Thief caught stealing from undercover police car for a second time

Thief was caught on camera as he stole a purse from an undercover police car - for the second time.

Sentencing Han to a six-week jail term plus the previously suspended 32-week sentence, Judge Simon Darwall-Smith branded him a "serial thief".

He said: "You are a serial thief, particularly from motor cars. The public deserves as much protection from your activities that the court is able to give.

"Individually the offence was relatively minor, but it's the quantity that makes it serious. Again and again and again you are committing offences against people's property."

Bristol Crown Court heard Han spotted the purse on the seat of the police owned, silver Peugeot 'honeypot' parked in Clifton, Bristol, on March 6.

Han forced the lock and pinched the £5 purse – unaware that it was part of a police sting and he was being filmed in perfect technicolour by a covert camera hidden inside the vehicle.

Avon and Somerset Police came up with its 'covert capture' cars after months of problems trying to crack increasing numbers of high-value thefts from cars.

The force took several normal cars and fitted them with tiny, high-quality cameras with a lens the size of a pinhead concealed around the dashboard.

The cars are now parked around the crime hot spots of Bristol in an attempt to nab the most prolific offenders.

Mark Hollier, prosecuting, said that on this occasion Han had only stolen the £5 purse and had left behind a TomTom sat nav system, cigarettes and a rucksack.

He said: "Police saw the door lock had been forced and the purse was missing. The DVD was viewed and it was as plain as day it was the defendant."

Han, of Bristol, has a string of previous convictions for stealing sat navs, both from covert police cars and private vehicles, as well as convictions for vehicle interference and an attempted theft of a car stereo.

Oliver Willmott, defending, said that Han was undergoing drug rehabilitation treatment and added: "This is a repeat offender but the value of the purse was low.