Man Eludes Police Surveillance by Taking off the Prosthetic Leg to Which Officers Had Attached an Electronic Monitoring Device

We often post stupid criminal stories here at Neatorama. This isn't one of them. No, this fellow was most cunning. Christopher Lowcock wrapped up his prosthetic leg in bandages. When private contractors hired by the police attached an electronic monitoring device to him, they wrapped it around the false leg. Then Lowcock took it off whenever he needed to move about town without being traced:

Lowcock could then simply remove his leg - and the tag - whenever he wanted to breach his court-imposed curfew for driving and drug offences, as well as possession of an offensive weapon.

A second G4S officer who went to check the monitoring equipment also failed to carry out the proper test.

Managers became suspicious last month, but when they returned to the address a third time Lowcock had already been arrested and was back in custody accused of driving while banned and without insurance.


Link -via Gizmodo | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user 85mm.ch used under Creative Commons license

Newest 2
Newest 2 Comments

They already got fired. Two of them.

But just to correct the story - G4S are not private contractors hired by the police. They are private contractors employed by the home office.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
wow, somebody's getting fired! i actually had to spend 10 days on in-home detention and had to wear a monitor a couple years back (not something i'm particularly proud of, but we all make mistakes). anyway, when they fitted my ankle monitor, they made me pull down my socks and checked both legs (i'm assuming for this EXACT reason!) they let me pull my socks up before they put the monitor on, but they were pretty thorough checking my ankles and feet (i had to take my shoes off too). not only that, but when i had to come in for a data upload, they'd also check the monitor to make sure it was securely in place and hadn't been tampered with.

this monitoring company failed pretty miserably. it's one thing for one employee to make a mistake and miss something, but for all of that stuff to go unnoticed is pretty remarkable.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.




Email This Post to a Friend
"Man Eludes Police Surveillance by Taking off the Prosthetic Leg to Which Officers Had Attached an Electronic Monitoring Device"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More