The raiders struck at the store in the sparsely populated London Road area of Tring (which lies close to the main A41 road) at around 7.30 am yesterday when the officer was delivering cash to the supermarket. The as-yet-unnamed officer, who’s in his 30s, was taken straight to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury for urgent medical attention to what are described by a police spokesperson as “serious injuries”.
A bystander, aged in his 20s, also suffered gunshot wounds as he attempted to intervene. He too was transferred to the hospital, although his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
Targeted, pre-planned attack
Detective inspector Mick Trotman, who’s now investigating the raid, told info4security that “a number of shots were fired”. Trotman added: “This was a targeted, pre-planned incident. There’s no doubt about that. This is a rare occurrence in Tring, and we are treating the incident very seriously.”
Speaking at the scene, detective chief inspector Michael Hanlon said the security officer is “in a critical condition” and was undergoing surgery. Hanlon refused to confirm what type of weapon had been used in the raid, but did intimate that it wasn’t an air rifle.
The offenders are said to have made their getaway on a stolen Triumph motorcycle (registration number P354 JYB) which was later abandoned in nearby Treehanger Close. “We believe they then transferred to a white van,” added detective chief inspector Hanlon.
Forensics officers on the scene
The store remains closed for the time being, and is blocked off by police cordons at the entrance. Forensics officers are attending the scene. Some cars are still parked in the car park close to the cash machine, which is located just to the right of the store entrance.
A passageway on Station Road, which is reached through a playing field that leads away from the Tesco store, is also cordoned off, although Hertfordshire police haven’t yet confirmed whether or not this was the escape route.
Speaking about the raid, John Prestott – who lives in nearby Hemel Hempstead and is a council worker in Tring – commented: “I’ve been here over two years and the only thing that’s attracted the police before was when a double-decker bus hit some scaffolding. I’ve never heard about anything like this in Tring before. It’s pretty shocking.”
Full co-operation with the police
The police are understandably keen to speak with anyone who may have seen the motorcycle make off or who might have seen or heard anything at the time of the incident. A Tesco spokesperson said that the company is “co-operating fully with the police.”
In a separate incident yesterday, a G4S officer was forced to lie on the floor while one of his colleagues had a gun pointed at his head during a raid in Andover, Hampshire shortly after midnight. The officers had been delivering cash to a Nationwide Building Society when they were suddenly ambushed by three attackers.
The view from G4S Cash Services (UK)
Speaking exclusively to info4security about yesterday’s attacks, Adam Miller – director of risk at G4S Cash Services (UK) – said: “The Tring incident displayed an extraordinary level of violence. The criminals involved showed great audacity. Yet again, we are seeing the very real dangers faced on a daily basis by the UK’s cash operations. It’s not just our members of staff at risk, either. The shop staff and members of the public are not immune from this type of crime. Only last week a member of the public was stabbed in one of Lloyd’s banking halls during a cash attack, and of course a member of the public was injured as a result of the incident at Tring.”
Although recent reports and statistics have shown that cash crimes are receding of late, Miller points out that a counter-seasonal level of crime has occurred throughout July and August. “Traditionally, this is the most quiet time of the year when we suffer the least number of attacks, but at G4S we have recorded the worst ever July and August on record. Banks are also telling us that there has been a significant increase in banking hall attacks.”
Miller and his colleagues at the top of the cash sector are working very hard to realise a situation where there is centralised reporting of attacks. “We need all of the different intelligence statistics produced by SaferCash and other initiatives to be brought together under the one umbrella,” said Miller. “At the moment, we’re pushing hard for the development of a national cash crime intelligence database, and we’re being helped in this regard by Helen King, the ACPO lead on Cash-in-Transit crime. Cross-border sharing of intelligence among cash companies and the various police services is vital, particularly when you take into account the fact that many cash crimes are not committed by local people. Criminals will often drive hundreds of miles to target a given store or bank.”
Today, Miller attended a meeting of heads of security at the British Retail Consortium. “I said to them that the bulk users of cash, such as the banks, retailers and cash couriers, must join forces in terms of information sharing so that we can give the police a fighting chance of catching the criminals who will then feel the full force of the law. The Metropolitan Police Service is doing an excellent job in combating cash crime in the Capital, but this is displacing criminality to the Home Counties and elsewhere. That’s why central intelligence gathering and sharing of information is now so important.”
The view from the BSIA
Also commenting exclusively on info4security, BSIA chief executive David Dickinson said: “Yet again we see the danger that can face brave men and women carrying out this vital public service, and I pay tribute to them all. Our thoughts and good wishes go to the G4S officer and his family, and we wish him a speedy recovery.”
Dickinson continued: “It’s now well-known that the industry has made a major investment in intelligence and information gathering, and in the speedy liaison with police in real-time situations. Ministerial involvement has been very welcome and provides an ongoing focus. That initiative had, until the last two months, led to a steady month-on-month reduction in the volume of CVIT crime and also to some very good detections and exemplary sentences upon conviction of those charged. More needs to be done by all Stakeholders, and I am confident that it will happen.”
In conclusion, Dickinson added: “Meanwhile, there’s a very simple message for those contemplating or engaged in this type of crime. As a result of steps that have been, and will be, taken you are more likely to be arrested than previously and you will never know how much is known about what you are planning.”
