Thieves steal biscuits from Midland police station

Dec 11 2011 by Ben Goldby, Sunday Mercury

IT is the crime that really takes the biscuit.

Hungry thieves nicked a packet of detectives’ digestives from a police station in the Midlands – and left police with not even a crumb of evidence to crack the case.

The snack attack is part of a cop shop crimewave, during which laptops, uniforms, pushbikes, and even hair straighteners have been stolen from officers in the Midlands.

And the overall cost to taxpayers has been more than £10,000.

Figures released to the Sunday Mercury under the Freedom of Information Act show there have been 76 thefts from police stations, panda cars and offices over the past two years.

The biscuits were pinched from a Leciestershire Police site, West Mercia Police have had keys, wallets and bikes taken, and cheeky crooks stole car clamps from Gloucestershire cops.

Thieves’ favourite is Staffordshire Police, who have recorded 46 thefts from force premises and vehicles over the past two years, with items stolen including handbags, cash and no fewer than 12 Sat Nav systems.

In fact, car thieves took a particular shine to Staffordshire cop cars, taking wheel trims, lights and even a catalytic converter.

The force logged losses of £5,567 between April 2009 and September 2011 as a result of theft.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: “We have more than 500 cars and vehicles which spend thousands of hours a year out and about in local communities.