of *anything* actually happening on the forum, but from their quote I would suggest the only thing that can be said is that the laptop has been physically moved. |
|
|
|
Winter
Wolfer
United Kingdom
651 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 16:17:27
|
| There will be more evidence than what they have released to the press though, obviously we have not seen the full CCTV of the incident or the like. I would also suggest that the time between Dec 1st and the date of the press release would have been ample for the chap who took it to hand it in, either to rail staff of the police. And obviously I do not know about the chap who has lost his laptop but in my laptop bag there are plenty of my business cards, and other bits and pieces of paper which could be used to identify the rightful owner. As well as when you boot it up it becomes obvious who owns it. |
|
|
|
Surfer Rosa
Average Member
United Kingdom
243 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2011 : 17:37:23
|
quote:
Originally posted by Winter
It is akin to saying that if someone leaves their front door unlocked then they deserve to be burgled and have their property taken.
It's not the same at all and it's rather worrying that a copper can't see the difference. Entering an unlocked property and stealing from it is a robbery, it's a violation of someone's home. The laptop owner was not robbed. He got off the train without his laptop and someone spotted the unattended item in a public space, not someone's home, and took it.
|
|
|
|
Topic |
|
Topic Locked
