As a citizen you don’t think about it, but there is a lot to consider before the police arrest someone. An employee of the Weerijs team (a district in Etten-Leur) describes on Facebook how her colleagues track down suspects of debit card fraud. And what her role in this was.
A few weeks ago we received a signal through our system that a car was driving on the highway that was wanted for PIN fraud. From the control room we immediately asked two police units to take up a post along this highway to look out for this vehicle. During this shift I work as a control operator. This means that I direct the police officers on the street in response to the report that the system or the intake operator creates (after answering the 112 telephone).
10 minutes after our system indicates that the vehicle is driving on the highway, I receive a message on my screen from the intake operator in which a reporter indicates that a so-called bank employee has called and will collect his bank card in half an hour. If I zoom out a little on my navigation map, I see that this message is exactly on the route where the suspicious car was previously seen. There is therefore a chance that the spotted vehicle is on its way to pick up a new bank card.
Because we strongly suspect that these two reports are related, we immediately linked three additional units to this report. A number of colleagues check the highway and a number of colleagues inconspicuously patrol the area. In addition, we close the main roads so that we can get the vehicle no matter what.
We have to be patient, but at a certain point one of the police officers on the street shouts that the car is entering the village. The other colleagues are ready to take action. Two people walk up the garden path and ring the alarm bell. The door is opened and then both suspects are handcuffed. The other units rush into the street to provide support. Several telephones and various debit cards are then found in the suspect’s car. Due to the good cooperation between the control room and the officers on the street, we were able to make two arrests. That’s two fewer criminals on the street!
Please note: the bank will never collect a debit card and will never ask you to provide a PIN code. If you are asked to do so, hang up immediately and call the police as soon as possible on 0900-8844. If someone is at the door to pick up your pass, then it is a red-handed situation. Then always call 112.