Theft victim tracks down 'criminals', says no police officers dispatched to help

A victim of a motorcycle theft has criticised Staffordshire Police for failing to respond to his calls after claiming he was able to track down the criminals that he believes stole his BMW S1000RR sportsbike.

Ionut Iancu’s motorcycle was lifted from his fenced, locked garden in Joiners Square in Stoke-on-Trent at 4.50am on April 24. Using CCTV footage from a neighbour of the theft, Mr Iancu - an Amazon delivery driver - was able to trace those who believes are responsible through a car that he says was also used.

According to the Stoke Sentinel newspaper, after Mr Iancu was seen alerting the police on the phone, the  ‘gang’ fled the scene. However, he was told it was ‘not an emergency’ and no officers were dispatched.

Pointing out that if he had confronted them and a fight had ensued, the police would have turned up to ‘arrest’ him, he says he is stunned by the police inaction based on the fact thieves had tried to steal the motorcycle twice before and because they won’t act unless he has footage of the criminals getting into the car in order to investigate.

"I told the police I could see the thieves and they said it wasn't an emergency,” the 26-year old father said. “I saw the group of six in Cornes Street and they saw me on the phone and started running.

"The police said they'd try to send someone, but no one came. I'm from Romania and have lived here for five years. If that happened in Romania and I called the police they'd be there straight away.

"I've seen the car they use, I have the registration and I've given that to police. It should be easy to find them with that information. 

"They say they can't use the info unless I have footage of them getting into it. It's not even taxed or has an MOT. They could have destroyed it by now. Then how would they catch them?

"If I see them face-to-face and I fought with them then the police would be here to arrest me.

"They've tried to steal my motorbike twice, once my wife was down to feed the baby and the light went off and scared him."

"I don't feel safe for my family as they've ignored the CCTV and jumped my two metre fence. The police do nothing.

"I have had to find all the evidence from a neighbour's cameras. That is supposed to be the police's job. This is not a free service, we pay for their service, and have got nothing for it.

"If I don't pay council tax, they could come and arrest me. But what service are we getting?"

A spokesperson quoted in the Stoke Sentinel added: 

“We were called just before 8.15am on April 24 to reports that a motorbike had been stolen from Austin Street in Hanley. The motorbike is believed to have been stolen after 9pm the previous evening (April 23). There was also damage to the owner’s gate at the property. An investigation is ongoing."