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View Full Version : Police told victim to “steal back motorbike”



Bob
20th July 2006, 00:26
A teenage biker whose machine was stolen claims he was told to “steal it back yourself” by police. Aaron Holman, of Copthorne had his Kawasaki KX85 stolen after a thief rang his home after seeing the bike advertised on EBay and later removed the bike.

The Holmans received a tip-off from a local youngster who had been approached by someone selling a bike that was exactly the same as Aaron’s and immediately reported it to police. Aaron's mum Alison said "Straight away we gave the police a name, address and telephone number for the suspect. We did all the detective work ourselves."

The Holmans say an East Grinstead police officer told them there was not enough evidence to search the suspect's home, but they could simply 'steal it back' themselves. Alison said "She said we could ask for a test drive and then just drive the bike away, but we would have to make sure not to be violent."

Inspector Paul Scott, of East Grinstead Police, said: "We need to have plenty of evidence to either search a property or arrest someone for theft. I cannot comment on this case, but I would not recommend theft victims potentially getting themselves into confrontational situations."