Hi All,
as the title says, the Leamington and Warwickshire Model Rail club's event suffered a break-in during Friday night and a trader's stall was robbed of most of their new stock, not the first time for them either. This had the knock-on effect of half the exhibition being a crime scene till just after 12.30 and resulted in LWRMS having to reduce the entry price from £8 down to £5 as they had no idea if or when the area would be released by the Police...
Reading posts on FB it appears that whoever committed the crime were either local and knew the immediate area surrounding the event or it was an organised gang who had done their homework and (possibly) visited the site and cased the joint weeks long before the event.
Unfortunately some pictures and a video were posted on FB showing the events set up progress and, whether you agree with their decision or not, LWMRS put a site map and an exhibition map on their website which no doubt helped the thieves immensely.
I understand that these events need to advertise to all through any medium available but I feel now that all these Model Rail event organisers need to tread carefully and ensure that both reliable and noted security firms are engaged beforehand and that they are extremely careful in both their show promotion methods and the actions of the people taking part (FB posts etc..).
Unfortunately, these crimes will continue to happen and I'm not suggesting the RM community will stop them, but making it harder for the thieves must be priority!
If the situation gets worse, traders will stop using exhibitions in fear of them being targeted, insurance premiums will rise and the shows could all but disappear meaning another loss of something we all enjoy as the cost of putting these shows on will outweigh the viability.........
My thoughts go out to the trader in question, who was visibly upset when I spoke to him and (I know it's no recompense) I sincerely hope he gets either his stock back (and the scum prosecuted) or remuneration from the correct sources...!
Otherwise another great local show which I will continue to support...!
just my thoughts and no affiliation to either the trader or LWMRS...
Glyn
Posted on FB earlier.............
Officials statement
Break-in at the Model Railway Exhibition at Leamington Spa. Friday 6th / Saturday 7th March 2020.
The opening of the Leamington & Warwick Model Railway Society exhibition was delayed on Saturday morning as the result of a break in at the exhibition centre where the event was being staged. Intruders cut their way through the perimeter fence before forcing an entry to a building. They made off with a considerable amount of new model railway stock belonging to one of the trade stands attending the exhibition. The stolen items were loaded into building material cube bags and a larger section of the perimeter fence was then cut away to enable the bags to be dragged away to a parked vehicle on a remote track running between the grounds of the venue and the river the police believe. The raid was almost certainly pre-planned and well executed by an organised crime group from outside of the area. (Other exhibition organisers please note).
Scenes of crime investigators attended and collected a number of items of interest left by the raiders. Police Officers are also collecting CCTV material for review from the venue and the wider local area.
The exhibition was eventually able to fully open to the public at 12:30 pm on Saturday morning and has been open as normal today, Sunday 8th March 2020 from 10:00am.
Leamington & Warwick Model Railway Society club members expressed concern that there have been a number of similar incidents across the country in the recent past but are pleased to report that on this occasion the intruders have not touched any of the models on display and no further damaged was (reported?....word missing from FB post).
Yet more bad news.
2020 may not end up being great for large gatherings of people anyway, the hobby doesn't need this threat as well.
The description is scary to be honest, targeted and clinical.
Hope police make public exactly what was taken because no doubt attempts will be made to sell on, the hobby can be vigilant for it being offered.
:(
Skyline2uk
Quote from: Only Me on March 08, 2020, 09:59:44 PM
Need to go back to the days of camping overnight in your hall if you run the exhibitions.... days of hoping a lock will keep
£100's of thousands of pounds worth of stock secure are gone....
Exactly what our club does, has one person in each room of the exhibition staying for the 3 nights.
The horrible thing is, that the stolen items will probably be bought by members of our community...because who else would be interested!
Pete @ EGLM
Quote from: Pete @ EGLM on March 08, 2020, 11:04:49 PM
The horrible thing is, that the stolen items will probably be bought by members of our community...because who else would be interested!
Pete @ EGLM
Agreed, but how would anyone know which items are the nicked ones??
Unless traders start invisibly marking their stock with unique serial numbers, then no-one is going to know that the item they're buying on ebay is hooky or genuine.
Cheers
Neal.
Maybe traders need to start using invisible marking of their stock, and record the fact that it has been done? Buyers would then have their stock marked for free.
I guess only buy from people you've bought from before, and trust.
it would also be helpful to be able to get a list of what was stolen, so any suspicious sales could be reported to plod, that's if you could get an answer.
Although traders/exhibitors staying overnight at the venue is a nice idea consider the scenarios that could occur.....
1, The event Insurance companies may take a dim view of private individuals present when the place is locked up and will almost certainly want a professional security firm in presence......
2, They would not probably be covered by the insurance cover given to the organiser(s) of the event anyway and to cover them for those type of actions would probably be either non-existent or prohibitively expensive...
3, the Insurance company, the Police and the local Fire and Rescue may be against such actions, i.e. people being (effectively) locked in a building overnight...
4, should the event Organisers, Insurance et al. agree to such actions and a similar event occurs just think of the possible consequences...
if the thieves do break in and are a local couple of hoods, any attempts at (citizens) arresting them could lead to the arresters being counter-sued for assault by their parents etc...You know what Mr. and Mrs. Tracksuit are like.!
However, if, as it is assumed on this occasion, it is a well organised gang who don't take prisoners there is a really good chance that our Guardian Angels may get more than they bargained for (A&E or even worse)...
So, although I do agree that more preventative measures should be taken prior to and during these events, I am a little concerned that well minded people may get hurt either financially (court, sued etc) or even hospitalised and nobody wants that...
I think that it is time that the event organisers think more tactically about their shows and engage the local emergency services a bit more than normal. With all our modern technology being implemented on our layouts, traders and exhibitors alike could utilise their own level of CCTV in and around the stalls and layouts. Lets face it, there are numerous people exhibiting layouts that use micro cameras to record a journey around their layouts, sometimes even displaying it on a screen during the event to add another dimension to the punters, why not extend this to the overall layout when unattended. This also may deter people from lifting stock during the events too and how many times has it been reported that that has happened......
Also, has anyone thought that there may be representatives from our Emergency Services from our local shows who are into MR and might like to attend the show on both an MR and professional basis (Fire, Police and Ambulance colleagues layouts)...?
Or, asking that the local Emergency Services actually attend these shows with their own displays of what they do in the community as they tend to do at some of the motorcycle shows that I have attended...Their presence may deter the less enthusiastic of tea-leaves....
Again, just my own thoughts....
Glyn
Years ago The High Wycombe club held their exhibition at the Wycombe college and I took my caravan down and we had permission to park it outside the halls front door as there was another part of the building that was unlocked all night for student access .me and a mate took it it in turns to have a look round and check doors and windows at random times throughout the night .
Perhaps that sort of thing could be a possibility at some venues .
Bob Tidbury
@Bonnyman750 (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=6241) Yes Glyn I was going to make the same points: it's all very well saying get club bods to stay overnight in the hall, but the venue and/or insurance company covering the event are very likely not to sanction anything other than a 3rd party professional security service being engaged.
Surely a professional security guard overnight on each night is the only sensible answer.
It's not sensible to have members of a model railway club, many of whom will be elderly, doing this themselves and risking getting thumped if there is a break-in.
You have to take each venue and event on its own needs. Securing this venue must be a nightmare as there are multiple building entrances and sort of separate isolated buildings. It would take numerous people to be present and the way it is suggested they got in on Riverside walk has multiple off street access points as well as one gated which if the padlock fell off a car could access. However what surprised me (from the statement) is that it was spotted till the morning which suggests the building isn't alarmed.
Although my nearest show ironically I don't go as I don't like the venue and the multiple rooms over several floors.
Precisely...!
From your post I assume that you have looked at the venue on Google Earth/maps and have surveyed the scene for yourself. This is what I mean about the event's organisers and their choice of security being more tactical in their approach to security and should be using all the mediums available to them to discuss the security of their event and look at the whole scenario as if they were actually going to do the robbery themselves. Even down to walking the patch with their preferred security firm representatives and the local police...i.e. playing the thieves at their own game. This would allow them to (possibly) site the traders stands in positions which would make it more difficult for potential thieves to lift stock and transport it away, even if they did manage to break in and also give the owners of the site a better idea of their own security...!
These individuals are, by all accounts well organised and will not think twice about other venues, so future events need to use whatever means available to them to deter these individuals. We all know that stock has been lifted from stalls and layouts at major events, with more than adequate security in constant presence, even during the day's events so we are not going to stop it wholesale but as I said earlier, we all embrace modern technology in/on our layouts...maybe we need to expand this to secure them and the hobby's future....!
Glyn
No need to Google earth the site. I drive past the site 10 times a week and have done for getting on for 20 years, I also spent a few years at the venue as a student before this and during the last 20 years.
But yes it's exactly this type of planning which although time consuming can save a lot of problems.
I also know the site extremely well, something to do with spending 30 years of my life in Leamington and driving past this everyday as well as being a student there.
A few points worth knowing the answers too,
1, was that riverside gate secure?? It has never been pedestrian secure no matter what attempts were made even though it has been vehicular secure.
2, was Cheltenham Models stand RIGHT beside the door or window that was accessed??
3, not knowing the trade stand/display layout were they the only ones in this hall??
4, is it correct that NO other trader or display was damaged or stolen from??
5, why were Warwickshire Police so keen to add that it was a "well organised criminal gang from outside the area"? Are Warwickshire Police living in denial that no organised crime gangs run from Warwickshire or do they have evidence to support the vehicle arriving from outside the area and leaving the same way??
6, its VERY RARE this type of crime is opportunistic and I'm sure there are better attended shows with "as lapse" security that could be targeted to gain more "stock"
It's either very unfortunate that all these simple things have been missed and allowed the crime to take place or theres definitely more to it that a well targeted crime with a good helping of inside information :hmmm:
1, Don't know about state of the Riverside gate and it's place in the weekend's events. I have no knowledge of the history of this gate either...
2, The Cheltenham Models stand was on the far wall adjacent to the ramp entrance from inside the college atrium, i.e as you came down the ramp into the Gym they were immediately on the right hand side....directly opposite the door nearest the Riverside gate which we can only speculate at the moment was their point of entry...
3, There were 6 other traders in the Gym, but only CMC were selling Hornby, Bachmann, Farish etc...you can see all the downloadable floor plans on the LWMRS website for the event so, as a past student you will know where I mean...
4, As far as I am aware, CMC was the only trader affected...
5, No comment on WMP...perhaps they have more intelligence on this type of crime or who were involved than they are letting on, we can only speculate on this....The official statement I posted earlier mentioned that they were reviewing CCTV footage and had recovered some items 'left by the raiders' which, hopefully will lead them to some arrests - only time will tell.
6, Judging by the events it is entirely possible that the raid was pre-planned and well organised (again, with all the material available online to look over) and not 'opportunistic' as you say. Something that only the Police can now confirm...This is why I said that future events' organisers need to come in to the 21st century with their security arrangements and embrace all the mediums available to them to try and prevent this type of event from happening...
Glyn
You do have to wonder how they are selling this though - it's a limited market, and anyone selling a lot of new stock and who isn't a registered dealer supplied by the manufacturers might well be scritinised (if the police have the resources, of course).
Someone not very long ago was selling 13 lots of 4 Farish NSE coaches on ebay for £98 a lot.
They ran for a few weeks, no idea if they sold or how someone comes into having 52 coaches of the same type to sell in one go :hmmm:
If it was OO gauge stuff that went, that market is HUGE (were always told) so presumably theres a good few outlets and ways of disposal of quantities of stolen stock.
Quote from: exmouthcraig on March 09, 2020, 09:10:21 PM
If it was OO gauge stuff that went, that market is HUGE (were always told) so presumably theres a good few outlets and ways of disposal of quantities of stolen stock.
Huge is probably an exaggeration! Yes, it's a lot bigger than the N gauge market, but in the UK N gauge is very niche and production runs are very small.
I just hope that Trevor and Rose can manage to get insurance for their stock at shows ,and can continue to be one of the leading firms in the hobby ,I just wonder how they manage to carry on , it must be very disheartening for them ,they really work hard to help keep our hobby going and give us very good deals .Please can we continue to support them .
Bob Tidbury
I second @Bob Tidbury (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=3442)
I have made a note to make my next purchase from CMC, maybe try and visit the lovely shop on my Birthday.
Skyline2uk
Hi all,
I only heard about this sad turn of events last night and genuinely hope this doesn't have a long term effect on Trevor and Rose and it doesn't put them off attending other model shows although a degree of caution on their part after this is totally understandable.
Quote from: exmouthcraig on March 09, 2020, 06:31:03 PM
why were Warwickshire Police so keen to add that it was a "well organised criminal gang from outside the area"? Are Warwickshire Police living in denial that no organised crime gangs run from Warwickshire or do they have evidence to support the vehicle arriving from outside the area and leaving the same way??
To answer this simply there will be compelling evidence to support this, in my previous career I worked a fair bit with the police although for different purposes the methodology is the same. The method of carrying out the act was planned and chances are that for the police to so candidly say its "organised" means the method has been used before to the same effect and most probably for the same kind of product to steal (small size, medium value)
As for outside the area well in this day and age CCTV is everywhere and they most likely have a snap shot of the number plate of the vehicle used in the vicinity and if you are travelling almost anywhere these days you will hit ANPR cameras so they will have a track of the general vehicle movements (The M40, A45 and A46 all have them on for certain) into and out of the area.
As for how do we prevent it well that's the million pound question:
We can't realistically expect every individual item to be security marked not when you take into consideration that a trader could easily be bringing well into the high 3, low 4 figures individual items of stock, the labour and time required would be horrendous and put the vast majority of traders off if that became an enforce thing by insurance firms
Having people on site during silent hours, we this opens a whole can of worms from start to finish with a never ending and ever changing list of requirements!
Most places and insurance these days will require that anyone acting as security has the required SIA accreditation and works for an accredited company not just club members and that's just for starters as a lot of clubs use schools for exhibitions they may ask that any person "working" as security has a full DBS check at the expense of the model club due to them working at a school due to child protection measures (my sister is a head master and this is one of the stipulations set out by the local education authority).
Even then many establishments will not allow people inside the buildings in the silent hours unless a member of their staff are present which means security is left to a roaming patrol outside the building or even the perimeter which been honest in this day and age a bloke with a torch vs a group of individuals seems to be more of a challenge rather than a deterrent.
I know a club a few years ago up my way moved location from a school to a public hall which was more central as they felt that despite neither having better physical security i.e locks the second had better CCTV coverage and was more visible through out the silent hours making any suspect activity more noticeable to the general public and indeed the police should they be around, as such represented a more secure option, it did cost some what more but there is credence to that trail of thought.
So that may be something clubs have to look at where they move to more expensive but more visible locations which by there very location have a more deterring nature about them.
What Gareth just said is spot on.
I know when I was a show manager there were restrictions on staying overnight from both the insurers and building owners.
I hope Cheltenham MC haven't suffered too much and that insurance has covered any losses.
Cheers Mike
I assume that as a long serving trader, Trevor will have had an inventory of the all the stock at the show and a list of the stolen items given to the Police on the scene.
I would also assume that the Police in general have departments (cyber crime etc...) that now look into the various auction and selling sites/mediums with a view to collecting intelligence and (hopefully) spotting possible stolen items being punted on on these sites. I know large companies do as a matter of course...!
As a keen motorcyclist and classic rider I am registered with a couple of classic bike interest and owners forums. One, in particular has members who regularly post up the details of (possibly) scam sales of classic bikes on the internet (library pictures instead of the actual bike on the listing, wrong details for that particular bike that owners would instantly know is wrong, even photo's of forum members bikes that they have previously sold being used etc)...unfortunately, I believe the course of action is to notify eBay who usually take the listing down and (probably) don't inform any crime prevention agencies. I have often seen numerous identical auction listings highlighted on this site under different sellers names which are spotted and forum members warned about very early on in the listing's history...
This and other MR forums have many members who regularly trawl these sites (including traders) and have probably enough savvy to spot anything that looks wrong/out of place, possibly posted by people who don't have any detailed knowledge of the items, thus possibly exposing them as trying to move on dodgy stock....
Maybe our MR traders could get together (as I am sure they do...) and generate a common coded template for sales on these sites that would possibly expose a rogue trader due to the wording or styling cues of the listings?
Also, if the listings were copied by the rogue traders to pass as a genuine one, it would stick out as all the genuine traders would instantly know how many they have to sell...Then if a listing is exposed the details could be passed on to the law enforcement agencies not the site owners to give the cyber crime departments more of a fighting chance of catching these scum...
Again, just my thoughts as I am not a trader, just an ordinary railway modeller who hates genuine hard-working people being rolled over. Like I said earlier these scum are using modern technology and more intricate ways of obtaining our hard earned money and possessions and it is up to use to do likewise and try to make it harder for them....
Glyn
Update...verbatim from the LWMRS FB page...
In answer to the question of 'What was taken?'.
A large quantity of new clean boxed stock in the popular gauges from the mass market manufactures and as such untraceable. Probably too much to distribute through online auction channels.
However if anyone comes across large quantities of new items in unusual places it may be worth reporting to your local Police force quoting the Warwickshire Police incident number 87 of the 7th March 2020.
I have just seen an entry on their club Facebook page that due to increased costs at their current venue (Leamington college) they have both had to stop using it and need to find another venue. Also, with COVID-19 and all the associated issues, they have regrettably cancelled the 2021 exhibition and hopefully will have a new venue and exhibition in 2022.
I would assume that the break-in at the 2020 do will have had a negative effect with insurance and security costs being ramped up therefore making the venue non-financially viable.
I sincerely hope that they do get sorted and we will see them back on the exhibition circuit soon...
Glyn