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Mark: Oh, Kate!
Kate ：How could someone have done this! The creep! Mark ：It’s a really mean thing to do, steal a bike.
Kate ：It was a mountain bike and it cost a fortune – I don’t have the money to buy another one. Mark ：Listen, I’ll go down the street and see if I can see anyone with it. Why don’t you go into
that shop and see if they’ve seen anything suspicious? I’ll be back in a minute.
Kate ：OK. …
Kate ：Well?
Mark ：No luck. What did they say in the shop?
Kate ：I asked the shopkeeper if she’d seen anything – Mark ：And?
Kate ：She said she hadn’t. I guess it was a long shot. She advised me to report it to the police.
But according to her, bikes get stolen all the time around here.
Mark ：Listen, let’s get back so you can report it. Kate ：I’ve got no bike. I’m just so upset! Mark ：It’s not far to college. Come on!
Conversation 2
Mark ：So did you ring the police?
Kate ：Yes. I went to the police station to report it. Mark ：What did they say?
Kate ：No one’s found it. This woman said that Oxford has the fifth highest rate of bike theft
in the country!
Mark ：You’re joking!
Kate ：That’s what she said. Mark ：What else did she say? Kate ：She told me that sometimes you do get bikes back – the thieves use them and then abandon
them, apparently, and then people find them and report them. Mark ：So you might get it back.
Kate ：I hope so, Mark, I really do. It’s just too much you know? But … um … what else? She
told me to go to this sale they have of abandoned bikes. She thinks I might find it there. But it’s only every two months, I can’t wait till then! Honestly, Mark, I’m really furious! Mark ：You can always buy a cheap bike on eBay.
Kate ：Hello … Speaking … You found it! Where was it? Is it …? Oh, that’s fantastic news!
There was a lamp and a basket on it … Right … OK, thank you, I’ll be in tomorrow morning to pick it up. Unbelievable! This guy found it!
Mark ：Brilliant! Was that the police?
Kate ：Yes. What they said was, someone dumped it outside this guy’s backyard. Mark ：That’s so strange!
Kate ：The lamp’s been stolen and the basket.
Mark ：Forget about it! You’re lucky to get it back!
Outside view
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Part 1
Presenter: Dodgy deals aren’t the only problems associated with doorstep sellers. Your doorstep presents these unannounced visitors with a real opportunity to undertake distraction burglary where they often pose as bogus officials to gain access to your home.
I’m joined now by Ian Holt, from Thames Valley Police. Ian, just outline for me what does distraction burglary actually entail?
Ian Holt: Well basically what happens is, somebody uses a story to get inside somebody’s house and then they steal items, usually cash or small items of jewellery.
Presenter: And what are the different techniques that are commonly used?
Ian Holt: Well basically the er … the people that commit this crime move from area to area, er … they will look at an area, they will try and pick a particular target and they can find that by looking at property, it may beer, an uncut garden, it may be repairs that need doing to the property. Something that indicates that there’s, there’s a vulnerable person in there. It … usually, it’s an elderly person that lives there.
Presenter: Is this quite a common problem now?
Ian Holt: It is becoming more common. To get it in perspective, of the 14,000 burglaries that were in Thames Valley last year, we had reported 800 crimes of distraction burglary. But, it … there’s a slight increase this year over last year’s figures.
Presenter: OK, you mentioned some of the victims being elderly. What other people are targeted? Ian Holt: Well, unfortunately, with this type of offence, it is the vulnerable in society and the elderly. The, the national average, if there’s such a thing as a, a victim for this type of crime, is a white female aged 81 years.
Part 2
Presenter: And what about things that people can do to prevent it happening, basically?
Ian Holt: Well the things they can do are very, very simple. The difficulty comes, is that some of these people, er … it’s very difficult for them to remember what to do. But the three things we, we always say is: stop, chain and check. And that’s stop before you open the door to make sure who’s on the other side. Always apply a chain. If you haven’t got a chain, fit a chain to the door, or a door bar if you’ve got difficulty in handling a chain with arthritic fingers.
But also when you answer the door, check the identity of the person there. Generally the offenders say they are from the Water Board or from utilities. They may say they’re from a charity or even from local authority. But generally, a utility will be in uniform.
Ask for their identification. A genuine person will not mind you doing that and will wait until you can check them out. If you do need to check them, phone the number on, on your last bill. What won’t happen is that if it is a bogus caller, they will become unnerved by this reaction and they will leave.
Presenter: OK and there’s also a couple of gadgets new on the market that also can help as well.
Just talk us through that.
Ian Holt:Certainly, yes. The … a spy er … viewer is fairly standard. But for elderly who may have poor eyesight there’s a spyscope which actually makes it a lot easier for them to see who’s outside. As I mentioned before about the door bar, again, it can be easier to apply than the chain. Very reasonable priced er, and something that is fairly new … as I mentioned before it’s very
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difficult for some of these people to remember what they have to do when they go to the door and that’s why they become victims. And this item is called a Memo Minder and actually you can record a message on there and it’s nice to have a grand-daughter or somebody to record a message, but every time the person approaches the door it reminds them with a voice to say “Put your chain on.”
Listening in
Passage 1
Patrick ：I read a funny story today in the paper – true story. Steve ：Go on, then.
Patrick ：OK. This 72-year old guy stole a pair of trousers from a department store in Paris. A
security man saw him and alerted the police and they were waiting for him when he came out of the shop. The shoplifter started running, but the policeman soon caught up with him. The man then bit the policeman on his arm several times.
Steve ：He bit the policeman?
Patrick ：Yes – you have to remember, he was 72. Steve ：I’d forgotten that.
Patrick ：Problem was, it didn’t hurt the policeman at all, ’cause the guy had forgotten to put his
false teeth in before he left home.
Steve ：Very funny!
Patrick ：And the moral of the story is –
Steve ：Always remember to wear your false teeth if you’re going to bite someone.
Patrick ：That’s good. I read a funny crime story the other day. Let’s see … yeah … this guy … this guy robbed a supermarket somewhere in America – I can’t remember where exactly – anyway, he got away with about 4,000 dollars. The next week the local newspaper reported the story but said he’d stolen 6,000 dollars. The thief rang the newspaper office to complain. He said, “Look, I only took 4,000 dollars. I’m wondering if the supermarket manager took another 2,000 and said I’d taken it. I did not take 6,000, I promise you.” Steve ：He was probably telling the truth.
Patrick ：He probably was. Anyway, the newspaper managed to keep the guy talking while they
rang the police. And the police traced the call – the guy was ringing from a phone booth – and they arrested him while he was still talking to the newspaper.
Steve ：That’s good. Stupid guy! I’ve got another true story … This – this – old guy was in court
for some crime – and he fell asleep. His case began and his lawyer stood up and said, “My client pleads not guilty.” The man suddenly woke up, but wasn’t sure what was happening. He jumped up and shouted, “I plead guilty! I plead guilty!”
Patrick ：So what happened?
Steve ：The judge allowed him to plead not guilty. Patrick ：That’s the best, I think.
Passage 2
Presenter ：You’re listening to Kevin Fallon and my topic for today is street crime. Being
mugged is something that can happen to anyone – and it’s a very frightening experience. So it’s positive when you hear of someone who was attacked by a
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mugger and defeated them – especially when that person is a woman. Anna Black was attacked by a mugger. She’s here to tell us about it. How long ago did this happen, Anna?
Anna: Just over a week ago. The day it happened, I was coming home from work a bit later than
usual – I think it was about seven. I was on my mobile phone, talking to my husband. Presenter: And it was still daylight?
Anna ：Yes. Anyway, suddenly, someone pulled my hair from behind – and at the same time they
grabbed my mobile phone. Now, I’m a karate black belt –
Presenter ：Really!
Anna ：Yes, I practise three times a week – so I’m ready for situations like this. Presenter ：I bet you are.
Anna ：Yes, I can react very fast. So as soon as this guy grabbed me, I did what you’re told to do
in these situations.
Presenter ：And what’s that? Anna ：I fell backwards onto him.
Presenter ：You fell backwards onto him!
Anna ：Yeah! I’m tall and quite heavy – so we both fell to the ground together. Presenter ：Goodness! Anna ：I er, yeah – I was ready to hit him but then next thing I knew, two men had seized the guy.
They were driving past and they, they stopped to help. They were big strong guys. They called the police who came in five minutes.
Presenter ：So the mugger was arrested? Anna ：Yes, he was.
Presenter ：Do you think, if that hadn’t happened, you could have injured him? Anna ：Oh, I’d like to think so. I’m a black belt, that’s what I’m trained to do.
Presenter ：Well, it’s great to hear of women coping well in situations like this. Perhaps we
should all learn karate.
Anna ：I think it’s a good idea to have some kind of defence training. Yes, especially if you
live in an area that isn’t very safe.
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