City warden tackles housebreakers
05/03/10
When Ted Donald donned his city warden uniform and set out on patrol, he never thought he would end up tracking down two thieves and helping Grampian Police to catch them.
But that's exactly what 59-year-old Ted did after setting out on his solo patrol in Aberdeen's Rosemount area. It was all in a day's work for the Aberdeen city warden, who was joined in his efforts by two members of the public.
Ted didn't hesitate to act when a local man told him about the crime in progress at a flat on Northfield Place and that the police had not yet arrived.
The former Grampian Police constable said: "The witness saw the man and woman break into his neighbour's flat and climb out again through a broken window with items they had stolen. The police weren't there yet, so I immediately did what I could to keep track of the thieves.
"A taxi driver told me that the pair had left items, including jewellery, in his cab and from the descriptions I was given I realised that I had passed the woman moments earlier on Esslemont Avenue where she had been trying to flag down a taxi.
"I immediately contacted the police control room because I knew the police stood a much better chance of catching the thieves while they were still in the immediate area."
Police officers arrived in a marked van moments later and drove off to search for the culprits after Ted had updated them. Meantime, a member of the public was on his bike following one of them.
As the police drove off, Ted spotted the male housebreaker walking up Esslemont Avenue. As a member of the public set off to follow him in her car to follow him, Ted spotted the female hiding in bushes in the grounds of the French School.
"I was positive this was the female involved in the break-in so I contacted the police control room again and told them where both housebreakers were," said Ted who was a community beat officer in Rosemount until he retired from the force five years ago.
Ted then approached the woman, and engaged her in conversation, knowing that the police would soon arrive, but seconds later a tax pulled up a few metres away and her accomplice got out.
"I saw the police van about 100 metres west of me and I stood in the middle of the road beckoning them with my arms. The male began to walk away when he saw the van, but the officers quickly apprehended him," said Ted.
He added: "The female became aggressive and started lashing out, shouting and swearing when a constable told her she was being detained. She struggled so much that I was asked to help restrain her to prevent her hurting herself or anyone else until she could be handcuffed. I then took the officers to the spot where she had been hiding and they recovered a quantity of stolen property. "
Housing and environment convener Councillor Aileen Malone said: "Ted's actions are to be commended. There is an awful lot more to being a city warden than just issuing fixed penalty notices and this is a great example of the brilliant work that our wardens do to help keep our communities safe and secure.
"Ted was able to use particular skills in dealing with that situation, when he demonstrated exceptional skill. Our wardens are trained to such a standard that they know to react in this type of situation. They all make a very positive and essential contribution to making Aberdeen a safer place."
Ted added: "This was one of the most unusual operations I've ever been involved in. During 30 years as a police officer and five as a warden, this is the first time that I have ever seen people coming together in this way to help catch housebreakers.
"As a city warden I don't have any police powers, but I am glad that I was able to help and was very impressed with the efforts made by the members of the public who did their best to keep track of the housebreakers and help me until they were lawfully detained."