Spy cameras catch Wolverhampton burglar at decoy university flat

Officers caught the youngster and his 39-year-old accomplice Zak Harris as part of a crackdown on burglaries at student halls at the University of Wolverhampton.

Harris gave a leg-up to the 16-year-old – who cannot be named for legal reasons – and he squeezed through the window before stealing items including a laptop from the student room.

Wolverhampton Crown Court was told that former drug addict and up-and-coming artist Harris had taken items from student halls worth £500 as well as two trolley loads of food and spirits from supermarkets during a crime spree in February.

In the CCTV footage Harris can clearly be seen forcing open a window and heard giving the younger thief instructions on what to grab. Within hours of the burglary he was recognised by police and arrested at his home in Ingelby Gardens on March 2.

During questioning both admitted breaking into the flat.

The flat had been deliberately set up by police to make it seem like a student house.

Decoy 'capture' houses – which contained motion sensors, mini cameras and coded dye – were set up around Wolverhampton in hope of catching crooks red-handed. Detective Sergeant

Andy Padmore, from the Wolverhampton CID burglary team, said: "The technology used in capture houses may sound like something from a spy film, but is in fact technology we use quite often. The tiny cameras mean that everyday household items suddenly become the eyes and ears of the police.

"The equipment is portable and easy to install, meaning any home in a hotspot area can be converted to capture burglars."

In court on Friday Recorder Edward Coke deferred Harris' sentence for five months and gave him 60 hours unpaid work along with a thinking skills course.

The 16-year-old had been given a nine-month referral order last week in Wolverhampton Youth Court.