Sgt Jamie Warner has been in the police force since 2007 and has led the safe neighbourhood team in Ilford town centre for more than three years.
His team targets crimes such as anti-social behaviour – but most frequently pickpocketing.
He admitted it is a problem for the town.
Jamie told the Recorder: “Lots of pickpockets come through Ilford and most of them work across London.
“It’s not just an Ilford thief committing Ilford theft – they are often pan-Europe.
Jamie has led the Ilford town centre team for the past three years (Image: Gianni Cirillo) “We stopped a female the other day and she had a police marker saying she was of interest to a Belgium pickpocket gang.
“People come into the country quickly and then leave the country quickly – they’ll go across London and then back out into Europe and maybe even beyond that and this means they’re difficult to find.”
Jamie and his team regularly patrol Ilford town centre in plain clothing in an attempt to catch thieves in action.
He provided some insight into potential signs of trouble.
“When walking down the road we have our eyes peeled but we’re looking at victims as well as offenders.
“Victims will be distracted, maybe on their phones or with a pushchair.
“Offenders may not be conducting normal behaviour – they might be loitering without much reason or walking around with a bag or item of clothing in front of one arm as cover.
“They then might slot in and pickpocket with their other arm.
“We could be walking around all day and get nothing but we take the positives from that because there’s hopefully no thieves out and we have been able to engage with people and reassure them we are around.”
According to Jamie, the three main theft offences that his team will look out for in Ilford are pickpockets, bank follow-offs, and cashpoint distractions.
Pickpocket offences see lots of phones stolen from people often in baggy coats in winter when you are less able to feel items in your pockets, he said.
Bank follow-off offences are when someone, often vulnerable, is observed withdrawing money from a bank and then a team outside the bank is ready to take the cash when possible.
He said: “Someone will squirt ketchup or mustard up someone’s jacket and then go to help them out whilst at the same time the rest of the team are pickpocketing them.”
Cashpoint distraction is where a card can be kept in an ATM via an illegal device and then retrieved by someone who has access to the card details as well.
“These are organised crime groups and often they’re aware of us and are able to just vanish when they need to,” said Jamie.
“When we’ve spotted someone, the chances are that they’ve spotted us and there’s a bit of a cat and mouse situation.
“We’ve had it where people have taken off their hats, coats and glasses and are suddenly in a different appearance or they’ve jumped on a bus and we end up chasing after a bus – that is exciting.
“If we then get them into custody then that’s a really good feeling.”
“We used to have a vehicle that would pull up, four guys would jump out with face masks on, go to the closest ATM, distract a victim, take their money, get back in the car and head straight off in around seven minutes.
“They used the same vehicle but with different number plates.
“One day the CCTV got hold of them and could see which way they were headed but we hadn’t had enough time to get to the site of the crime ourselves.
“We managed to pull all the units together, follow the vehicle and make four arrests and that’s four people now in prison.”
Jamie also emphasised the importance of retaining a strong relationship with the public and businesses in Ilford, including their security teams.
“I think my team has a good relationship with the public – we’re out and we’re visible and people do see us,” he said.
“I always encourage people to come up and speak to us – I want people to be comfortable doing that.”
