Why do ram-raid attacks happen in clusters?

A spate of ram-raids in villages and towns has left business owners and residents to pick up the pieces of the "wanton destruction" they leave behind.

Within a single week, criminals targeted three businesses in Cambridgeshire and destroyed the front of a village shop in Bedfordshire.

"The cash is one element, but the fear, the damage left within the community is something that can't be repaired overnight," said Det Ch Insp Christian O'Brien, from Cambridgeshire Police.

So why do ram-raids happen in apparent clusters - and do more of them happen at this time of year?

O'Brien said: "This is absolutely seriously organised crime; these attacks are well planned, well orchestrated and the offenders show a complete disregard to the local community, to local businesses, to people who may witness the offences.

"There are a number of people involved in these offences from potentially stealing vehicles to facilitate the attacks, to carrying out the attacks, to disposing of the money."

O'Brien was involved in the investigation that led to the jailing of a gang in 2023, whose ram-raiding across Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire caused "havoc and misery".

Meanwhile, the police are increasing their patrols in "areas we deem to be vulnerable", he added.

Past ram-raid victims in the East of England have included building societies, banks, convenience stores, post offices and petrol stations - premises that offer access to cash machines or high value goods.

Recent examples included:

• A jewellers in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire
• A severely damaged village shop in Wing, Buckinghamshire
• A cash machine ripped from a high street wall in Watton, Norfolk
• And a cash machine torn from a funeral directors' building in Halstead, Essex.

"It's very difficult to put yourself in the minds of them [the thieves] but it's not hard to see that it is a funeral home," said Craig Collier, chief operating officer at Daniel Robinson & Sons.

"It would have been fairly clear to them what they are doing."

Ram-raids take place all year round, but O'Brien said: "We do tend to see some uptick in the number of offences at this time of year.

"Some of that could be attributed to the longer nights and the more hours of darkness."

In 2023, Cambridgeshire Police supported an "adopt an ATM" initiative run by an arm of Neighbourhood Watch called ATM Watch, as part of a bid to avoid this increase in ram raids in the autumn.

This encourages businesses and houses surrounding a cashpoint machine to form what police described as "an all-seeing, all-hearing protective bubble" around the machine.

Hanna Suma, co-owner of HC Jewellers in Biggleswade, was left "very upset and shaking" after thieves repeatedly rammed her store with a van during the night on 9 October.

The town's mayor, Jonathan Wood, said: "Aside from the wanton destruction of the raid, it has been unsettling for residents and the business owner themselves.

"High Street trading is difficult enough at present without the added problems of theft and robbery."

Whittlesey's Nationwide is the only banking facility left in the town and a "lifeline" for residents and people living nearby, who cannot travel into nearby Peterborough.

It was severely damaged during a ram-raid on 5 November, the second in three years.

Mayor Alex Miscandlon said: "The first one left everyone horrified and Nationwide did an excellent job at getting it back running again. At the second one, everyone's shoulders dropped and they said, 'oh my, not again'."

David Fenwick, branch manager, said: "I don't think [the thieves] realise the damage it does, not just to the staff, but it's also the community here; it plays such a major role, some people come in and sometimes we can be the only ones they talk to all day."

Mary Walsh, an independent Central Bedfordshire councillor, said residents were "very shocked to see the scale of damage" done to a village shop in Toddington, near Luton, after ram-raiders smashed their way through it on 4 November.

She said: "I imagine similar shops and businesses in the district must now be afraid that this is not a one-off incident.

"I hope it doesn't discourage residents from using this popular parade, the fronts of which are usually protected by the cars parked during the day."

Other businesses struck that week were a petrol station at Littleport, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, and a Co-op at Mitcham's Corner, Milton Road in Cambridge.

O'Brien said his team was investigating the possibility the four raids were linked, adding police were able to recover all the stolen ATMs and cash stolen during the raids.

O'Brien said: "We'd ask the public to report to us what they know, if they think they know who's responsible, please tell us; if they see suspicious activity in and around their local community, around their ATM machines, then please report it to us."

Officers are also "working with other agencies and industry partners to tackle the crime," he added.

Ram-raiders often used stolen plant vehicles, such as diggers or agricultural equipment, to smash their way into businesses.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) advises its members to lock machinery nd keep keys hidden, mark machinery with Smartwater and DNA marker tools - and install tracking technology.

The Co-op said that since the introduction of the Retail Crime Action Plan in 2023, it had seen a reduction in retail crime.

This was due to "investment in safety and security measures", as well as "effective partnerships with police", it said.

Norfolk and Suffolk experienced a "significant rise" in attacks on cash machines between January and July, but the two police forces had not recorded any since, according to a spokesperson.

Their investigations are continuing and one person has been arrested.

"These crimes are particularly attractive to organised criminal groups due to the substantial amounts of cash that can be contained within ATMs and targeting rural or more remote locations can also provide offenders with what they might perceive as an advantage," said a spokesperson for the constabularies.

"Police are urging businesses and members of the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity involving stolen vehicles, agricultural machinery or individuals conducting reconnaissance around ATM locations.

"Information from local communities continues to play a vital role in disrupting organised criminality and bringing offenders to justice."

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